Between the Mumbai Terrorist attacks and having to leave my apartment (for reasons that are just not worth writing about), this week has been the worst week in India yet (and hopefully ever).
I spent most of this week trying to find a new place to live after being told I had to leave the apartment by Friday. I have not successfully found anything (in part because its only for two months) so I am moving around to friends’ houses and a Guesthouse until I go on a trip with my cousin Rachel on the 14th. After that I will hopefully have a more permanent location for the month of January. Currently I am staying with fellow anthropologist (because they rule) and friend Claire, and her roommate Sumi, in Greater Kailash Part 1, my old stomping grounds from my days as a study abroad student Lady Shri Ram College. They have been really great, and welcoming, so I cannot complain on that end, other than living out of a suitcase. This suitcase part I suppose is never fun.
The Mumbai terrorist attacks are and will be scary, sad, frustrating, alarming, confusing, horrific, cruel, terrible, and many other things I cannot put into words. Waking up on Thursday morning to emails from friends and family alarmed about my safety and the state of India, and then turning on the news was painful (having turned off the TV and gone to bed early that night). I cannot begin to understand what motivates people to such acts of cruelty. The anger in this world continues to astonish me.
I can only hope that one-day peace will finally prevail.
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1 comment:
Dear Suzanne,
I was sorry to hear about your housing dilemma of last week. Having kicked about the world a bit myself, I know how important it is to have a space of one's own while living in a country that is not one's own, even if it is one you have happily chosen (in your case, India; in my case, Mexico). But how fortunate you are to have good friends who have taken you under their wings and off the street!
Of course, I thought about you often as the horrendous events of last week unfolded. But since I know how far Delhi is from Mumbai, I wasn't worried for your safety. Do you have any friends or colleagues in Mumbai you were concerned about? What sort of conversations have you been having about the attacks with friends in Delhi? What's the atmosphere like on the street, so to speak?
I do hope that the rest of this year is a fairly peaceful one for all of us, whether in Delhi, Mexico City or New York. And may I be the first to wish you a very Happy Hanukkah!
Cheers,
Marsha Ostroff
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