Despite how it may look on TV, everybody in the Third World is not walking around all naga. If you take a look behind your neck you might see that many of those clothes are made here. I’m not saying stop sending clothes, but stop sending clothes.

I say this because I can’t walk anywhere because I can’t walk anywhere without stepping on dirty, useless items of clothing. Also, because a real-life volunteer gives me more accurate information. He is a white kid from the MidWest/South who just came here with kids from his church and did what needed to be done, climbing in wells to clean them, riding in the back of trucks, unloading and loading goods, and working his ass off. He doesn’t stay in the Plaza and he doesn’t have a title and I like him.

He tells me that one, the workspace is full of clothes, and two, most of the clothes are useless. Some are just soiled, and recent shipments from places like Dubai are wholly inappropriate. They include stuff like stilletto heels, halter-tops, winter coats, Wonderbras, etc. Some people seem to have actually bought stuff like jeans and sent new items here, which is off cause the stuff is made here, and jeans are bloody uncomfortable here.

What people honestly need are Sarongs and T-Shirts/Button-Ups/Wife-Beaters for men and Sari or pattern dresses for women. For almost all these things roles of cloth are best, and it provides employment for local tailors. The used clothes are more of a logistics problem than anything. I’ve actually heard rumours of container-loads of clothes circling the globe for 20 years because no one wants to unload the hot-potato. I don’t doubt it.

Posted on Tuesday, February 15th, 2005 in Sri Lanka.