One day at a time

Who are the poor? What does it mean to be poor? I have been volunteering in low income areas of London and in Haiti, I have seen some shades of poverty, but I do not think I can answer these questions yet.

Today, as part of the fellowship, we are asked to do understand what it means to “empathize” in particular, try to comprehend a bit better with what it means to be poor. “Leave here your mobile phone, money and go out there” we have been told.

I felt totally out of place while queuing for food or walking by the sea with no money. But I have met Robbie and then Robert and they helped me understand a bit more.

—

One day at a time

I’m here with all of them. I feel uneasy, I do not know what to do, then…

“How is it going?” I ask as this man gets close

Fine, is a good day. I go one day at a time

“Who are you? What are you doing here?” Robbie asks

I am trying to understand the mechanism of the world

“Who are you really? Where are you from?” his sharp eyes are asking me

I tell him about my father, my grandfather and that I do not understand the life of men

“Where do you live?” He asks

With friends

Go to this place, they’ll give you shelter, because fight happens, it is human nature, and friends are friends until they are not friends anymore. And it gets cold here.

He wants to take care of me

“Are you hungry? You should eat”

Shouldn’t it be me saying this to him? “Let’s go together”, I say, I do not want to go there alone.

He takes me in a world full of kind people, where spaghetti are overcooked. Like in the best restaurants of Manhattan.

“None chooses to be homeless”, he said

How do you live your life?

“One day at a time, now I am going to drink something strong.

Stay out of trouble”. He says as he goes.

The philosopher of Coney Island

“Are you selling these?” I ask looking at the four suitcases full of books

No these are my books, but you can have one if you want, I like to share them with people who love books.

Why are you on the street?

“I came here for holiday, then life stoke me hard and the shock wave kept me here”, he said

mimicking a wave that pushed him away. His gestures are as expressive as his smile and his words. Maybe more.

“What are you doing here?” He asks.

I am trying to understand the mechanism of the world, if there is one

“Ah! I know it! There is one” Then he starts,

“People in America think that because they are born here they understand America, not everybody does.

Freedom is the possibility to choose for your life, it is important!

Violence does not take you anywhere and calls for other violence!

Conflict is embedded in human nature. In the pyramid of the world the people at the base express their conflict in the form of physical violence, people at the top use their intellect. But life is all about the brain.

A meal with an educated person is never money wasted even if the food is not good”

You are a philosopher!

“I consider myself more as a scholar”, he replies, reinforcing my statement

“I respect you, we should keep in touch.” He says while giving me a book

Today I have met Robert, the philosopher of Coney Island

—–

I feel I just scratched the surface. Was I able to fully empathize with Robbie an Robert? I do not think so. Was I able to find some common emotional ground? I do think so, especially with Robert.

I realized, and felt, that poverty is a very complex phenomenon, beyond what I have read so far.
Its definition largely depends on the assumptions of the observer. Robert did not want money for his books,  even though I offered, but was willing to share them with other people passionate about them. He was clearly in need, but what he asked was just to meet again and continue our conversation. Robert reinforced my commitment to discuss the Good Society readings with the “poor“. Robbie was more focused on taking care of me, with shelter advices and providing food for me, than to ask something. I have been framing them when I first saw them and when I took the time to discover a bit more what they really are I have found that I was simply wrong.

What’s next? I will need to delve deeper and stay in direct touch with the people I want to understand. Only knowing who they are and asking what they want I will be able to help them. The coming assignment in the field with Acumen will be another step in this direction.