By Estanislao Albano, Jr.
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On the way to Baguio City last Sunday, we stopped by the McDonald’s restaurant in Solano, Nueva Vizcaya for some food. While waiting for Florence to make the purchase, I noticed a little girl sitting beside Ronald McDonald which was installed on a bench a little distance from the door of the establishment. Although obviously malnourished, she did not strike me as a beggar because her clothes were not that ragged and she did not extend an open palm to the people passing by. It was obvious though she did not have the money to enter the restaurant and this harsh reality together with the kid’s proximity to the mascot told me I had a perfect human interest subject.
Although I would have wanted to take the photos at a closer distance, I took the shots from the vehicle so as not to attract the attention of the girl. Luck was on my side because after a while, the girl climbed up and settled on the lap of the statue and for some moments gazed longingly at what was going on in the restaurant through the glass wall. I was able to snap several shots of that scene which to my mind perfectly conveyed the meaning of the situation: transparent but impenetrable glass walls that kept people from the objects of their desire.
Feeling sympathy for the girl, I considered giving her some money. However, upon learning of the kid and my intent, Florence would suggest that I give my fries instead which was what I did. The girl received the fries without a word and proceeded to slowly eat while still seated on the lap of the statue.
Back on the road, it took a while before I could shake off thoughts of the little girl. The old conviction that it is unwise for people to bring into the world children whose needs they know they could not adequately provide for insinuated itself. To some people, that view may look simplistic and even cold but if only majority of Filipino couples were and are mindful that the quality of the life of the next generation depended on their decisions and actions and acted accordingly, there would be less hungry, less deprived and less disadvantaged children in the country than we presently have. The portion of the population who must content themselves with looking through glass walls at goods they cannot buy will constrict.
However, based on a later Facebook conversation with a friend from Nueva Vizcaya touched off by my Facebook post of the photo of the little girl in the June 27 Manila Times, poverty may not fully explain the presence of the little girl at the McDonald’s that evening. The friend said he also noticed kids belonging to a tribal group loitering outside fastfood restaurants in Solano and that he does not understand why because their families are not really that dirt poor. That sort of tallied with my vague recollection that the streets of the Ilocos are clear of so-called street children. I gathered from the friend that Ilocanos dominate the population of Solano.
While they say that a photo speaks a thousand words, the whys and wherefores of the scene are not apparent. While the proximity of plenty and restricting poverty are clear for everyone to see in the photo of the little kid, the antecedents are absent. There is really nothing better than knowing the entire situation so when I have the luxury of time, I might dig into the viewpoints and practices of ethnic groups in the north regarding mendicancy and allowing young children to loiter in public places. **
