Brazil
January 1994
I arrived by ship to Baha, Brazil. At first sight, the town was beautiful. But then I walked a few streets away from the old city and found thousands and thousands of people living in abject poverty. It seemed as if no one had a job. So when I came back to town, I then noticed more of the poverty. Mostly I saw young boys begging for money, all of which went to a man perched on the corner, watching them intently.
I joked with a few of the boys and they followed me until they realized that I was not going to give them money. After several blocks, they gave up left me. That is all but one small boy. He stood outside the restaurant while I eat a meal. He watched and noticed that I couldn’t eat all of my food. He rubbed his stomach in a circular position, the universal gesture for hunger.
I waved him in and gestured for him to sit at my table. He complied reluctantly. The waitress came over immediately and yelled at him to get out. He stood his ground and pointed to me, “Amigos, amigos.” The woman looked to me and I nodded my head and order a bottle of water for him. She left in anger and came back with the water which she handed to him begrudingly. The little boy sat with me and hummed as he ate my leftovers. We left together, both knowing we would not be welcomed there again.
