As soon as he hears the drums he steps out of the living room and into the patio to find out what the heck is going on. A group of people has gathered in the street below, beside the unfinished health center - its termination lagging various years behind schedule - and they have started to play all sorts of percussion instruments. A man conducts them. The sound has a danceable rhythm to it and above all it is very noisy, the main purpose of their action being to draw everyone's attention. Another group of people is carrying a banner. He reads they are a platform for the unemployed in the neighbourhood. Off they start their little demonstration, amidst the festive beating of drums. It's supposed to make them all be noticed and feel better, to ease their pain if only for an instant, it is supposed to be fun. Standing still up on his vantage point he can only but feel a deep sense of sadness.
Nice entry.
ReplyDeleteBut their pain?
Never have I found an unemployed person in Spain who felt bad for being unemployed.
Not one of them who didn't wait until a month before their subsidy finished to start searching for a job.
It must be a problem with my not knowing the right people.
Such a wonderful invention, the unemployment subsidy, such abused and wasted.
Could be, but being on the dole is no picnic either ... Anyway, maybe pain is not quite the right word, yes.
ReplyDelete