Friday, January 2, 2009

It really Pi**es me OFF

Every time I saw adult beggars training little 3 year old children bagging for money. That just made me furious and sad at the same time. Sad that adults would have go so low and sad was the innocents being "groomed" to this life style. Granted, I do not know the background nor the whole story behind. But we know there are gangs of beggars, they are professionals; some have homes and houses back in their villages. You just don't know. So to give or not to give to the children.

Two incidents yesterday.

1) A 3 year old, same age as Enzo. Asking for money right on Nanjing Road West next to the JW Marriott. The mother had the head down. And the kid, one hand with a make-shift toy and one hand with a cup. Bagging. And then the innocent came thru for a brief moment - a true 3 year old jumping and smiling and playing with his little toy yelling "Jia You". The moment was so close to what I saw Enzo playing with a make-shift laser gun with a stick. Two lifes two separate locations. One, playing on the street and begging; one, playing in an American dream house with all the comforts.

2) After supper, we stepped out of a restaurants with friends. A 4 year old girl dressed cleanly with a cup in her hand. She looked very smart; but just 10 feet away was a shaddy and dirty man with a cigarette watching her with a shifty eyes. He was controlling her to beg. To target Westerners.... The girl smiled and handed us the cup and kept following us until one of us relented. She did not know that was wrong. But she was only trained to do so. This girl on the street somewhere in Shanghai. The life to be a beggar forever; another girl, the one that sung in the Beijing O, a different life.

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