The Invisibles
Gazes
This guy’s eyes haunted me for a long time.
I was out to take pictures at the Rideau Center. When I exited The Bay, he was standing here, playing the harmonica. I stood here for a minute, looking at him. I grabbed the camera which was slung over my shoulders and our eyes met briefly. He nodded, still playing. He first slowly turned on his side to show me the cat perched on his shoulder, safe from my camera’s peering eye. I smiled and waited. Eventually, he looked straight into my eyes. I snapped two pictures quickly, gave him a couple of bucks and walked away. Later, when I looked at the picture, I noticed he looked like a deer caught in headlights. His wary eyes seemed to be challenging me, saying: “are you seeing me now?”
Looking back, I realized what bothered me so much: to most people, these guys in the streets are invisible. They stand nearby bus stops, sit at busy intersections and sleep under bridges. They sit there and they watch people go by, attending to their business. Everybody mind his own business here. Occasionally, they ask for a buck or two and will wish you a good day even if you don’t have change. And people keep on walking by, as if ignoring them will make poverty, homelessness and distress go away. How silly from us.
A French song goes “It seems to me that misery will be less painful under the sun”. It sounds so true to me. I saw the ugliest side of poverty in Bolivia: it was cold, the streets were dirty and looking at the kids in rag playing in piles of garbage made me cringe. Some places we’ve been to were equally as poor, but it just didn’t feel the same. In Brazil, kids from the favelas used the showers at Copacabana and played football on the beach. Poverty was still there but it didn’t seem as bad.
To me, poverty and homelessness in Canada look as bad as it did in Bolivia. Sure, our streets are cleaner and we have drinking water. But these guys are outside in the cold from dawn to dusk. I chatted with one of the guys pictured below and he explained me that he can usually find a bed in one of the emergency shelters around the city, such as The Mission or the Salvation Army. But homeless are kicked out during the day and left roaming in the city.
I don’t have a miracle solution. Like most people, I occasionally spare some change but most of the time don’t. I rushed by homeless people every day and I seldom take the time to slow down and be friendly.
I chatted with “Danny” for a little while (he is the one who told me about these emergency shelters). He told me one of the things that bothered him the most was that people ignored him. He felt invisible and asked me why people acted this way around him. The only reply I had was that people were probably scared. Not of him, but of being like him. He seemed to like that. It made sense to him.
 The Shoppers |
 A Buck or Two |
 Waiting |
 Danny |
Two Worlds
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Tagged with: Canadian News and Trends Snapshots of Ottawa
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@Seraphine — I have rarely seen any homeless being aggressive in Canada but I know what you mean. A lot of them have mental health issues here too. Many hospitals are full and they can’t get the help they need, and they end up in the streets if they are not lucky enough to have a supportive network of family, friends etc. It’s scary.
@Cornflakegirl — I know I’m weird, but I tend to think the way homeless people spend the change they get is none of my business. After all, nobody tells me to stop wasting my money at Starbucks for instance. So I feel I have no right to tell an homeless person how to spend his change, although I’m not supporting substance abuse.
But I know buying food is appreciated as well.
@Seb — The book is a great idea! Thank you for your support!
@rich b — Once again, thank you for sharing your experience. I’m sure a lot of people don’t realize they are more likely to be prey than predators!
I never see kids in the street in Ottawa. A few young adults (in their late teens I’d say) sometimes in the summer. But never kids like I used to see in France as well.
@Linguist-in-Waiting — Interesting! I must admit I rarely give change either, mostly because I don’t actually have change with me. A lot of people don’t ask in Ottawa, they just sit around. Whenever I take pictures in the city, I chat with people because it’s part of the fun. Quite a few homeless are very chatty and obviously very smart… these good experiences led me to understand about homelessness a bit more. There are a lot of stereotypes around…
As a poor student who is never ever paid regularly or on time I often ignore people begging for money (hopefully not because I’m cold-hearted). I guess, in NZ, we do not see people asking for money very often and so when I first came to France I was always handing out the change in my wallet. But it seems that at every corner there is another person asking for money… and I just don’t know when I’d stop giving. Now and again I give money but a lot less often than I used to, I think I would’ve spent 10€ a day with all the people wanting money walking to uni and home.
p.s. that guys cat looked really cuddly and soft!
.-= Kim´s last blog ..It’s over! =-.
Very touching post and beautiful photos.
I remember years ago walking in the streets of Paris and smiling to a homeless guy although I didn’t have money. He was so thankful and said it didn’t happen very often.
You can’t give to everybody so one needs to make a choice. I usually give to those who play music or make drawings (basically do something for a living).
I try to look at them even if I don’t give anything but it can be quite difficult sometimes as some are insistant.
I was in Canada in June and it’s one of the things that annoyed me in Montreal (not in ottawa nor Toronto though): you couldn’t walk for long without having someone following you and asking for change. I think that this makes the situation difficult, and, yes, I started ignoring homeless people; felt guilty about it but then I didn’t feel pressured… Tricky!
I remember when the rules were changed with respect to beggars several years ago. These laws are provincial and were instituted by (the infamous, the evil) Premier Mike Harris. As I was walking along a street in Kingston once, I saw a cop coaching a beggar on what was allowed and what wasn’t. He was not allowed to extend his hand in order to receive spare change; he must use a cup (like those in your photos). He must place the container on the ground and never wave it in anyone’s face. I think it had to be kept below waist level or some such thing. It was like the regulations for a soccer game. (I am fairly certain following people would be against the rules too — perhaps it isn’t in Quebec, or it isn’t enforced.) All of this was done so that people walking down the street wouldn’t feel “threatened”. It was the behaviour of certain aggressive “squeegee kids” in Toronto that touched off the legislation. It was a reaction to that, but the new rules applied to harmless old men sitting on the sidewalk in Kingston too. I think that their exaggerated politeness partly stems from that — if people complain about them, the cops come by, so they are always careful to say “That’s ok! Have a nice day anyway!” when someone refuses to donate. They are not allowed to beg near banking machines, or solicit people getting in and out of vehicles etc., etc. It would be called “aggressive panhandling”; illegal under the Ontario Safe Streets Act.