That Just Happened!

Yesterday I answered some questions based on the 2010 Social Justice Challenge I am participating in.  Here is the list I promised you on Ways to Conserve Water.

*Using Less.  D’uh!  Using less water means more for later.  Turn off the water when brushing your teeth, while shampooing your hair, when washing the dishes (only if you have a double sink). 

*Get Energy Efficient.  No, you don’t have to go out and get new, expensive washer/dryer righthissecond, but when replacing your old one look for energy ratings and energy efficient models.  Not only will that help you to use less water when doing laundry, you will save on your water bill.  Many towns/cities/states/provinces  have programs to encourage you to get rid of your old stuff by recycling , or offering money back at tax time. Toilets can also be more water-efficient by using less water when you flush.  You can do this manually by putting a brick in your tank, or you can buy a toilet that has two flushing options (I’m pretty sure you can guess for what).

*Shop Locally.  When you buy local and organic you are helping to save water.  Food that has been processed and packaged at factories uses tonnes more water.  Packaging something like peaches can use up to 4,800 gallons per ton (Rogers, Peter. America’s Water: Federal Roles and Responsibilities.) whereas the fruit grown locally uses the water for growing the product only. Factories use water for cleaning, sealing, cooling, and cooking.

*Start Drinking Your Tap Water.  Cities must ensure that tap water is fit for consumption, so unless you live next to a waste facility, or are the town from Erin Brockovich, you should be good to go.  So, you have a Brita Filter instead of using water bottles?  So what?  That filter needs to be discarded every month or two (depending on use) and it cannot be recycled.  Drinking right from your tap eliminates the waste of the filter and packaging.

*Raise Awareness.  You don’t have to go crusading for water rights, but start mentioning ways you have cut down on water consumption.  Again, this doesn’t have to be directly.  Ask your friend to accompany you to the farmer’s market; or mention how much you are saving on your bills and the rebate you got for switching appliances. 

*Donate to Charity.  There are many charities out there that work with impoverished communities to help them set up infrastructure and agriculture to help them survive.  As we know, water is necessary for farming and disease prevention.  thewaterproject.org  and watercan.com are two charities that strive to bring clean water to poor communities.  (Please do more research into the organization you are donating to.  These are just two examples I got when searching Google, not charities I endorse).

How do you conserve water?

This month for the 2010 Social Justice Challenge participants are encouraged to look at water as a social justice issue.  Below are my answers to some questions posted on the challenge site.  It does give pause for thought, though.  It is supposed to be a vast resource, but concerns are being raised that water may not be available for all.

What is the first thought that comes to your mind when you think of Water as a social justice issue?

To be honest, I freak out a bit.  The thought of not having access to, or being able to afford clean water is terrifying to me.  Clean water is not only necessary for the existence of all living things, it is incredibly preventative.  I know people who (and I have done myself once) go and sit in mineral water for its restorative effects.  Some people go and lounge in hot mineral springs that exist naturally by areas of volcanic activity.  Areas without access to clean water have exponentially higher mortality rates because of disease.

What, if any, exposure have you personally had to a water shortage?

My experience is not with a shortage, per say, but water inaccessibility.  My grandpa used to live on a farm and all of his tap water came from a well.  When I was little, we would go over to his house and drink water right from the tap.  My Mom still swears it made the best tea ever.  We used to put in gallon jugs and bring it back to the city with us.  By the time he sold the farm, the water right out of the tap was making everyone sick.  One glass would have you running to the bathroom for days.

What potential action steps can you think of that relate to this month’s theme of Water?

Besides the “obvious” of using less water at home, there are other actions you can take to reduce water consumption.  Last month I wrote about religious persecution and a lot of the feedback was “where can I start? How can I help?”  This month I am better prepared.  Tomorrow I will post a list of ways our individual actions can help conserve water on an individual and global level.

Why do you  think water is a social justice issue?

Go here to see Part One.

