Intorcam pe rampa din nou

Vera and I made a return appearance at the ramp on Tuesday, this time to go to work. Not our usual ethnographic work. This was hard labor. We intended to go with Braita to pick through the garbage for recyclables but she was unable to work. Vera and I went to Luci's instead to bag sorted bottles. Okay, so let me explain how this whole process works. We learned so much! There is no formal recycling program in Romania and so many people who live on or near the ramp (the dump) make an informal business of scavenging and recycling plasic, glass, and iron. The first step is to dig through the garbage and pick out recyclable materials (mostly plasic bottles) and collect them in huge canvas/plastic bags that can hold about 60-70 kilos. Then the bags are taken off the side and dumped on the ground. From there, the bottles are sorted into piles, according to color. Then the bottles are rebagged and compacted (by jumping on them in the bag) so as many as possible fit. There is a private company in Cluj who buys the bottles (for about 50 or 60 new lei a bag- $15 or so). They cube the bottles and sell them to a larger company who processes the plastic and the cycle starts all over again.

It was a dirty task. It is no wonder so many people there have health problems. They deal with all sorts of parasites and bacteria and don't have ready access to washroom facilities. The bugs are large and well, they live in the garbage. I squashed a big greenish one with pichers that was crawling up my leg. I tucked my pants in my boots a little too late. There is no end to the infections and injuries that will occur from this line of work.

>Despite the fact that it was probably the dirtiest job Vera or I have ever done, it was easy enough to just to suck it up, plow right in, and get dirty. No prima donnas here. I mean, the people who do it every day... it is their life, their livelihood. We wanted to do what they do.

In all, it was an interesting experience to learn the finer details of the lives of those who live and work there, see first-hand the health challenges these people are up against (coupled with their lack of access to medical services), and just to get a good dose of reality and remind me that we are all human and none of us are above desperation to survive and eat. It is a good reminder, for me, of how often luxury becomes ordinary and taken for granted.