Smoky Silence

We are consumed daily by our need to earn a living. From time to time, our busyness in life is stilled by moments of empathy and sorrow, not for ourselves but towards people around us. I have been living the city life for a long time now; long enough to know that amidst the self-serving declaration by the government of progress, there are just too many people who cannot relate to the same. Whenever we see people who are struggling to earn meagre money just to get by, we consider ourselves lucky. In that moment, we feel grateful for the things that we have and these things are usually the ones that don’t bring us satisfaction (or so we think). Yet, our empathy towards street people does not compel us to reach out and help them. For the most of us, our concern only reaches as far as our mind; no material execution is ever extended. Perhaps, in our little way, we should bring awareness to poverty; enough awareness to reach the right minded people who really have the responsibility to take care of them. 

On my way home, I saw this woman lying in the concrete barrier, presumably taking an afternoon nap. She endures the noise of engines and honking horns. For her, these noises are lullabies drowning out the thoughts of hunger.  As the jeep gets closer, I noticed that inside the blanket, she was hugging her pet dog. In her poverty stricken situation, she finds solace in the comfort of a four-legged friend who will unquestionably be there for her especially during the darkest of night. This photo is taken in the streets of Taft Avenue, Malate.