Who will offer them sweets?

As our vehicles whiz past them in the morning we often take them for granted. Clad in orange uniforms and pushing the orange coloured handcarts with the CMC logo they make sure that we drive into a cleaner Colombo every morning. These street sweepers, mostly elderly men and women, carefully sweep the roads and put the dry leaves and scraps of paper into their carts with their wrinkled hands. They start their day in the wee hours of the morning, some even around 3.00 am. There may be a few garbage dumps here and there due to the inactivity of garbage collectors. However the Colombo roads remain generally clean thanks to these sweepers. The capital is often called a clean city by tourists, especially by Indian celebrities and journalists. We are definitely way ahead in road cleanliness compared to our South Asian neighbours, perhaps with the exception of the Maldives.   

It is quite convenient to forget those who make the “Clean City” image a reality. We never smile at them or offer them sweets. We have this attitude that “Oh, it’s their job”. However just imagine a week without them. Then of course we would realize how far we have taken their services for granted. It goes without saying the kind of work these workers do needs compromising of one’s dignity. They do not enjoy what they do and it’s obvious the work is done to feed the families. Still if we have a closer look at them we can see that they do a good job of it.   

As such it would really be good if we can make them feel appreciated at least by offering them a smile. If we are on our way to the grocery store we can afford to given them a surprise on our return trip by offering them a packet of sweets. Such a rare treat would certainly make their day. It’s the least we can do for those who make our day. 

 
Other than these ubiquitous city sweepers there’s another group of people who are doing a commendable job despite it being a seemingly step down from their official duty. That’s a group of Civil Defence Force (CDF) personnel who are maintaining Vihara Maha Devi Park. These men who protected villages during the war have set aside their weapons and are now into keeping Vihara Maha Devi Park neat and tidy. The rate at which they carry out this task makes one wonder whether anyone else would have ever done such a wonderful job with the city’s main recreation area. Be it manicuring flower beds, mowing the turf or watering the plants, they do such a splendid job of it. Of course the military discipline may have had an impact on their work ethics. 

 
It is however really disheartening to note the attitude of some of the hoity-toity joggers who land on the park every morning and some even with their Labradors, lapdogs and bulldogs. While the CDF personnel are busy attending to their work some walk past them with “I am the king and you are my gardener” like attitude. One wonders how many of these joggers would bother to even have a casual chat with the young men and appreciate their work in the park that they use every day.   
There’s dignity attached to each and every kind of work that serves humanity and at the end of the day there’s no inferiority complex attached to any job. All work serves a purpose. Just because the ones who got better opportunities in life ‘prospered” does not mean the ones who did not should be looked down upon. At the end of the day we are nothing but equal.