Friday, February 10, 2006

Carry on luggage


Old lady, avenue du Général Leclerc (near Place d'Alésia) in the 14th arrondissement. She probably is a homeless person and has to carry all her belongings with her at all time.

19 comments:

  1. Near the "bd de Montparnasse", close to the area of this picture, you can see a lot of homeless like this lady. They carry all their stuff.
    Julien

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  2. Eric,
    This is an effective use of black and white. One doesn't register fully at first glance that this person is homeless: She seems neatly attired and with orderly belongings. It takes that second look and second thought--oh, she's got 4 huge pieces of "luggage." Even street people in Paris seem to do things with a flair not seen on this side of the pond. That heavy duty hand truck is a far cry from a the grocery carts and old baby strollers frequently seen in cities on the US west coast. So sad that the poor are out in the elements of winter.
    -Kim

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  3. Great shot Eric. There are a couple fo homeless people near where I live that wheel enormous amounts of belongings with them. It makes me think about how many things I have and how much is really necessary.

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  4. Dear Eric
    This shot reminds me the exosition I've seen here in rome some month ago at Villa Medici (french accademy here ) about François-Marie Banier . The work I've seen was "Perdre la Tète" about homeless . Really cool even if a little sad. http://www.fmbanier.com/

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  5. I do not understant people who move and do not hire to move their stuff.

    It costs a little bit of money I know, but at least it does not hurt your back ! I can't believe in Europe some people still do this on their own...

    Tracy

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  6. I loved this shot ... and it did require a second look. I am so used to airports that I assumed she was coming out of one.

    Eric, I'd quite like to take a daily photo of Antwerpen ... do I need to create another blogsite for it, or can I just incorporate it into my existing blog (which sometimes has 2-3 entries per day)?

    Hmmm, it's probably better to make a seperate blogsite?

    Kind regards
    Di

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  7. Eric,
    I thought the same thing as Di that this person was coming or going somewhere and was transporting her luggage at the airport. I know how Megan travels and it reminded me of her trekking through the airport. But on second glance, it is very sad that this lady is a homeless or houseless person.
    Deb

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  8. Me parece muy triste, que una señora tan anciana no tenga un lugar dónde vivir o por lo menos dónde guardar sus pertenencias... Probablemente sea consecuencia de la pérdida de valores familiares en Europa? Is so sad...

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  9. This is really interesting Eric. I just walked off a plane from Switzerland tonight and I could have sworn I sat next to this woman (baggage and all!). She seems well equipped, but I'm thankful I'm not in the same situation. However, I agree with the above...home is where the heart is.

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  10. pas sur que ce soit une clocharde...

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  11. Great photo, Eric. I used to work with schizophrenics who frequently fell outside of the programs meant to help them. I think it’s interesting to see how different societies deal with their homeless. It’s a mixed bag here. It seems whenever a large convention or group comes here, the legislators pass laws to keep the homeless from view. In the meantime, there are numerous organizations that are doing everything they can to help them.

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  12. This photo is quietly powerful and that's what I like about it. It is incredible how indigence exists in everwhere in the world.

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  13. For a homeless person, though, she has quite a few belongings.

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  14. She is a very well co-ordinated homeless person, the most immaculate one I have ever seen. Although in Vancouver I have seen homeless people in $700 Helly Hansen jackets

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  15. > Stephan (Toulouse). Thank you!

    > Julien. You're right the 14th arrondissement is very contrasted: you can find very wealthy people and very poor people.

    > Kim. I personally think she's rather homeless, or maybe she lives in a shelter at night. Did not dare asking her...

    > Bob. True. And this kind of situation could happen to anybody I guess. You lose your job, you lose your family, relatives, you lose the "fighting spirit" and you end up in the street... Not very optimistic today huh?!

    > Joe. I visited the site you report and the pictures are really great. Thanks.

    > Tracy. Yeah, well you know that is the way we are in Europe; we like to do it the old fashion way!!

    > Alexander. Well... That is a subtle difference. The bottom line is: "where do you sleep at night and where do you keep your belongings?"

    > Di. Good idea. My advice is definitely: create a special blog for that. Please use the same syntax as everybody "in the family" (that is antwerpendailyphoto.blogspot.com). I also advise you to have a look at Ham's guide (from LondonDailyPhoto) on howtophotoblog.blogspot.com for technical info.
    But please be aware that it is quite a commitment to post a photo everyday!

    >Debs. Hi, and welcome to your lunch break!! (Debs wrote to me to let me know she had a look at ParisDailyPhoto everyday at lunchtime!)

    > Anonymous. (Quick summary for those who don’t speak Spanish: such an old lady should have a place to keep her belongings. Did you lose you family values at that point in Europe?) The answer is clearly yes! And paradoxically this loss happened because of… wealth!
    Explanation: before 1945 (the end of WWII) France was not poor but not rich enough to afford social security. The traditional French family (which was mostly agricultural at that time) used to keep the children, the parents and the grandparents under the same roof
    With the industrialization and the increase in GDP, this nucleus burst and a lot of responsibilities held by the family have been transferred to the State, which became rich enough to cover for pensions, medical assistance and unemployment.
    As a result it became socially acceptable to drop your parents in a nursing home rather than to take care of them yourself. It also became socially acceptable – and even recommended! – not to financially support the elderly and leave that up the State which could afford it.
    Whether it’s good or bad is not important for it’s impossible to go back to before the war anyway. It’s just the evolution of our rich societies and we have to live with it.

    > Manuel. Thank you, you must be a Daily Photo blogger to make such professional comments!! ;) Actually black and white photos are lazy photos for they are easier to make (in my opinion) but once in a while, why not be lazy…

    > Jean-Michel. Pas sur, mais bien probable quand meme…

    > La reveuse. “Funny”, in France, it is more acceptable to have people sleep in the street than force them to go to shelters. Hiding them, like you say, is badly considered.

    > Single. Yes, and no matter what, even in the richest country in the world, there will always be dissocialised people.

    > Sidney. Through our wealthy eyes, yes.

    > Fred. Yeah, but it happens quite often. Living is the street does not mean giving up your possession instincts.

    > Tango. These people dig in our garbage cans and you have no idea how many treasures you can find there! But frankly I don’t think this is very important. Warm clothes come first before branded ones at this time of the year…

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  16. Okay, thanks Eric. I'll let you know if and when I set up. Gert and I thought we'd share the digital as we both love photography.

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  17. Oh I know how many treasures there are in the dumpster,when getting reclycling. I prefer to leave mine outside of the dumpster because it will be reclaimed in less than an hour. I am very simpatico with my local homeless, the human devastation of poverty is everywhere in every city, town and village.

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