Exit the Desert
Family man tying a rope to the car
Junior and Félix are two brothers we met while driving along the desert beach at Pacasmayo. Seeing us in the distance, they signalled for help; their pickup truck had been broken down for hours and they couldn't get out of the desert. With them were their father, mother and grandmother. We pushed their vehicle back onto the road and tried to start it while pushing. Nothing worked.
Junior asked us for water, and we gave them a pack of water bottles, as well as mandarins and biscuits. I was struck by how naturally the mother, after handing out the water bottles, threw the plastic into the desert, and I asked her why she'd done that. I looked at the desert full of plastic and realised they had given up. A small gesture wasn't going to change anything.
In the end, using a length of plastic rope wound around six times, we managed to tow their pickup truck and take them back to civilisation.
Junior asked us for water, and we gave them a pack of water bottles, as well as mandarins and biscuits. I was struck by how naturally the mother, after handing out the water bottles, threw the plastic into the desert, and I asked her why she'd done that. I looked at the desert full of plastic and realised they had given up. A small gesture wasn't going to change anything.
In the end, using a length of plastic rope wound around six times, we managed to tow their pickup truck and take them back to civilisation.
