Crimes Against Children
I watched a public service message on TV with no words. It shows a little girl leaning into a car and then she gets in. Another man is driving by and is staring at what is going on. Dark windows slide up on the car that took the girl. Both cars pull up at a red light. It shows the face of the man who took the girl looking sheepishly at the man who is staring at him while they wait for the light. This message was on an all-cartoon channel. A warning aimed at children.
There was also a message on the plane about the “sexual exploitation” of children. And there were stickers about this on vehicles in Punta del Este, Uruguay as well. Roberto had a strange reaction to this. He doesn’t think the government should put these kinds of messages out there. He says they are encouraging people to do this to children. Really? Who in their right mind would consider this encouragement?
No Exit
One morning I went out to do a little food shopping. On my way back, I decided to walk “as the crow flies” down to the beach. It was boiling hot and I had a lot to carry. As I walked, the streets became more like narrow lanes. There was a group of older men in their 50’s and 60’s. The oldest turned to me and shook his head and finger at me. He didn’t say a word. I stopped walking. To save a little face I said, “Por quê?” Which was strange because I speak not a word of Portuguese. I could only pretend to understand the answer. But, I was curious.
Another man spoke. He went on. When he finished I said, “Okay.” I turned around and walked back realizing that I had, amazingly, understood something he said. “No e saido”. I had seen the word ‘saido’ in the stores above the door. It means ‘exit’. So these gentlemen saved me from entering a big favela in Fortaleza. Slums are deceptive. They don’t have normal streets with intersections. I thought I was headed for the beach, but I had walked straight into the favela wearing my money belt. They did me a big favor and I was grateful to them.
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