What the Eyes Don’t See

What the Eyes Don’t See

by

Mona Hanna-Attisha

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on What the Eyes Don’t See makes teaching easy.
Elin Betanzo is one of Mona’s oldest and closest friends. Elin and Mona served together in their high school’s Students for Environmental Awareness club, working tirelessly to bring awareness of environmental justice issues to their small Detroit-area hometown of Royal Oak. The quiet, careful Elin was the valedictorian of her and Mona’s class, and she went on to work for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Washington, D.C. after graduating from college. But while working at the EPA, Elin became aware of the federal agency’s role in covering up serious public health crises. Elin was the person who first told Mona that there were rumors flying about a water crisis in Flint—and because of Elin’s encouragement, Mona immediately educated herself about what was happening and how it affected Flint’s residents. Elin encouraged Mona to fight for her community, and, with Elin’s unwavering support, Mona was able to gather the courage to collect data about the crisis and speak out—even as local, state, and federal agencies tried to silence her and her team. Quiet but staunch and a true, dedicated friend, Elin was in many ways the catalyst behind Mona’s decision to throw herself into an investigation of what was really happening in Flint.

Elin Betanzo Quotes in What the Eyes Don’t See

The What the Eyes Don’t See quotes below are all either spoken by Elin Betanzo or refer to Elin Betanzo . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism and Environmental Injustice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

“If Miguel’s right that Flint is not using corrosion control, that means there’s lead in Flint's water.”

“Lead in the water?”

[…] “And based on Miguel’s memo,” she went on, “the lead levels in the Flint water are really, really high. He suspects that MDEQ isn’t testing correctly. That’s why he leaked the memo.”

“Are you kidding me?” I shook my head. “Why would anybody at the EPA need to leak their own memo?”

Elin cocked her head and just stared at me, deadpan. She was waiting for me to catch up.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Elin Betanzo (speaker), Miguel Del Toral
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis:
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What the Eyes Don’t See PDF

Elin Betanzo Quotes in What the Eyes Don’t See

The What the Eyes Don’t See quotes below are all either spoken by Elin Betanzo or refer to Elin Betanzo . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Racism and Environmental Injustice Theme Icon
).
Chapter 3 Quotes

“If Miguel’s right that Flint is not using corrosion control, that means there’s lead in Flint's water.”

“Lead in the water?”

[…] “And based on Miguel’s memo,” she went on, “the lead levels in the Flint water are really, really high. He suspects that MDEQ isn’t testing correctly. That’s why he leaked the memo.”

“Are you kidding me?” I shook my head. “Why would anybody at the EPA need to leak their own memo?”

Elin cocked her head and just stared at me, deadpan. She was waiting for me to catch up.

Related Characters: Dr. Mona Hanna-Attisha (speaker), Elin Betanzo (speaker), Miguel Del Toral
Page Number: 39
Explanation and Analysis: