Page 240 - Essencials of Sociology

One of my many surprises was to find food stands in the dump. Although this one
primarily offers drinks and snacks, others serve more substantial food. One even
has broken chairs salvaged from the dump for its customers.

The people live at the edge of the dump, in homemade huts (visible
in the background). This woman, who was on her way home after a
day’s work, put down her sack of salvaged items to let me take her
picture. She still has her pick in her hand.

I was surprised to learn that ice
is delivered to the dump. This
woman is using a hand grinder
to crush ice for drinks for her
customers. The customers, of
course, are other people who
also live in the dump.

At the day’s end, the workers wash at the community pump.
This hand pump serves all their water needs—drinking, washing,
and cooking. There is no indoor plumbing. The weeds in the
background serve that purpose. Can you imagine drinking water
that comes from below this garbage dump?

Not too many visitors to Phnom Penh tell a cab driver to take them to the
city dump. The cabbie looked a bit perplexed, but he did as I asked. Two
cabs are shown here because my friends insisted on accompanying me.
I know my friends were curious themselves, but they had also
discovered that the destinations I want to visit are usually not in the tourist
guides, and they wanted to protect me.
Note the smoke from the smoldering garbage.