Monday, July 16, 2007




well... for a few days, the heat had been really unbearable... i was able to take my own little vacation from it all, but in these days i have learned some true lessons of making-something-outof-nothing. we were able to begin our women's circle... after doing our noon time lunch with all of friends on the street, we taxied the women to a space that is used as a school for poor children until 1pm... we have rented the space for 160 rupees or $3 a day to meet with them... it was a phenomenal experience... to deliberately take only women and thier babies to a space and pretty much ask them.. .what do you want for your life and for your children's lives and how can we help you do that... the responses were inspiring and heartbreaking ... arzu wants to be a cosmetic saleswoman... and honestly with her smile and fiest- she could sell anyone, anything... another woman, jovhana would like the opportunity to take a bath in her own private bathroom. these women have to bathe in a local pond and just was themselves with their clothes on them all at once... she tells us about how annoying it is that everyone is watching and the men just stop and stare at them,.. not just those passing by, but of course those men that are also washing in the pond. a board memebr of the YWCA, Margaret has been helping us with this project in bringing them to the school and it is really amazing to watch her involvment ... a board member from an establishment where these women beg in front of is intersted in trying to do something ... it was a great experience ... even if just to watch us craming all of 6 of us, our gear and 6 street moms and kids into taxi cabs to drive across town to a litle poor school just to be able to talk about their lives with out the chaos of the street and the stresses of their lives... i found it to be a victory.. and we get to do it again tomorrow...

as for our really really sick baby... we wandered all over calcutta today trying to help her and her mom... first cab drivers that rip you off... you have no idea the craziness of it and it really is just a rite of passage in calcutta, so come and find it all out for yourself ... but we ended up ay Shishu Bhavan, the sisters of charity house for handicapped children. it started with the nuns telling us to take the child to the hospital and that they couldn't do anything ... so we shoved this 3 month old in their face with, are you kidding us, the mother is just as if not more malnourished than the kid!!! HELP US!!! they told us that once we had the baby evaluated by a doctor, she could bring the baby back with her other child who is sick tomorrow... i have to tell you, we left sceptical... this mom doesn't know how to take care of this baby ... her husband left her and she herself is a medical case, her deliveries were done by midwifes, which by new-age terms is rad, but by calcutta terms is a death sentence... on top of lots of other really ugly details its a miracle both of them are alive ... and we are really praying that the sisters take them all tomorrow... if not... well.... that seems to be the reflection here... what if not?... maybe since we are nearing the end of our time here or are realizing the gravity of need here more and more.. there is a sense of impending doom on the streets ... what does it mean if your only choice is to to give your baby away to strangers... what if your only choice is to wash your body in a public pond... what if your only choice is to teach your children to push their noses up against the windows of cars while people are parallel parking looking for change... when the need is that raw, are these even choices..?

some peple say that documentary work is truth telling ... i don't know if that quite follows in this case... i'm feeling like its a vent... to match the frusteration we are feeling on the streets, maybe the camera is an opporutnity to talk... a visual brainstorming ... that's pretty liberating right? to vent?... the next complication is the capacity for those listening to care or to do something...

hope you are all well
much peace, jamie

2 comments:

rossleem said...

Hey Jamie, Just got you blog info from your folks. I'm so excited to read your site. This trip must be unbelievable. I can't even imagine what you are experiencing. Take care and we love you!!!! Rossanne and Lee

*sade said...

Jamie! I tend to find that in documentary cinema, the camera usually does the talking, and usually causes a great divide between the viewer, filmmaker, and subject. However, I get the sense that you're more "MacDougall" about your approach and you allow the camera to lend itself as your third eye... which is wonderful! I'm so excited to see that this project has gotten you so involved in the lives of these women - it's nothing short of amazing.