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Rupak De Chowdhuri / Reuters
A woman is comforted by neighbors and relatives after her daughter died in a fire in a slum in Kolkata, India, on Thursday, Dec. 30. Four children died and over a hundred people lost their homes in the fire.
Rupak De Chowdhuri / Reuters
Residents sit on the remains of their burnt shanty after a fire leveled a slum in Kolkata on Thursday, Dec. 30.
Rupak De Chowdhuri / Reuters
Residents sift through debris of a burnt shanty as they search for victims after a fire at a slum in Kolkata on Thursday, Dec. 30.
These photos have been so thoughtfully described by one of our readers I'm re-posting her comment here:
JoannaK writes: "The pictures tell the story of the incredible sadness and loss......also about the compassion and cooperation of the survivors. What stands out is not the bleak background of the shanties and slum--but the quiet dignity and startling beauty of the people...outlined by the rainbow of colors. My deepest condolences to families and the community."
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The pictures tell the story of the incredible sadness and loss......also about the compassion and cooperation of the survivors. What stands out is not the bleak background of the shanties and slum--but the quiet dignity and startling beauty of the people...outlined by the rainbow of colors. My deepest condolences to families and the community.
Fire is an equal opportunity killer.. Nobody should die that way.. So sad.. My condolences to those suffering from this event.
So well said JoannaK. My deepest condolences to those families who lost their loved ones and to all who lost their homes.
why do they have to call it a slum we have low income housing too.
I have no sympathy for these slum dwellers. If the adults themselves living in the slums and cannot afford the food and roof over their heads, how can they even think of having children? When these adults having hard time for survival, it is unethical, immoral and should be punishable by law for bringing new life to this miserable world.
You are so ignorant! Not every country is as privileged as many Americans. Many people don't have access to birth control and for some countries they believe that having children is a sign of hope for the future. Have you ever considered how many great leaders were born in poor families?
What an ignorant thing to say, God did not put in any writing, "Because you are poor, you should not procreate" Your an idiot, if people stopped having children because they were less fortunate, would we even have a population, or are only the rich and middle class allowed to re-populate the earth? As Fred Sanford would say "You Big Dummy"
Hopefully you had too much to drink when you wrote this comment. It is so insensitive to write this way and shows your shallow thinking and obviously you have spent most of your life just sitting inside your home and not aware of your own surroundings let alone the world at large.....Why deny them the privileges of family life just because of where they live....are you out of your mind! Think before you write and next time, just don't say anything......
You're saying that people should wait to have children until they can support them, but for many of these people that time will never come. They'll always be poor. They know that. They made the choice, and decided that the hardship of having a child was better than dying childless. Furthermore, the inherent desire to procreate is something that goes across all social classes. Every human wants to reproduce. It's ingrained into our subconscious. That's why people always want sex. The fact that you would say something like that is completely insensitive and narrow-minded. These people live such hard lives and they have so little. How do you think it feels to lose what little you have, and your child? They were already dirt poor; now they're homeless. You have no idea how it would feel to cling at the scraps of life the way they have to. I'm not holding it against you. I don't have any idea either. But you could at least show some sympathy.
Your parents may have put some thing in your bank account and given you all the comfort of a wealthy childhood, but they did not put anything in your brain. You are filthier than the dirt surrounding these poor families who lost some very important things but not their dignity. You have done nothing for these people and you do not deserve respect, despite all your possessions, from your fellow human beings. They are not looking for any sympathy from you.
No grief compares to the loss of a child. My deepest sympathies.
My deepest condolences to these families who have lost their precious children and their homes and what little they had in this world. These are beautiful human beings with deep love in their hearts. I experienced this for myself on a recent trip to India. Heartfelt prayers are being sent...
So well said JoannaK & Karen-2848980. My deepest condolences to these precious families.
Rich or Poor loss of Human life needs to be condoled, and every human being has a right to procreate and have the luxuries of a family life.
@theenktaynk. Wow!! I know I am the 6th person to comment on your lack of compassion. I just couldn't resist. You must have been one of those privileged and spoiled students that never paid attention. You definitely need a refresh and update your brain with history, social studies, world politics and economics. Also, you need to understand how a country's CULTURE and GOVERNMENT operates. Most if not all countries around the world divide there country into classes. In some countries, you have an opportunity to climb up the economic ladder, and in other countries, if you are born into a certain class or tribe, you will never have the opportunity to thrive and climb the economic or social ladder. So, before you make such a PRIVILEGED and IGNORANT comment, you must have at least a general idea of India's culture.