Dalit girl in Tamil Nadu

Dalit girl in Tamil Nadu

A Dalit girl from the poor village of Tatchoor in Tamil Nadu/India. The people there are living oppressed by some high-caste landowners from the neighbouring villages who are exploiting them as cheap (mostly bonded) labourers and force them to live in poverty forever. Tatchoor is a Christian village, yet the church in Tatchoor was closed for many years as (so called Christian) people from the higher casts did not admit the Dalits to have a priest and go to mass (oh how Christian they are).
There will be no end to this situation (which is like this all over the country of India) unless we try to put an end to this stone-age-conditions and the caste-system and give education to the kids in order to give them a better future and claim their rights. This is real help for self-help which is the priciple of the international Christian NGO of Caritas for which I made thousands of pictures.

All the belongings of the Dalit families there are kept in small thatched sheds like the one in the background (which are also accomodating them, i.e. it's their bedroom - the "kitchen" is a fireplace outside). Anyway, in most cases it's not more than pots and pans (or one pot, one pan) and the clothes they are wearing. Yet, this girl is smiling - she is not even aware that she and her people are oppressed, exploited and discriminated. It is just "normal" for her.