Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tower of Babel

A few years ago we lived in a house at the end of a quiet street. At the other end of our street it wasn't quiet at all; there was an intersection with the main road. At the corner, there was an enormous building. I don't have a picture of the way it looked, but it always made me think of the Breughel painting of the Tower of Babel.



Nobody seemed to know what the building was going to be. I heard a department store, a grocery store, an apartment building. But for years, nothing has been done on it. Many people were squatting there. It always, always had people in it.

Including when it fell down.

Today I took some pictures of the building that don't at all show how terrible it is.


2 comments:

Tricia said...

That would be hard to pass each day. What does that one slab say: we need some one - we need some (what?)

Ruth said...

Tricia, I'm not sure - I will look more closely next time I go by. There are signs all over in English, French, Kreyol, and Spanish, saying things like "Help" and "We need food, water, medicine."