I Speak for the Trees

On New Year’s Eve – December 31, 2008 – I went for my usual walk around campus which passes two different types of mango trees, one by the dorms and one by the IDE building. I was horrified to see that the mango by the dorms had been decimated – nearly cut down. Two out of three trunks on this tree had been cut down. At least a hundred green mangos lay strewn over the ground and there was a big pile of branches that were also covered with leaves, mangos and a few birds’ nests. A couple of campus guards came along, and the female guard, especially, seemed as shocked and disappointed as I was. She was looking forward to picking ripe mangos from this tree and was disgusted that it had been chopped down before the fruit could be picked and used. I don’t know why the administration here has been ordering so many trees destroyed. Since I came here, I’ve seen at least five big trees chopped into bits and carted away – first a big shade tree near the admin building, then a giant palm tree in my neighbor’s yard, then another shade tree near the dorms, a gum tree by the chapel (photo attached), and now this mango. I think two trees may have been chopped down today, as some of the fruit on the ground looked like avocados. There may be another stump under the pile of branches. I apologized to the tree and carried away a few green mangos to try to ripen at home. It was a sad end to the year.

P.S. As I'm posting this entry so late (thanks to Internet problems & laziness), I can, unfortunately, report another needless tree elimination. This one was a lovely frangipani tree at the end of my street which had been flowering for months. I would always pick up a few blossoms on my way by, so I could enjoy the fragrance as I walked. In this case, apparently, the inhabitants of that house were afraid their small children would climb the tree and fall out of it. Good grief! How about just watching your kids...?