A Stigma! Child Searching for Food through the Garbage

Society is going through a peculiar era where the core of what makes us human is being eroded by never-ending apathy and ennui. We have reached a pinnacle of advancement that can change the course of the entire planet, yet we are barely holding on to the outer crust of any semblance of decency. How else can one explain the images of a child rummaging through the garbage in earnest just to fill his belly with scraps? At what point did our moral compass turn askew to the extent that such an image will barely trigger more than an instantaneous reaction that will be forgotten in a matter of minutes if not seconds?

It wouldn’t be much of a stretch to claim that we have consciously brought this plague upon ourselves. We have become immune to the horrors of violence and poverty. This child is the rule and not the exception because his double ganger is found in the back alley of every street of every country. He is a symbol of the loss of innocence and compassion that blights us all. He is an example of how listless we have become when it comes to facing our conscious. The latter has been beaten into submission under the ceaseless hammering of consumerism and oversaturation of our senses after the onslaught of technology.

It is very convenient for most of us to heap all the blame on technology, but that is simply a lie. There is no denying that the lure of technology is enough to lull our senses, but this is just another desperate attempt to find a scapegoat to appease our guilt. It is true that the multi-national organizations and governments use technology as a tool to manipulate us, but it does not excuse our willing participation in it. We seek oblivion within the arms of technology as a buffer against reality. We are just as guilty as those we accuse of oppressing us.

Moreover, technology has proven to be an exceptional weapon to fight many of our battles, but it goes unutilized. The same technology that has brought us social media has also modernized farming techniques to the point

where no man, woman or child should go hungry. The rich live in an opulence of excess where vast quantities of food are thrown away every day. Even farmers lose a percentage of their crops just because the fruits and vegetables are too “ugly” to be bought by consumers. Meanwhile, the other half of the world has to scrape from the literal bottom of the barrel to survive.

These words are not an attack on society but rather a calling to the shred of decency that we have buried deep inside to conform to the norms of a distant and selfish reality. For once, we should all take a minute to contemplate these pictures and find it within our hearts to listen to the humane part of us that still longs for the world where each of us has the bare minimum dignity of food, water, and shelter.