The handicapped and the destitute.....

My latest trip to Greece brought my attention to another side of life. While the tourists stream through the streets of boutiques, there were a few persons sitting along the streets. Some sat under the shade of the trees, while some sat under the shelter of the shops. Looking at them, one is shocked. One sees a living person sitting on the ground, dressed shabbily, without their hands and legs. Yes. They were without hands and legs. I am not sure what happened. Perhaps they met with accidents which caused them to lose their mobility.Looking at their faces, I see misery, sadness, lost of faith in life perhaps. THeir eyes do not sparkle. THeir faces do not glow. The skin on their faces sink with wrinkles at every possible centimetre square.

My heart ached when I had such sights in my vision. There were so many questions in my mind. How did they end up like this? Why? Is the government doing anything to help these people? How do these people survive?

I had tears in my eyes. I felt sorry for them and not being able to help. At the same time, I feel fortunate for my life has been blessed.

It is difficult to imagine how these people get through the minutes of their lives. Without ther mobility, they are unable to perform many of the little actions of daily lives. One such action is the action to feed themselves. Imagine losing the use of your arms and legs. HOw can you put food into your mouth? How can you move to release the toxins in your body daily?

It seems like these persons are waiting to reach the Pearly Gates where God would take pity on them and give them shelter and comfort. The wait is long, hot and difficult.

THis scene is painted with the backdrop of affluent people shopping in the boutiques and dining in the comfortable air-conditioned restaurants in the sweltering heat of the summer in Greece.

It is ironic. We can see two extremes here. The rich and affluent versus the poor and destitute. If we look up the meaning of the word "destitute", it would mention something about the lack of the ability to sustain one's life. While some lack the ability and resources, the others have so much of them that they have no idea where to put them to use.

This is a stark reminder to me that while the world and society progresses, we may have intentionally or unintentionally forgotten our fellow beings suffering the results of possibly our actions.