I liked this novel because I felt it did an incredible job showing how every single person is affected by the war.  Whether they are working in the mine, a government official, a doctor, or a villager, every aspect of every one’s life is drastically altered.  Doctors are stretched to the breaking point and on drugs themselves in order to keep up with the casualties and bodies coming through their door.  They would send their interns/volunteers for supplies and not really care where they got them from.  A lot of looting in nearby villages was by the hospital staff to get their hands on anything that would help save lives.  Makeshift operating rooms were springing up around the country and doctors were kidnapped by all sides to operate on their fallen brothers.  Anil faces this reality when she goes with Sarath to see his brother, a doctor in an emergency room. 

No one trusts any one else.  Families brake apart with distrust and a need for individual preservation.  There really is a feeling of every man for himself.  Anil does not trust Sarath, and it is not clear until the end who he is working for and where his allegiance lies.  In the meantime Anil is having difficulty relating to her surroundings.  Although she grew up there, she sees England and the United States as her home.  Perhaps because they were her salvation.  She left this war torn country and was introduced to bowling, lovers, friends, movies…all the things that we take for granted as Canadians and Americans.  It is important that she begins to identify with Sri Lanka because she is treating the situation without the respect it deserves.  She forgets how things work and is dangerously close to getting herself into trouble.  If it weren’t for Sarath, she would have said something that would have got her killed a long time ago.

Anil tries to use modern techniques to reconstruct the skeleton’s face and body, but is finds it is difficult because she doesn’t have access to the appropriate equipment.  She is frustrated that she has to work with minimal tools and constantly on the move, but remains determined to do her job.  I think this represents the struggle between western ideals and the realities facing Sri Lankans.  How do you fight against a war that has no rules?  Neither the government nor the insurgents follow any kind of rules and the reasons for the war are so complex that for an outsider to step in and try to apply all of these rules and regulations is nearly impossible.  They go largely ignored.

Anil’s Ghost  does deal with religious freedoms.  In each ward of the hospital there are Buddha shrines that are lit up.  Buddha’s are also erected all over the country-side, and Anil and Sarath go to visit a legendary anthropologist who has removed himself from society and is living in a forest grove formerly occupied by monks.  At one point a Buddha in the country-side is looted and destroyed, not for religious purposes, but for money rumored to be inside.  It is very representative of the Sri Lankan people who are in this war not because they want to be, but because the war affects everyone without prejudice.  The original reasons for the war are being forgotten by the people as they are destroyed and torn apart, and the people begin to focus solely on their survival. 

Anil and Sarath approach a man once renowned for painting the eyes on Buddhas to help them reconstruct the face of the skeleton they are trying to identify.  Instead of reconstructing the face as it was, he reconstructs it with a peacefulness he wishes for his wife who passed away.  Anil believes no one will recognize it because of the feeling of serenity, a feeling that has not existed since the before the war.

When reading more about this novel, I came across a very interesting point on Wikipedia.  “Religious statues in Anil’s Ghost are representative of the Sri Lankan people’s struggle during the war.  Buddha’s eyes and “sight” were important. Similarly, so long as Sri Lankans and westerners alike do not open their eyes and acknowledge the war and take a stand against the violations of human rights there will be no progress. There will be nothing. No name for victims, no identification of the enemy. The destruction will continue and human existence will be hindered.” (Anil’s Ghost).  There is a central credo in the psychiatric community which states “You cannot help someone who does not want to be helped,” and I think that definitely applies here.  Without acknowledging the problem, it is like it doesn’t exist.  Instead it festers beneath the surface and explodes into consciousness in the most brutal of ways.  It is everyone’s responsibility to raise awareness and to provide assistance, but without that first acceptance by the Sri Lankan government, that will never happen.

I can’t imagine not having the right to religious freedom.  I cannot imagine living in a country that is so torn apart, where love is something that hardly exists anymore and those you do love are taken so brutally from you.  I’m glad that MPW comes home and complains about the traffic and broken computers and not about the bomb that went off in the market killing his friends, or more horribly, not coming home at all.  Having religious freedom means I don’t have to fight for it like those before me and those in other countries are doing now.  Having religious freedom means I don’t have to live through atrocities that I only read about in books.

I’m giving this book 5 eh’s for being so thought provoking. 

What does religious freedom mean to you?