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Christmas Cheer in Dublin

  • 24-12-2002 9:33pm
    #1
    MDR
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 1,534 ✭✭✭


    At what point did this really begin to bug me ?

    Its prolly fair to say that its always bugged me but as the problem grew so has my anger.

    Now I know I have ranted about 'beggars on our streets' before, I just feel compelled to share my expierences over the last day.

    Last night walking back from boards beer (woo hoo beer ... um), I passed a old (closed) shop front on pearse street. Who every the homeless person was who was sleeping in the shop front, had strung quite a pretty sheet across the front to protect him/her from the outside world. It wasn't a particullary cold night, but I can remember thinking the sheet pretty and feeling sorry that anyone should be homeless at christmas. (Picture Here)

    Later that night and further up the road I passed some young people from belvedere college sleeping rough at the GPO in aid of the homeless. I gave them a couple of euro and took a picture (Picture Here).

    Earilier today in town I passed a man dressed selling the big issue, not the usual romanians you see selling it. A middle aged, neatily dressed man standing on Henry Street. It stuck in my mind because he didn't fit in the range of people who usually sell on the big issue. I didn't buy a copy but felt later that I should have, I mentioned it to my colleuge but he replied that he han't seen the man at all.

    Later in the day, I passed a young mother, with buggy and child standing in the middle of batchelors walk with a dirty bewleys paper coffee cup, asking passers by for spare changed. It again stuck in my mind because she wasn't sitting on a step. She was standing and actively egaging with people looking for money. I didn't give her any either, I later wondered what sort of crimbo she was going to have.

    But this evening my heart finally broke, there was a rapping at the letterbox. There was a kid at the door with a note, he wasn't tall enough to reach the doorbell, he handed me a crumpled note and said 'read tha' please', his accent was pure Dublin. It was dark and my vision is quite poor. I assumed he wanted money, so I reached into my pocket and gave him a pitiful Euro. That poor child walking around in the dark on christmas eve, I feel a mix of emotions. Regret I didn't read the note or give him more cash or call social services or ask 'are you ok ?'. (I am a racist) This child was not an itenerant, a romanian, a nigerian or a crook, it was a child of Dublin.

    Where is Christmas in Dublin, where is Ireland's pride ?, what is happening to the country ? are we all becoming biblical innkeepers.

    I subsequentily went out to look for the child, I walked the estate for about 30 minutes but couldn't see him anywhere ... am I naive ?


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