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See the Person

 


See the person walking in the middle of the road.  It’s a beautiful road canopied with an assortment of deciduous trees lush with leaves in all shades of green.  Look closely; a sprinkle of pale lavender jacaranda blossoms compliments the scene. It is a lovely image with various shades and shadows, and the lone figure gives it a sense of solitude.  The street is located near a large grassy area in an upscale suburb of Johannesburg. 


A friend and I stopped at the park along this street to visit an ART under the Sun open-air exhibition. A dozen local artists were selling their artwork anywhere from a few hundred rands to thousands of rands. A great deal of money for the majority of people living in South Africa.


When we got in the car to leave, we noticed this scene.  We were curious as to who this person was lumbering along dressed in an unseasonable amount of clothes (the temp hovered around 90F/33C) and carrying a couple of bags hiked up on slouching shoulders.  


We drove by the person who had stopped to sit on a stoop for rest and discovered an older white man; grizzled, unshaven, unwashed, and unhealthy. He was as pitiable as any homeless person I encountered during many years living in New York City. 


The poverty in South Africa is excruciatingly visible. It is common to see black men and women on the streets begging.  Some are so desperate they kneel in the middle of busy intersections palms together, praying for anything that might sustain them for another day. 


But, in my 7+ years of living in Johannesburg, I have only ever seen a handful of white men in this man's condition, although I have been told that white skin offers no defense against poverty.


I don’t know if this white man was a beggar. I don’t know if he was a drunk or on drugs. I don’t know if he was part of the racist regime of Apartheid.  He was simply walking under the shade of the trees, and I felt as sad for him as I do whenever I see evidence of human suffering.


#writing #womenwritersoverfifty #povertyinsouthafrica #mylastmonthsinsouthafrica #personalessays #memoirs #humansuffering #whitepoverty 

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