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Photo credit: Sebastiao SalgadoJakarta is the largest city and capital of Indonesia; and home to over 10 million people. In many of the working-class districts, like the district of Gatinegara shown here, "running water and drainage services are almost non-existent" (Salgado, 27). Areas like Gatinegara are prime locations for waterborne diseases like typhoid fever to grow rampant. This particular fever occurs often in young children and teenagers. In a medical research study, scientists observed that "the median age of the typhoid cases was 16 (range, 3-57) years" (Van Dissel).
Humanity in Transition- the apt name of Salgado's book states the situation eloquently. As time passes, circumstances change and people are forced to adapt to new surroundings. This isn't the final destination for refugees. Rather, it is a period of transitioning as they seek to figuratively 'wash up' and start again.
Works Cited:
Salgado, Sebastiao. Pamphlet. "The Asian Mega-Cities." Migrations: Humanity in Transition. Aperture: New York, 2000. 27. Print.
Salgado, Sebastiao. Photograph. Migrations: Humanity in Transition. Aperture: New York, 2000. 362.
Van Dissel, Jaap. "Risk Factors for Typhoid and Paratyphoid Fever in Jakarta, Indonesia." The Journal of the American Medical Association. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2 June 2004. Web. 3 March 2010.
I really liked your post and the points you brought up. I loved the last sentence where you related these refugees to the water that you discussed in your first paragraph. It makes me sick to think of all of these people having to drink the water that is so infected with disease. These people already suffer so much that I can't imagine not having even water to be able to drink. But like you said this isn't the final destination for these refugees. I hope that they will be able to find a better life so that they can "wash up and start again."
ReplyDeleteThere's some great research in this post. I like it a lot. I feel like it makes it much more legit. Its tragic to think of all those people and the diseases they suffer through. It would be interesting to know the overall percentage of the people using this water who contract typhoid or some other disease. Its hard to imagine how in the year 2010 we can't even provide clean water to these people.
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