Editor’s Note: Regular Matador contributor Hal Amen is embarking on a year-long volunteer journey in South America. He’ll be sending in regular dispatches; this is the first in his series.
The toddler cradled in his mother’s arms on a cold Shanghai street corner, pink hand outstretched. The family overflowing from its Chalco slum home on the fringes of Mexico City. Emaciated children, kindergarten-aged, hawking cheap souvenirs in front of Angkor Wat.