I have been reluctant to share what I am about to put in this post. Primarily because I don't want people to think that I am negative or only see negative things in my country. I'm sensitive. But who isn't? The point is to raise awareness. And not to sugar coat reality with touristic pictures of a history that is long gone. This reality is true and tangible not only in Cairo, or Egypt, or Africa, but in all corners of the world.
This child is sleeping in the middle of one of the busiest streets in the city. Might I add about a dozen people walked by in the thirty seconds it took for me to capture this image. Not. one. of. them. looked. Actually, one of them glanced, but he looked at me.
To others on the street, at least to my best interpretation, this child is just a fact of life. Young and old, rich and poor. To each, its opposite. And the opposite has to exist. In spite of my best intentions, I didn't reach out to the little boy. I figured this is the best sleep he can get and I did not want to disturb it. And I honestly didn't know what I would do if I did awaken him.
But there is something about the way his hands are placed next to his chest and face that is so innocent yet so eager to protect. It speaks that every child is the same, and thus deserves the same. Why this child is sleeping on nothing but cardboard in the middle of the street, I'll never know. But once again, I want to raise awareness. Lecture alert: Women and children are the poorest populations in the world. Millions of people in the world live on less than $2 a day. You try living on less than even $5 a day, let me know how that works out. Yet we live on streets where we don't have to see the poor. The government marginalizes them and we happily forget they exist just because we don't see them.
This is just one of the side-effects of poverty. A child sleeping on the street. More stories to come on what these children come to be involved with.
To others on the street, at least to my best interpretation, this child is just a fact of life. Young and old, rich and poor. To each, its opposite. And the opposite has to exist. In spite of my best intentions, I didn't reach out to the little boy. I figured this is the best sleep he can get and I did not want to disturb it. And I honestly didn't know what I would do if I did awaken him.
But there is something about the way his hands are placed next to his chest and face that is so innocent yet so eager to protect. It speaks that every child is the same, and thus deserves the same. Why this child is sleeping on nothing but cardboard in the middle of the street, I'll never know. But once again, I want to raise awareness. Lecture alert: Women and children are the poorest populations in the world. Millions of people in the world live on less than $2 a day. You try living on less than even $5 a day, let me know how that works out. Yet we live on streets where we don't have to see the poor. The government marginalizes them and we happily forget they exist just because we don't see them.
This is just one of the side-effects of poverty. A child sleeping on the street. More stories to come on what these children come to be involved with.
[commentary] The message is clear, but the flow of argumentation is to be discussed. And, as an example, I am not sure if this is a "side effect" rather than the most natural consequence of poverty. - Looking forward to the upcoming posts on this topic.
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