Monday, June 9, 2014

Crying Game

She usually stands right in the center of via Garibaldi, or under the arcade in via Po, in via Roma, in via Pietro Micca....
She cries out loud to the passers by, so they might offer her some money, initially she carried a big bag of used children books and video tapes to sell, then later she seems quit selling anything, in the photo however, seems like she is holding two lighters in her hands.


Once, saw her at via Garibaldi, wailing, approaching people passing by, then, she stopped, took out her cell phone, made a call and walked away chatting with someone on her phone.
I don't know, someone with a cell phone, doesn't really appear to be so desperate to beg on the street and she could switch off her wailing like closing a tap, just makes her display of desperation absurd.
She reminds me of someone who chatted online, claimed to be unfed for three days and yet miraculously has access to internet to chat and ask for money to be sent to him....

P.S : Saw her yesterday walking in piazza Carignaolo, eating an ice cream....

4 comments:

Stefan Jansson said...

Anyone can afford a cell phone, even a beggar. Never seen one who cried for attention though.

Unknown said...

A couple of days ago an old man asked me for money to buy food. I'm always heartbroken when situations like this come up, so I gave him some - there currently are 2 million poors in my country!!! Minutes later I found him choosing chocolate bars in the supermarket.

William Kendall said...

Very strange and unsettling.

Gunn said...

It is difficult…. We have "tourists" from Romania etc. who sit/walk around our little city…. I feel sorry for them, I think it is organized and sometimes I can see men watching them…. like they are forced to beg. They arrive in their BIG cars, and I think of small kids back home who are left alone to look after themselves while mum and dad are away for 3-4 months to get money. It is a problem in Romania too. The kids don`t turn up for school, and some even go abroad with their parents. One put her "cup" straight up to me and said MUM to me with a sad voice…. I do give to charity, but this is not what I like to see EVERY time I go in to the city centre. Norway are also supporting poor people all over the world with projects ….. and giving millions of dollars/ kroner to help right where the problems are, in Europe or outside Europe…..