Here we used to cross the river

Laura Albertini - PhD Student

During a bicycle ride, my father was telling me how he and his family used to cross with a boat the river that flows parallel to the road in the photo. However, to me his storytelling was overshadowed by the horrifying quantity of waste left on both sides of the path.

My father’s narrative of that place and the emotional closeness that his story was enhancing between us in that moment were significantly transformed by the unethical actions of others. As I work on travel writing and environmental ethics, I am becoming more aware of the outcome that unethical attitudes and action can have not only on the natural landscape but also on emotional landscapes both on an individual and collective level.