You can stand back and keep telling yourself that you are not doing anything wrong by not getting involved, however the truth is whenever you just ignore a problem you become the problem. People don’t realize that there can be more than one reason for a problem and one constant in all of these problems is people just looking the other way. By not doing anything you become just another reason why are newspapers are littered with terrible story after story. By not being part of the solution you become just another person part of the problem. There are only a handful of people that are the solution, doing what they can to help solve and resolve our world’s troubles. The question is what will you choose to be, the problem or the solution?
When Lakshmi is working at the Happiness House after being sold into sex trafficking she encounters many people who just look the other way because it is easer for them that way. There are only a few people who actually try to help her. The first time she was sure that she was being tricked when an American man told her he could help her get out. The other girls working at the brothel told her that American man would say things like this only to take away her clothes and leave her running in the streets necked. Even though she told him she wanted to stay he gave her his card. Latter she became desperate and gave the card to a street boy who had a cart of tea and goodies and asked him to get her help. The street boy does all he can and Lakshmi finally meets an American man who was sent by the street boy and who has come to help. "I will come back for you,' he says. 'I will come back with other men, good men, from this country-fathers and uncles who want to help-policemen who are not friends of Mumtaz. We will take you away from here" (249). It is people like this young street boy who, when faced with a problem, does his best to create a solution. He is one of the few along with these two American men that become the solution by taking action and not just closing their eyes to all the imperfections in the world but instead take action.
I totally agree with your point, that if you just ignore a problem, it won't make it any better. I love how you ended your first paragragh in a question, it left me wanting more! It is true that there are only a handful of people that are fighting for solutions, people like the street boy. He takes action when nobody else does. The street boy gives Lakshmi tea for free even though he will get punished for it. "I have no need for other things, I want to tell him. This small gift is more than enough" (236)He is not part of the problem, even though he is part of the solution.
ReplyDeleteI also completely agree with what you are saying Makenna. When people ignore the problem, they become the problem. Like, when Lakshmi saw Mumtaz paying the police man so that he would "look the other way (159) .That policeman didn't think about the consequences of what he was doing. He put many young girls life's at risk. But, when people choose to act and help find the solution, we prosper as a whole. When the new policeman came. He promised Lakshmi that he would help. Therefore, he is part of the solution. We need to get people to help our world prosper be not ignoring problems, and learning to face them. And like you said: Will you choose to be the problem or the solution?
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