>>> THE STREETS OF GLOOM..?

A walk through the busy streets of Nairobi town once in a while, I must say, drives me into deep thought; being a curious person, I get to make new discoveries beyond that which meets the eye!

The streets of Nairobi
(Photo courtesy of travelguide.com)

On this particular day, I can’t help but notice this spot that everyone seems to be glancing at, one after the other, discomfort written over their faces … some even struggling to avoid this view that really seems disturbing.

I may have raised this issue once but I still can’t seem to comprehend it, most of us if not all have either witnessed this once in a while or maybe you were so much in a hurry to notice it!

I have gotten used to the idea of bumping into beggars once in a while along the streets some of whom seem to be physically challenged… this doesn’t seem to be an issue anymore and we have accepted the fact that they are a part of the busy town…

This being the case, I came to discover that there is a new strategy that’s really startling, that is being used by some people in their quest to seek for financial aid: Have you ever come across people (young & old) lying along or at different corners of the streets with large manila papers or boards with writings on them placed beside them? They could be easily mistaken for street families not unless you look keenly.

Most of the times you will find that these are people with very serious medical conditions and the writings on the boards, a description of what the victim is suffering from, with their main agenda being to seek financial assistance. Do these people really understand the risks that they are exposing themselves to, considering the fact that they are always stationed at very unhygienic corners? There are these two scenarios where one man has his intestines popping out from an open wound on the area around his stomach and the second one has serious burns all over his body and has been exposed to the heat from the solar; one would clearly conclude that these people need serious medical attention but here they are exposed to all sorts of environmental risks. Could this be a case of desperate times calling for desperate measures?

I am shocked at the discovery of how poverty has driven humanity to taking such actions. I am sure these victims belong to families and sometimes these are the same people who bring them to the streets and back home in the evening. All this is done with the intention of wooing passers – by to search deeper into their pockets for that coin that has not been budgeted for.

That aside, is it really ethical for such events to be taking place on our streets? How is this money given, being spent? Or is this just a ploy by somebody to make that extra shilling at the other person’s expense? I really don’t think its fair at all for both parties; the victim and passers-by since some of these scenes are so unbearable and can even lead to psychological trauma!

So who is to blame for this madness on our streets? Is it the government; the city council for allowing this to happen, poverty, families of these people, or is it just another issue to be ignored?


By:
Dorcas Waringa


{9th March, 2012}