THE HIDDEN FACE
by Andrea Serrano
Poverty could be defined with many words: misery, indigence, hunger, undeveloped countries... Yes, undeveloped countries is one of the first terms that comes to mind while thinking about poverty. Yet, the unpleasant reality is that we have poverty nearer than we could even imagine. Even though we are surrounded by misery, people struggling to eat every day and homelessness, what do we care more about: Money? Technology? Ourselves? Yes is the right answer. Society has established a series of boundaries between poor people and the rest of the world. They have been banned from having the same opportunities we have, so they have had to get by on their own and survive with the possible scarce means they own.
A picture says more than a hundred words, it transmits an idea and this one does it perfectly. This picture was taken at Lincoln’s Inn Fields at London by the photographer David Hoffman. The photo shows a homeless alcoholic man searching for some food inside a bin, while he mingles with office workers. The office workers are enjoying their break eating, chatting and ignoring the homeless. The situation symbolises poverty and indifference as well. Moreover, this picture captures masterfully the meaning of poverty in a rich’s world. In the middle, at the foreground, there’s a homeless man. He represents deprivation and endurance, shaping the hidden face of the world that makes us feel ashamed of who we are truly. Following him, on the right, at the background, us, the working class, attending only to the things that concern us without caring at all. This behaviour exemplifies our ignorance and lack of heed. Furthermore, it's tough to visualise how
how the man might live: without a home, a cosy bed, good health, a proper lifestyle like running water and food... Yet, the biggest issue of what the picture involves, is that without going too further away, if our thoughtfulness existed, we would notice that it has always happened and still does right in front of our eyes. Indifference is what makes this world so unfair and selfish, because while the invisible ones suffer and are inable of choosing the right future for them, our first priority is a new pair of shoes or the most expensive purse in the market.
We live surrounded by poverty, indigence and starvation. In every city of the world a man, a woman or a child is wondering about what is going to happen tomorrow; are they going to die or life is going to take a turn and smile at them for once in a lifetime? Sadly, they don’t know the answer and neither do us. One of the main problems, aside from the indifference and selfishness, is the bad distribution of gains among the population, because while ones have a fortune others starve to death. There’s neither balance nor justice for those that need it. Spending money in modernising a football stadium while others are dying in the street should be considered a crime. For these reasons, we have shown our lack of sympathy, empathy and above all humanity. Many people are living in this conditions and they’re just forgotten, they’re invisible.