Running Water

We see her every so often,

usually in the morning on our way to work.

She’s no older that four,

clutching a red plastic mug

that holds her toothbrush and toothpaste,

sauntering down to the irrigation canal

to brush her teeth.

We cringe…

The network of irrigation canals that crisscross through the eastern part of Maliana Township have taken on a life of their own.

On hot afternoons during the dry season, the ‘free range kids’ in the suco – village – become busy little beavers in front of the house Esther and I have rented; we are fortunate in that our house is just beside the canal that runs through our suco.

... a little swimming pool of their own making.

Using rocks, fallen tree branches and palm fronds, they build a dam across the canal; the water rise and the canal becomes a little swimming pool of their own making.

Clothes are quickly and unashamedly shed before plunging into the water.

Excited shouts and squeals will echo for the better part of an hour through our house.

Until someone downstream comes up and gives them a telling off for stemming the flow of water.

The dam would be reluctantly dismantled… till the next sultry day comes along…

The absence of a proper water distribution infrastructure has made the canals the lifeblood of the sucos that lie in their paths. Along the canal on any given day, we see…

… Motorbikes and bicycles being washed on the water’s edge; detergent, dirt sludge can be seen coursing into the canal during the process.

… A family or two doing their laundry, scrubbing their clothes along the walls of the canal and rinsing them in the flowing water.

… On every afternoon, at the end of their day’s run, the road dust and grime are being removed from the Dili to Maliana buses, with the water being flung over the buses flowing back into the canal.

Then there are...

… The odd bathers, shampooing their heads and soaping their bodies upstream.

… Now and again, kids answering the call of nature into the canal.

… Bike and auto repair shops beside the canals, and disposing their waste into them!

And in our minds’ eyes, we can’t get that image of a little girl brushing her teeth, with the same water, out of our heads…

How can she use that water? We ask.

As long as the water is moving, running,

it is safe to use, isn’t it? …

came the simple reply...

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