Basura

It means garbage, and it´s everywhere. Pictures like this one could be taken on every other corner in the city. It´s quite the political issue. The mayor had control of it, and as with most other things, apparently, he´s been inefficient at addressing it. The president took over and funded an overhaul of the system, which included manpower and new equipment. That didn´t last long. The president eventually turned the issue back over to the mayor and withdrew the funding, and the issue is once again left in the hands of an inefficient administrator.

There are a few signs that something´s being done about the problem. These folks dressed in yellow are spotted around town with brooms and dustpans.

The top right picture is of men scooping garbage into (well, my nephew used to call it) a scooper truck, which will dump it into the dumptruck. I don´t know where it´s taken after that. I´ve been assured that the problem isn´t about where to put it. The problem is that no one is taking responsibility for it.

There are other signs of good news, too, signs that someone is taking responsibility for it. I attended a presentation by designer Maria Gabriela Batista. It was part of a campaign to create awareness about the importance of eliminating plastic bags and using more durable ones. They presented a study showing that Panama, with a population of 3.5 million people, uses and throws away about 500 million plastic bags a year. In true servant leadership / social entrepreneurship fashion, the designer believes that taking a local approach that hopefully "catches fire and spread" is the best way to address a problem that seems too big. The artist designed very nice, trendy bags for shopping groceries, etc, in an attempt to make them "fashionable". For more information, you can contact the artist at therightbag@hotmail.com.

Recycling is being promoted in some parts of the city. I saw a couple of these bins. I also saw -- and sorry, no pics -- billboards saying, in Spanish, "Reduce. Reuse. Recycle." Sound familiar?

The sight and smell -- the reality -- of so much garbage is disheartening. It´s a significant health risk. I was so excited to find access to the bay. Finally, a chance to walk in water. I hadn´t seen this sight when I first ventured in. I was told that the water was contaminated and was instructed to go home and wash my feet. I did that, and I scrubbed my sandals. I´d been told by someone living in Panama that the water was fine to drink. I chose to trust that. I was also told that Dr. Gorgas rid the Canal Zone, where I´m staying, of yellow fever. Some combination of the chicken I ate last Friday and the water resulted in by being sick, so I´ve avoided them both. I´m inclined to think, though, that it´s the water. I understand that people´s bodies get used to it. My question is: How do their spirits get used to it? I wonder, too, if issues like this one are related to increase in crime? Well, that´s another blog entry, I guess. For now, I just want to encourage us all to not take our drinking water for granted. Take care of our environment. We rely on it for more than you might think.