We heard that that a Government office was providing rice supplements to some of the Humla mountain people in central Simikot today. David Driver (the filmmaker) and Renu Chetri (Journalist for the Kathmandu Post) were eager to see what it was about. We all went into the market and met with the lively crowd gathered to collect some rice for the upcoming month. Women lined up to the left and Men to the right. In the center was a group of around 8 people ranging from a young girl to a middle-aged man. This group transported the rice from the Tibetan border to the Govt. Center in handmade Yak-wool Bags tied to 90 Goats! The goats circled about as the team untied them and poured them into larger Govt. Sacks. They were paid for each Kilo they transported.

The goat group was very photogenic and didn’t mind having their picture taken. One young boy just stared as I photographed him. So when David came over and said, “I would love to interview one of the goat team” I said this boy looks interested and calm.

We approached the boy. He had a turban wrapped around his head. His jacket was so warn the sleeves deteriorated mid arm and by his wrists was no more then Nylon threads. We asked his age and he said 16. The girl on the team looked 8! I showed him a few pictures that I took of him. I asked if he ever saw a camera. He shook his head no. I asked if he liked it and he smiled shyly and shook his head yes.

We questioned him about the difficult journey from Tibet and such difficult work at 16 yrs. old. He shrugged his shoulders and said it was all right, quite comfortable. We tried every angle to see show how difficult it was for him and his team to traverse the mountains in the cold, with the lack of food and clothing, sleeping outside. We tried everything. He said it was fine. He had some food, sometimes not enough, but that was OK. He said his family life was fine in the village and he was glad for the work. He faced each question with a solid calm that said, “I don’t have a problem”. So what was ours? Trying to prove he was unhappy without the things we considered comforts? I left that conversation learning more then he did from us.