I think you are probably right, as usual, on the detachment issue. I don't really feel part of either country; this has advantages and disadvantages, but I think the advantages are greater.
We often get western visitors here, particularly women, who will get tremendously agitated about the local treatment of dogs, and the number of skin and bones mutts running around with their fur falling out. They don't seem to notice the hungry kids; they just look right through them, or else make some vapid comment like "they look so happy", simply because the kids in question are playing.
My proposed solution, of course, is to address both problems at once, by slaughtering the stray dogs and feeding them to the hungry children (this is Asia; they eat dogs). You can imagine the reactions I get.... |
