The streets are crowded, and honking cars seem to be the theme song of this country. No one follows traffic signals–in fact, I'm not sure why money was wasted putting them in place. The white and yellow lines delineating the car lanes are often seen as friendly suggestions, and you can be sure that if there are three lanes then there will be at least 6 cars plus some motorcycles moving side by side across the road.
All of this I expected, and remembered, from my last visit. What caught me off guard was the little beggar girl on the side of the road. She was all skin and bones and appeared to be made of sand. If she shook her head, I was certain the Sahara would fall out of it.
All of her siblings went fearlessly wandering into traffic trying to sell some trinket they had been given, tapping on the windows of each stopped car. Not once did anyone lower a window nor did they make a purchase.
The little girl approached our car and our driver, like all the others, ignored her. I couldn't find my words, all I could do was stare at her. This little girl, who should have been lively and playing in a park and with her parents was instead on the side of the road, hoping to make a sale, as if her life depended on it. She was beautiful, and her eyes were full of life–at some point along the way, she had transformed into a dusty shadow on the outskirts of life.
Earlier, I called them siblings, but as I looked closer, it became evident that this was no family–their relationship was purely one of business. The adult figure hovering around them had collected these children to tap into the community's sympathy and earn more money–unsuccessfully, of course. There's little sympathy left for the common beggar, they've grown to be too large of a part of society. These kids had no future. Once they lost their childlike charm, they were worthless.
She kept tapping on the window, desperate for someone to buy the little princess crown and fairy wand that she had been instructed to sell, and I've never wanted a princess crown and fairy wand so badly in my life.
The car drove away and while I moved on with my life, she moved on to the next car, forever being the little beggar girl on the side of the road.
