Murphy's dad works with the Abia State Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA); like the name implies, they are the ones in charge of keeping the entire state clean. Every morning, even before the neighborhood wakes up, they go from street to street collecting dirt and waste left by people. They collect even those that were properly disposed of and even those that were not disposed of properly; when you wake up early enough, you get to see them doing their job, and they do it happily and cheerfully, and it leaves me wondering how they manage to do it, how they cope.
A few minutes beside that dumpster, and I cannot breathe properly. What more does somebody that goes into those dumpsters with a shovel and spends over 30 minutes moving these wastes from the dumpsters to their truck have to say? How are they able to breathe? Does the irritating choking smell not disturb at all, or do they just not perceive the smell like the rest of us do? So many questions I ask myself whenever I see them doing it or whenever I come to the dumpsters and they are completely empty.
"Does your dad take any medication when he comes home?" I asked Murphy.
"Why do you ask?" Murphy asked too
"Do they answer the question with a question?" I said as I pretended to want to hit him.
"He doesn't take any medication unless he's sick." Murphy responded, "Now why do you ask?" Murphy added,
"The fact that he inhales the smell from those dumpsters is why I was asking because, for me, I think that smell is injurious to health." I responded.
"Bro, I wonder how he got himself into this type of job. I think about it too sometimes, but at the moment I cannot tell him to leave the job that puts food on his table when I have none to offer him." Murphy answered
"So you are not sure if he takes any medication because of the smell or because of his type of work?" I asked
"None that I know of; he hardly takes any medication." Murphy responded.
"I wonder how he does, staying without any medication to help the system because, bro, that smell is something else." I said as we part ways.
I was not satisfied with Murphy's response, and I really wanted to hear directly from his dad, as every day I pass by those dumpsters, he is the first person that comes to mind. You can pass by those dumpsters from meters away, and the smell still hits your olfactory lobe, and it smells like something intoxicating—something that works in it and in close proximity. I really wanted to know how they cope and how they manage to deal with it.
One Sunday afternoon I visited their house, and his dad was sitting in the sitting room; he just finished eating and was enjoying 4pm news on the television when I walked in. I have been waiting for an opportunity to meet him at home and when he is free so I can hear from him directly.
"Good evening, sir," I greeted.
"My boy, how are you doing today?" He asked
"I am fine, sir. I am really glad you are at home today." I responded.
"I hope you boys are not in trouble?" He asked as he sat up from his chair.
"Nooo, peaceful boys like us?" Murphy rushed to defend because he knows how it will turn into a non-ending advise galore if he doesn't.
"It's just about your work, sir. Do you take any medication to help cope with the job, the smell, and the things you are exposed to? Don't they have any effect on your health?" I asked him directly
"I don't take any medication; for the smell, we just use a nose mask and sometimes disinfect the dumpsters before moving the waste out." He responded.
"So exposure to waste you don't even know who dumped has no effect on one's health?" I asked again, and he seemed to be enjoying the conversation.
"That is why we use personal protective equipment like gloves, goggles, nose masks, and overalls, making sure our entire body is covered and nothing has direct contact with your skin. Also, monitor your health regularly, visit the hospital, and make sure everything is intact. If in any case you feel you have been exposed to something dangerous, you speak up and follow it up immediately before it is too late." He responded.
"The job must be really stressful and one that causes you sleepless nights." I said
"My boy, hahaha," he laughed. "It is a tough job, but someone has got to do it; the streets won't clean themselves," he added.
Images were generated using chatgpt.