imagine that

Living where I do right now, you begin to appreciate the real difference between the haves and the have nots. Most people are have nots. Unemployment levels are around the 75% mark, literacy rates are less than 50%, access to clean water from a tap is a privilege not a given.

Imagine walking miles with a bucket on your head just to get safe water to cook with and drink. Imagine lighting a fire every time you want to cook and before that, imagine trekking off to the forest to get the wood to make the fire. Imagine being pregnant with all those weird cravings it entails and not having the money to go and buy the foods that will satisfy your cravings. Imagine not knowing when your next meal will be. Imagine going to sleep hungry. Imagine waking up hungry and not being able to eat. Imagine being treated with contempt by visitors just because your skin is a different colour and your English has an accent. Imagine your partner finding the money for beer but not for food.

It’s hard to imagine since most of us have never been there. But I’m starting to get a taste. Not because I am a have not. I am definitely a have around here even though I feel I am struggling a little to make ends meet. But by being with the people who are have nots, by being their friend and listening to their stories, I can imagine. And it’s painful.