When you walk the streets of Istanbul, it’s impossible to miss the many children that try to sell you packs of tissues or flowers. Some of them even offer their services to clean the windows of your cars at each intersection.
I’m always sadened to see how parents force their children to do these things instead of sending them to school. I’ve always doubted that the little money that these children earn go to their schooling fees. You can see children as young as 3-4 years old walking half naked outside when it’s snowing asking for money, begging for money.
This has always been an issue in Turkey. Beggers are everywhere . The fact they use children is inhuman tho. They count on our pity and they know adults can’t stand to see those little naked feet walking around in the snow. News papers reported many times that these children were part of the beggers mafia that has taken over the big cities in Turkey. Some shelters are available for them but I wouldn’t want to imagine the kind of treatment they probably receive in those shelters.
Its sad to know that when those kids walk those streets, they’ve always got an adult lurking behind them to make sure they beg well and don’t go spending the money they get.