Narmada Valley villagers protest illegal dam water levels

There are days when things hit you, one after the other, and you wonder what is the world coming to? You feel grateful for all that you have and feel sheepish for ever complaining. Are we ever really free, you wonder, after seeing the pitted and swollen soles of a woman who has been standing chin deep in water for 15 days, to protest the illegal rising of a dam that will wash away her village.

A villager’s feet after standing 15 days in water

Are we really ever free, you wonder, after seeing a cartoonist getting arrested for drawing a  caricature of government corruption.

The caricature that got cartoonist Aseem Trivedi arrested

Are we ever really free, as body after body lie down, in silent protest of a new nuclear power plant, that will bring with it the threat of radiation.

The pictures are heart breaking, but I post them to bring perspective in our own lives. Perhaps we will be moved to take a break from our usual routines and find a way to help those whose very existence are under constant threat.