HOME | DD
enikOne — Not without my son
Published: 2007-06-23 15:31:09 +0000 UTC; Views: 910; Favourites: 15; Downloads: 21
Redirect to original
Description
Taken today.A mother and her child begging for money.
what a world..
Nikon D80
Related content
Comments: 20
This is a heartbreaking scene for me, I have 6 children and the thought of them needing food and me not being able to give it to them, or being without shelter terrifies me
Here in the US we also have people like this (both the honest and the bad, similar situations as described below, but not quite as extreme - certainly no limb breaking going on from what I know of) ... but our problem is not as bad as it is in other parts of the world, which I can't help but feel guilty about ... I really and honestly don't understand why we can't get rid of global poverty and starvation ... it makes me sick just thinking about it
I'm a big supporter of one.org - they are trying to get a solution to the majority of this problem, and their way of doing it would have such a minimal financial impact on anyone here in the US ... they want to use 1% of the US income tax to help countries that have problems with severe poverty, starvation and AIDS ... they say if they have the 1% that they are asking for, poverty and starvation could be extremely rare within something like 10 years ... so far, they have gotten several major countries like the US and the UK to forgive foreign debt for third world countries so that they can start to make a come back instead of using all of their money just to pay the interest part of the repayment from money other countries have loaned them in the past ... that's a pretty big step in itself, so I'm actually optimistic that they might just get that 1% some day - I'm VERY sure that our country and way of life won't go down the meat hole by using this 1% to do this ... the war in Iraq is costing several times that amount every DAY ... we'll see what happens
if you get a chance, and if you're interested, check out ONE.org ... they don't ask for, or want any donations, which is amazing in itself, and one of the reasons it has been so successful ... all they want is people's name on their petition showing your support - if nothing else, it's worth spending 2 minutes in there to read their front page
anyways, great photo, even though it's a sad situation - but I'm happy that you captured it and shared it with us
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Yes, a good emotive capture of an all-too-real situation echoed around the world.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
thanks man!
I have got som feedback on this that the angle is a bit disturbing thiou...hmm i dont know...what do you think?
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
The angle gives it a bit of a surreal quality, and yet still keeping the emotional impact. I think it adds to the concept of a world gone wrong.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Great picture Enik !! Technically speaking I should say.
As to the human misery it represents it is something also very common in my country and they dress exactly the same, many of those people were immigrants from some european country (croatia ? ) as Gazdapavo mentioned ... I don't know what country but I know they are not our "local" gypsies. That is also a byproduct of government corruption, that for some internations "agreement" they allow immigration to a country that barely can offer decent jobs to its own citizens (as is the case in my country)
To add to this horror tale, the babies they usually carry are always asleep, no matter what time of the day you pass by them. They used to have fixed corners too. Have not seen them lately though.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Hi Enik ! 
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
Real or not, this is a touching image, seriously. Great shot.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
For whatever reasons they are there for(mentioned above) you have manage to capture a true essence of emotion in this image
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
Considering they didnt shoo you away and actually let you take a picture of their life, did you contribute to their cause. I think i probably would have donated a decent amount to help them survive. How does it ever come to this, it makes me sick when i think about all the rich bastards rolling in it who do nothing to help the poeple who need that money the most.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
ok.. i dont know how is in your country, but in Croatia we have neworks of gipsy and amputees begging networks. Sometimes mothers allocate their kids in their dirty clothes on different locations around the city and just go around to see how much they "earned" and if they failed to produce certain amount they beat them really hard on the spot. The same goes with gipsy networks.
Another think... there were few documentaries by some reporters who went to investigate how much they can earn by begging on the street... after three weeks they earned more than average monthly salary in that country.
I remember one time when I was approached by some old lady while i was drinking coffee in a pub. She came with this big sad eyes: please give me something just for a bread. I ignored here, but my mother felt sorry for her so she gave her some money. The old lady said thank you, set on the table few meters away and ordered herself cappuccino. Man.. i wanted to go there and just beat the crap out of her...
So the bottom of the story is: the people who need money are never in the street shouting for help. The ones who need it the most live humble quite life far from your eyes.
👍: 0 ⏩: 2
That's just a sad situation ... and it just makes it harder for those of us that want to help out the people that really need it ... not all of them are just trying to get your money, I'm very sure that a lot of them really and honestly need the food or clothing or whatever - I hope your experience hasn't put you off the idea of helping people like this, but I wouldn't blame you if it did ... what that woman did to you with the cappuccino was a pretty deep insult
I've given thousands of dollars to people like this here in the US where I live over the span of my life, even when I was nearly out of money myself, but I've never once given any of them a single penny ... if someone is begging for food, I'm happy to help them out and buy them a meal or a few groceries, and especially if there is a child involved - I even paid for some gasoline once for a family that appeared to really need it and was asking for a donation ... I can't tell you how worth it it has been for me - the feeling of helping someone that actually needs it or even sitting down with them and having a small meal together outside of a store, or in a McDonalds have been some of the most meaningful emotions that I've ever had and it really makes me appreciate what my family does have, however little it is from time to time
you can sometimes tell the real ones from the 'career' beggars by their response to an offer to buy them that bread they say they want instead of giving them the money for it ... if they keep asking for the money or making up excuses why they want to buy it themselves, you know it's probably for something else - and then it's time to politely say goodbye
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
I see, hmmm that does seem rather wrong that they do it like that...
I guess you can never tell someone situation just by what they look like.
👍: 0 ⏩: 1
It is sad that you can't tell genuinely needy people to give to them...
I've heard from an indian family I know that in india they also have huge rackets, and in some cases they will break limbs of children they find to increase appeal by looking like they have a crippled child (which in a way, they DO)
apparently they all have mobile phones too?
nothing is without a twisted variation in this world.
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
instant fav!
i love it....
the texturing is amazing....it goes so well with the picture! i love the angle!
can you walk me through as to how u did this?
where is this btw?
👍: 0 ⏩: 0
i see the same picture every day here too
nice postwork
👍: 0 ⏩: 1