I was published in the November 2008 issue of Liberty Magazine with a reflection titled “Muckrakers.”

In the piece, I recall the manual scavengers who collected human waste from primitive toilets in the Indian city where I grew up. I then examine a United Nations initiative that brought a group of Indian scavengers to New York for a sanitation conference and placed them in a fashion show alongside Indian models.

I question whether spending on such symbolic exercises improves the lives of the people involved. Outsiders may tell scavengers that their work is demeaning, but India still lacks the sanitation, running water, and infrastructure that would make such work unnecessary. The deeper problem lies in the corruption and irresponsibility that prevent even basic public facilities from being provided.

The reflection appeared on pages 21–22 of the November 2008 print issue.

Read “Muckrakers” in the November 2008 issue of Liberty Magazine (PDF) →