I grew up among germophobic people. My mom doesn’t eat in restaurants unless staying hungry can jeopardize her health. For example, in 2021 after the fall of Kabul, we were evacuated first to Doha and then to Mexico City. In Doha, she ate boiled eggs for five days until her stomach started hurting. In Mexico City the situation got worse we were no longer in a Muslim country. She could not eat boiled eggs and even bread wasn’t a good option. We got some rice and been.
It is very difficult for me to go through others’ trash and rescue an object. There are some books and chapters in the hallway of the dancing hall. I put gloves on and wore my mask. I tried to find a book and get it. I could not find a book that was interesting, and I wanted to read it. So, I didn’t pick anything up. A lot of crazy thoughts popped up in my mind when I was going throwing the items. “What if someone has used the bathroom and didn’t hand their hands and touch the books, beside me who else was here and touched these books, how do I know they didn’t have covid and …” these were my thoughts during the failed rescue process.
Most of the items were textbooks. I assume they were left there by the students. They don’t need them anymore that is why the books were treated as waste. No, I don’t think it could be treated otherwise. Usually, when people don’t need some items they leave them outside, thinking that someone else could use them in their favor.
Next, I went to check the dumpster. It was disastrous. People had left their trash out, there were bags of trash. The smell was unbearable. I didn’t touch anything.