I Hope

Sometimes, an ordinary experience like a hearing a crow caw acts as a reminder of an extraordinary experience of the past.

Eleven years ago, those vultures gave me the creeps. Eleven years ago, that stench entered my nostrils. Eleven years ago, families looked at me and I looked at them. They gathered their life and livelihood from the garbage; I stood speechless holding a camera. They sought shelter from the sun under tattered plastic rooftops; I wore sunscreen and a new hat. They were home; I got into a bus and drove away.
Eleven years later, the dump has been closed but the stink still lives in my nose and the cries of the vultures still live in my ears and the images of kids picking through garbage still break my heart. Those kids are grown now - I hope. The families have homes now - I hope. The adults have work now - I hope. The new generation is going to school now - I hope.
That is one of my 2 strongest memories of the 2000 trip to El Salvador.
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