The weather is cool, cloudy and rainy most of the time and people are so well-dressed and the shops are so many that you think nothing can crash this image. Take a look at Denny Street in downtown and everything falls down.
America has this perfect look when you see it on TV or on the big screen. It has
this perfect reputation when it comes to democracy. It look really strong when
it comes to human rights but what about Street Children, the girls and boys who
live on the streets, drink your 7UP and ask for you secondhand gum on your way
to the Argosy Cruise downtown?
America was a cool place last week but now it's just a "washed up"!
I am a regular traveller and I barely overlook the very small things. I have seen people who literally live on the streets of India and Iran and I happen to work for an organization that supports labor/street children. It's not an exaggeration to say that living on the streets of Seattle is as miserable as Tehran and Mumbai. It's even easier to be on the streets of Tehran and still be treated like a human being rather than being an American citizen and still invisible to the eyes of the high-class shopaholics of Seattle.
According to TIME Magazine, 1 in 50 children in America is homeless but what about the children who are born on the streets and grow up on the streets and raise their own kids on the streets? These kids don't have an ID so they don't count. But when you are lost in downtown of Seattle and the only living things around are the street ids you have to count them in and ask for directions. You have to see them, listen to them and shake hands their shaky hands.
It's dangerous, not being one of them and still hover around acting like a tourist. You have to feel like a second-hand gum, an opened can of soda to be close to how Street children of Seattle feel.
By Elaheh Zohrevandi
Yes. Many of the realities of the united states remain hidden to the world. The reality is that with a lack of social support in place (both from the government and from society), homelessness here is as bad, and maybe even worse than in other places. In Seattle and other large cities, homeless youth gather and often engage in a lifestyle that will eventually destroy them. The USA has many other hidden secrets. For exams, did you know that even though they want every other country to have reports on their human rights records, they have failed to produce a single report for their own country? Not a perfect place, as many are led to believe.
ReplyDeleteHmmmmm. Interesting. The case of human rights record is mose revealing.
ReplyDeleteExcellent piece Elaheh! I agree with you... it is interesting, maybe unsettling is a better choice of wording, to see how twisted some societies end to be. But I do believe that change lies in those standing with open eyes, who create awareness with something as simple as writing about this. Once again, thanks for this post :)
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