Marginalized

Marginalized
People who are forgotten.

In a book, I found the conversation novelist Katherine Vaz and José Saramago, a Portuguese writer. There, Vaz invited me to believe that the fictional world find Saramago is find stories about people who are often not seen and not known. Saramago writes novels and he created the fictional characters. “I want fictional characters to represent the people who never mentioned,” said Saramago, “I mean that they no longer be the ones who ignored …” I can capture the point Saramago. We are indeed rare to not say ‘never’ talk about and care about the “little people”, to the grassroots.

Who are the little people?
My friend whispered: “The little people are the ones who are poor, small helpers, laborers and people that are considered trivial and lose fared … and another and another.” At that, I fell down.

During this time, we really underestimated them. As much as any of their services, it is still often not taken into account, worthless.

In Baltsar and Blimunda, Saramago submit illustrations that emotion: those who raised a huge lump of stone needed to make the convent door. The scene lasted until a few pages, forcing us there with those people when they fight for the stone slabs that can pass through trees and around corners. There, the animals were killed and the workers had broken his leg. They work, continue to work, like robots. It happened when a worker thought how he really wanted to go home and make love to his wife. We can see how the life and blood sacrificed to meet the wishes of King Dom Joao V.

Although the illustration is only fiction, but she was too pretty to talk about reality. Novels that judge us, how far our appreciation of the little people who contributed to the life around often ignored. Saramago, through his novels, has been knocking on the door of our hearts, how long these little guys work is not given the value and worth. We remember, they were factory workers, cleaners, street porters, domestic workers … We remember, mail carrier, and other construction workers and others.

They are small people, they actually contributed to build the Taj Mahal with blood and death, working hard preparing the monument, Wall of China, Borobudur, the magnificent buildings of offices, hotels … Those who clean up the garbage in every corner of the place, city streets, in times dirty, around our homes, on college campuses … Those who sunbathe repair of damaged roads, they are a day of work to be domestic servants, those who feel sin say “tired before the factory machines; their morning garbage clean-morning and pushing carts of garbage smell, they are reluctant to mention us, we are reluctant to ask their presence in the poem, notes, memories, soap operas, movies, business people in conversation, chat officials at the dinner table. ..

Behold, the rulers of money to plan the establishment of magnificent buildings. And who ultimately is touted as being meritorious? Who is finally given the respect and praise?

Then, if we provide value and a decent wage for them, the little people? Have we appreciate the smell of sweat the small people who give big contribution to environmental hygiene and imposing building that every day we [can only] enjoy it? Do we learn on their hard work? We should be ashamed of their hard work?

Have we appreciate the little people, love the little guys?.

Essay of B.T. Mifka.