It's getting kinda, sorta dark at night. Almost. Barely. Just perceptibly. Crazy!
Here is an interesting article on the challenges of living in utter isolation on Little Diomede.
The article doesn't address the question of why they remain there in such a harsh existence. After my weekend in Barrow, the Interior looked crazy lush, and positively exploding with greenery and fecundity. I could not imagine living in such a barren place. On the other hand, I saw this documentary once about Inuit life on Greenland, and despite not just the general harshness of arctic life, they had the horrific problem of great quantities of the world's pollutants washing up on their shores and poisoning their historical food sources. A solution that was suggested to them--switching from the historical diet of whale, seal, and fish meat to imported farmed meat--was understandably appalling to them, not to mention unsustainable and ridiculous in a world where we ought to be encouraging traditional diets and local food consumption. Even my soul cries out against this, and I'm not even involved. But the thought of leaving didn't even cross these folks' minds. As the camera panned over what I considered to be very harsh and uninviting landscapes, a Native villager's voice breathed in awe, "isn't this the most beautiful place in the world?"
1 comment:
Some people have never experienced life outside where their ancestors settled so they are comfortable with what they have. Remember your sister's friend, the zit boy, never travelled nor went across Golden Gate Bridge.
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