The Homeless

Berlin's homeless do some interesting things to make a Euro. I wouldn't normally care to write about something such as this - except that the homeless in this case have gotten quite creative.

Naturally, you have those who care to do nothing but sit there and smoke cigarettes while holding out their cups. Included in this group are the occasional punks you see at busy street corners, and some that sit there staring at the sidewalk with a cup sitting in front of them. Come on people, at least do something to entertain me. Then there are the ones with a little creativity - those willing to take on a bit more risk. At busy intersections you often see these people walking up to cars stopped at red lights, propositioning to allow them to clean the drivers' windshields with a little squeegee. Did I just use the word squeegee? The swiftness with which these workers move amazes me. Within 20 seconds they have the window looking like new. They continue with other customers until the light changes green, then start all over again.

There are also those who opt to sell newspapers on the trains going around the city. I've been told that those who choose this option must give a cut of the profit back to the publisher (they charge €1.20 and give €.20 back.) To perform their task, they must board the train and do their spiel (German for "to play") about why they're selling the papers. Not a bad method.

In some areas you see older women with children who walk up to you, sometimes with a sign and sometimes without. They ask," Do you speak English?" then hold up a sign with an explanation as to why then need money. I believe that that phrase is the only English they really know. And I think the kid acts as a prop so that we'll be more likely to give.

And finally, today as I was riding home I came across one of the strangest things I've seen: when cars stopped for a red light two people, a man and a woman, came out in front and put on a little juggling show! It must have lasted 30 seconds, and afterwards they received tips from some generous drivers. How interesting. What is even more interesting though is how the homeless are dealt with here. The government actually provides them with a place to stay in a low-cost apartment, so in essence they are not actually "homeless." Many are out of work because of lay-offs or being fired, and some have fallen on hard times, whatever that means.

I can conclude that here, in contrast to the States, many people seek to entertain passersby to earn some money. If only they would use their talents to find a more stable job...