the sign says "i have 5 children. i have no money to pay for rent. please help me with a little money. thank you."
this lady was begging in heavy highway traffic. people stuck gave their few spare change. she was going from car to the next. when she saw that i was taking a shot of her, she stopped dead in her tracks, turned around and ran. about that time the traffic started to move and when we passed the corner we slowed down so that i had a chance to look around but she was gone.
before you judge me, let me tell you this:
had you seen her, she did not look to be having young children; if she did, her age, as i perceive it to be, would be such that her children would be at an age when they can work and help her out. while i believe there are very poor people in a country like canada, i know for a fact that they receive money from the government. a single woman with two children receives as much as a thousand dollars for, their accommodation is subsidized, and they would have ample health benefits from the government.
having lived in a third world country i have seen this hundreds of times. this is big business. there was once an exposé on this sort of thing a few years ago in toronto. see here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/678638/posts
we have agencies who help out people like her. also, panhandling is legal, at least in toronto. i will give this lady the benefit of the doubt. but not my hard-earned dollar.
Lots of emotion in that photo. I have also seen very elderly women in Italy (they were called gypsies) holding a sleeping baby and begging. Obviously they are not the mothers of the babies and I learned that they drug the babies so they will stay asleep while they are working the streets. Very sad.
Jeff and I served in inner-city ministry in the mid to late 80's and even then being poor was "big business". Folks in "the system" knew all to well how to work the system and often cheated the people who really did need help out of the funds that would have helped them. There is a man who does this here. He stands on the corner by a supermarket with a similar sign. I have often thought to myself, "he has enough strength to stand in the sun all day long waiting for a motorist to give him a bag of food. Why isn't he working for a landscaper with a weed-whacker or something?" Sadly, I think, the folks who really deserve help are the ones who would ask for it last because they have a sense of decency and self-worth. I think you were right- best to give the benefit of the doubt but not the dollar. Great street shot.
I agree with Ann above - here in UK there are people who make a living out of begging especially in London. She does look too old to have young children so I think you did the right thing. Great capture though
September 19th, 2015
Leave a Comment
Sign up for a free account or Sign in to post a comment.
Really a good idea to highlight sensitive issues.