Waste picker in the informal sector

Feelings: Distress

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

In my case it is very difficult to manage. Due to lockdown we have lost work and income. If it continues, we will have to face many problems. We don’t have ration cards and other identity proof. The government is distributing groceries and 1000 rupees for every family. But as we don’t have identity cards, we have not getting this help from the government. Only those who are rich are getting help from the government. We have tried to meet some government officers to request help for the waste pickers’ community, but they haven’t come forward. What they are thinking is that if they visit our slums, they will get corona. At the same time, we are also afraid.

Apathy of the government; distress faced due to the unplanned lockdown, by families with no support systems

The Voice Quilt: Amplifying the voices of waste worker communities

Feelings: Empathy

Gender:

Female

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

The pastor, after coronavirus came… he gave us food worth 250 rupees, Madam. He also… he also doesn’t have much to begin with. He also works. When they said that people here shouldn’t go there, people there shouldn’t come here, right Madam. That’s why he organised many kinds of relief – blankets, food.

Empathy for constraints of helpers

Feelings: Gratitude, Resignation

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Kannada

Feeling:

Kannada

State:

Karnataka

This organisation helped us in critical times. They have helped us so much. The government has not done anything for us except for those 2 kg of rice which I mentioned earlier. Leaving that aside, nobody has done anything. The organisation supported us and that is how we could manage for 1 month. The rest of the time we spent the money we had from here and there, and somehow managed the rest of the time.

Resignation with respect to government and gratitude towards organisations that supported

Feelings: Belonging

Gender:

Female

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

Our organisation people gave us masks. Then the government, municipality people also gave us masks… for our children.

Sense of belonging with the CSO

Feelings: Gratitude

Gender:

Female

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

A doctor gave us soaps, shampoos, flour… to make chappatis… flour, Madam. Coffee powder, sugar…he gave these to us… the doctor. He gives us vegetables, gives us rice, gives us oil, he gives us everything.

acknowledgment of aid

Feelings: Mental distress, Gratitude

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Kannada

Feeling:

Kannada

State:

Karnataka

All of us are at home only. No earnings at all. It has been a tough, very tough 2 ½ months. We have never faced such difficulties in our lives. If we had not received any support from this organisation, it would have been very, very tough. They gave us one month’s provisions, and then we got some from the public distribution system (‘ration shop’) which helped us maintain our lives.

Gratitude for aid received; recounting of distress during the lockdown

Feelings: Distress

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

In this lockdown we are not able to go for collecting waste, and it is not possible to sell the collected waste material.

Financial distress and precarity

Feelings: Distress

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

If we have a lockdown, poor people like us will suffer a lot. Although others who have to move around outside are somewhat similar to us in that sense, we [the poor] cannot survive a lockdown. If a lockdown is imposed, about half the people like us will die because we won’t have anything, that’s a guarantee.

Life-or-death situation brought on by socio-political conditions affecting economics and health

Feelings: Distress

Gender:

Female

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Telugu

Feeling:

Telugu

State:

Andhra Pradesh

Whatever he [husband] used to earn in a day, 400-500 rupees, he would drink right there and then. He would spend all the money. Not just that, whatever we would earn, he would take that away, hit me, and use the money to buy alcohol. He is not drinking anymore. Nobody has any money either. It has become very difficult at home.

Distress before the pandemic; change in conditions to another kind of distress

Feelings: Stress of contracting COVID

Gender:

Male

Occupation:

Waste picker in the informal sector

Language:

Kannada

Feeling:

Kannada

State:

Karnataka

When we see a bottle or any other recyclable that people have thrown, we experience a fear before we pick it up. So, we are picking recyclables with much hesitation and trepidation. We may pick some and bring them, or leave some where they were thrown itself.

Feelings: Distress

Feelings: Empathy

Feelings: Gratitude, Resignation

Feelings: Belonging

Feelings: Gratitude

Feelings: Mental distress, Gratitude

Feelings: Distress

Feelings: Distress

Feelings: Distress

Feelings: Stress of contracting COVID

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Principle 11:

Value academic rigour in research partnerships

Capacities (competencies and conditions)