One thing we know and what we tell others also is how precious our lives are. We have made people around us understand this.
No one came, no one enquired what is going on, how we are… how are people in the slums. There are snakes, and a lot of other problems here, but somehow we used to manage to earn at least 10 rupees. Now, even that is not possible. We have to leave our children and go. We are worried about what will happen to the children if we leave them at home and go.
Some of us are wearing masks. When we go outside, we go out wearing masks. But if we’re near our house itself, we don’t wear masks. We stay inside our hut itself. If we’re near the house, nobody wears, Madam. Small children don’t wash hands…some people’s children. But while going outside, people definitely wear masks.
Some people consider the lockdown as a holiday, like for those in the office it is a holiday. For us waste pickers it is a matter of worry, we get anxious. We are worried because…. See, we can understand but how will our children understand?