Peter Bachtis writes:
I had a conversation with a bent over, old gentleman who walks the streets, pushing a homemade trolley, collecting, plastic, cardboard etc.
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He advised me that he is paid anything between R1.50 and R1.80 per kilogram.
His health is not good, but he gets up every morning, to eke out a living and with his meagre earnings fends for himself and his wife.
There are many such individuals; they tackle the streets daily in the wind, the rain, the blistering sun.
I realised that we live in a land of great anomalies, where the dignity of having a paying job is not guaranteed and that millions live below the poverty line, barely surviving.
I suppose I have stated the obvious, but screaming at my conscience is the diabolical waste, corruption, gluttony, self-enrichment and self-importance that exists.
I imagined a day in such a person’s shoes and realised that it can happen in the blink of an eye – whereby everything is taken away.
So, let us spare a thought for the indigent and those who simply do not have the tools to live a civilised life, but who rely on our waste material to survive.
READ:
LETTER: Reader warns against shoddy workmanship
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