Fundraisers (why say beggars? Same
thing.) around Riga's Central Station are nothing new. You get to
know them by sight after a while. There is the cat and dog colony
kept by one or more bums at the entrance to what I call the
“Stockmann tunnel” (which leads from the Central Station square
to the Stockmann department store and the Forum Cinemas multiplex).
Also on the steps are an old woman sitting impassively and another
woman who suffers from some neuromuscular disorder. Standing by
Riga's and some say, northern Europe's busiest pedestrian crossing
are a number of amputees, one with a crutch, the others double
amputees in wheelchairs. There have been a number of “bum fights”
between the man with the crutch and at least one of the guys in a
wheelchair. Apparently there are territorial issues. The shouting
during the fights is in Russian.
One of the most intriguing characters
is a relatively young man (20s) on crutches with a a below-the-knee
amputation, who I will call Hippety-Hop, because, until recently, he
was a very forward and aggressive fundraiser, actually going out in
traffic and hopping up to stopped cars to solicit alms. He also
spends hours standing at one or the other of his favored positions
(one is at the steps leading down to the Stockmann tunnel).
Hippety-Hop can be there for hours, standing. Street-level
fundraising is a full time job for him, as it is for many of the
others. But given Hippety-Hop's stamina and vigor (until recently),
one wonders what exactly happened to the man and why he is doing what
he does – hopping around and plaintively fund-raising in Russian
(or so I suppose). I saw him last summer when he was almost
exclusively working the traffic lights and stopped cars.
Losing part of a leg is a major trauma,
but it cannot compare to the disfigurement and degradation of the
double amputees or the alcohol-ravaged bums. Why was Hippety-Hop,
whatever his level of education, not offered some kind of
rehabilitation and work? If the dude can stand for hours or hop
around on his crutches, why not do factory work, if not in Latvia,
then Ireland or the UK? Most European countries have programs to put
the lightly (and in some cases, even the most severely physically
handicapped) to work. In a call center, no one knows how many legs
you have.
I don't think Hippety Hop has the
language skills for this kind of work. Lately, it seems, he is on the
downslope. His face shows signs of what I suspect is drug abuse. My
guess is heroin, I have seen him in what seems to be a “nod”,
eyes closed, impassive, face looking more ravaged than ever before.
Last summer, when fundraising among the cars waiting for then lights
to change there was even a vigor to his hop-step and an earnest look
on his face as he almost demanded something from the drivers. Now it
looks like the dude is down and out.
It looks like there may never have been
a chance for Hippety-Hop to get back into a normal life after losing
part of his leg, neither through the efforts of Latvia's rock-bottom
impoverished social welfare system, nor through assistance from
charities or non-governmental organizations. Of course, I don't know
the full story, or, for that matter, any story about Hippety-Hop. For
all I know, his injury may have been the result of recklessness, part
of a stupid, risk-taking lifestyle.
Certainly heroin is not a good choice.
Latvia doesn't, as far as I know, have open, non-judgmental needle
exchange or methadone programs (I don't know because I don't hang
around with any junkies). So every time Hippety-Hop snorts or shoots
up, he risks overdosing, or, if using the needle , HIV or hepatitis.
Will Hippety-Hop last out the summer?
Who knows? Ironically, he may go down before his fellow fundraisers,
the bums wallowing in the dog and cat colony, the old lady, the woman
with the neuromuscular thing, even the double amputees and
bumfighters. I know almost nothing about social work, but at least
some months ago, it may possibly have pulled Hippety-Hop off the
street and out of this particular form of fundraising.
1 comment:
Fentanyl is the more likely drug of abuse as opposed to smack. I understand Estonia has a burgeoning problem which should have migrated to Riga by now. Of course booze is the old standby. Oddly enough I don't see many tweekers on the street which would certainly lend some stamina to the old fund raising efforts!
I have seen all the beggars that you have mentioned and pretty much ignore them. There's a reason. That bent up woman with the pale blue eyes and the MS condition? I used to feel sorry for her when I first came to Riga some 4 or 5 years ago and gave her a coin whenever I used the tunnel, like paying a toll. Then she started hitting me up for a 4 lvl “loan” and would cry out and make a huge fuss whenever I tried to sneak past. One day I stood up top to watch her for a while and that was when I saw the guy who “runs” her. Dressed in the same ratty black clothes all these years and taking whatever money she earns, I never see him begging anywhere. Last time I saw her a month ago she had two black eyes. I have alternate ways of getting to the market or old town now. And that’s why I stay away from the beggars. They just become dependent and I prefer not to speculate on their stories. I’m rambling a bit but when I lived in Moscow there were adverts in the paper recruiting amputees and cripples to the city to ride the Metro. They pretty much became indentured slaves as I learned later.
My wife and I were talking about Germany and discussing how the state provides a place where for small coins you can do your laundry, have a shower and a shave and generally make yourself presentable in order to find some work. I am told that Riga offers something similar but I have never seen it. Maybe just the odd soup kitchen?
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