Dehli Revisited
So I hired a taxi and explored the city. The poverty is shocking. What even more shocking is the huge devide between rich and poor. You see this entire city–or maybe nation–trying to grab hold of the future, to modernize and technologize. And then you see the disregard for the common man. People are living on the side of the road in tarp houses, or in run down buildings, or buildings that were half finished and forgotten about.
A man approached my taxi window asking for money. He had an infection of some kind that left gaping hole in his leg that had dried out and become like jerky. He was walking on it, going from car to car as people ignored him or waved him away. I was so shocked and didn’t know what to do. At the moment I thought “No amount of money I can give him is going to help him.” But I’m sure my heart and mind were not in the right place. I look back at that moment and the moment when children ran up to me begging for food, pointing at the empty tin foil my lunch was in, and other similar moments and wonder, WHAT AM I SUPPOSED TO DO!?
I find myself at a loss. I feel compelled to help these people. When I’m caught off guard, in the heat of the moment, I find it difficult to find the ability to do anything more than stare or keep walking and say “I’m sorry.” I feel helpless. I give some of them money. And more come.
What bothers me more is I don’t find the time to think about these issues more often. I spend hours, days and weeks pondering my own sorry situation, looking for solutions. I usually find them. So why am I not spending more time thinking of solutions for these issues? Can I even do anything?! These issues are huge!
I saw most of Dehli in a day. It’s rather large, but the monuments are spread across the entire city. I expect to head to Agra tomorrow and see the Taj Mahal.
August 26th, 2005 at 12:17 pm
Ok, anon reader here.
Your Uncle John and Aunt Judy are good friends of mine and invited us to check out your site.
What you had to say about the overwhelming poverty in Delhi was insightful. I have often wondered how I might respond in the same situation. (when I was single I seriously considered joining a missions team to India with YWAM) One thought I had was that though the physical seems so glaring, I wonder what we all look like if seen with spiritual eyes–I think I’m the girl with a jerky-like heart filled to a glowing gob of love from God…one that still finds herself tripping over silly rocks in the road and choosing to sit in the back of a freezing bus.
Thank you for site,
Adrienne