Working Children of Tehran streets

Balatarin
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Working Children of Tehran streets
by Anonymouse
10-Aug-2009
 

Photo caption: this photo was taken at Vali Asr median right before the election.

I was reading Khar’s blog about working children in the streets of Tehran and the picture of the young boy he posted in his blog reminded me of working children I saw during my last visit.  

It breaks your heart every time you see these children selling faal (Hafiz poems), gums, etc.  We always buy their stuff.  As far as I could tell people try to help these kids however they can but in many places some people's hearts are or have become blind to their plight.  I wouldn't say most people, but the sight of children selling stuff on streets of Tehran is an every day happening everywhere. 

In one occasion we were in a restaurant in Darband and saw a girl about 9 or 10 years old and a younger boy about 5, 6 or 7 smiling and talking to each other on the other side of Darband's river that was connected with a bridge to the restaurant we were eating in.

I saw the boy come across the bridge, go over our neighboring table and after he wasn't able to sell his faal went back to the girl (maybe his sister).

I motioned to the girl to send the little guy our way so I could buy his faals.  The girl mentioned me or him?  I mentioned back him.  She sent him over and mentioned back slapping her face trying to tell me to watch out for the waiters because some of them play rough and don't let kids sell faals and so forth.  The little guy came over and I quickly bought couple of his faals and sent him back.

I have seen children charities around Tehran and I hope they are all doing well and helping these kids.  You don't have to be an Afghan refugee child or a drug addict's child to be left out on your own.  There are many reasons and innocent children are often caught in grownups lives.

In my heart of hearts I always think of these kids (wish for them) to grow up to be successful men and women because they had to work hard from an early age.   They have become tough young men and women and I've seen them take care of themselves in face of grown up "competition".  Although you can see their pain I often see many of them with big smiles which I take it to be their hopes for a better future.

Balatarin
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more from Anonymouse
 
yolanda

......

by yolanda on Sun Nov 08, 2009 05:13 PM PST

Hi Mouse,

   I can't believe I missed this article. It is very kind of you to buy kids' stuff and write this article. The accordion in the picture reminds me of my own childhood, I played an accordion for 2 years when I was a pre-teen, but I did not perform on the street to make money...I went to school...

Thank you for this very compassionate article!

 


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Anonymouse

Ari Jaan permission

by Anonymouse on Wed Aug 12, 2009 07:26 AM PDT

Ari Jaan permission granted!  You can use whatever you want! 

Everything is sacred.


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Ari Siletz

Wonderful faal, anonymouse

by Ari Siletz on Tue Aug 11, 2009 07:00 PM PDT

Thank you for sharing your faal. With your permission, I'll carry it with me wherever I may raise eyebrows. 

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Anonymouse

ای صاحب فال ...

Anonymouse
Tue Aug 11, 2009 04:30 PM PDT

خمی که ابروی شوخ تو در کمان انداخت

به قصد جان من زاز ناتوان انداخت

نبود نقش و عالم که رنگ الفت بود

زمانه طرح محبت نه اینزمان انداخت

ای صاحب فال کسی‌ با شما مخالف است. و از کارهایی که شما می‌کنید نگران است.  از روی دوستی‌ و رفاقت بشما نصیحت می‌کند و دوستار تو می‌باشد.  منتظر کسی‌ هستی‌ که بزودی خواهد آمد و به وصال خواهی‌ رسید.  شما برای رسیدن به کارها پشتکار خوبی‌ دارید و خوب هم پیش می‌برید، به خدا توکل کنید و از او یاری بخواهید.

Everything is sacred


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Anonymouse

The faal at Darband

by Anonymouse on Tue Aug 11, 2009 04:23 PM PDT

Ari I'll write the Farsi faal in a seprate comment to keep the formating.  These faals are not necessarily Hafiz faals althought they're advertised as Hafiz.  Some are Ferdowsi, some Saadi and some plain general advice.

Many of the Hafiz faals have translations from poem to text so it is easier to understand.

Everything is sacred.


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Anonymouse

Ari I'll look

by Anonymouse on Tue Aug 11, 2009 04:31 AM PDT

Ari I'll look around and may still have the faal laying around somewhere.  I don't have it with me now but if I find it I'll post it. 

Everything is sacred.


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Ari Siletz

Thanks anonymouse

by Ari Siletz on Mon Aug 10, 2009 07:43 PM PDT

In a better Iran the kids in your photo would be in music school on scholarships.   By chance do you remember the the faals you bought in Darband?

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Khar

Anonymouse Jaan

by Khar on Mon Aug 10, 2009 07:42 PM PDT

Thank you for sharing your first hand experience with these beautiful children of Iran. These kids have been mistreated and forgotten by both the government and the society as a whole.


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shushtari

the akhoonds

by shushtari on Mon Aug 10, 2009 06:33 PM PDT

have a special place in hell reserved for them!

it breaks my heart to see these beautiful children begging like this in a country that is floating on oil!  

I did not support the shah, but may god bless his soul for at least caring to spend money on iran instead of sending to create arab terrorists to fight the israelis!!!

 


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Maryam Hojjat

I agree with Fozolie

by Maryam Hojjat on Mon Aug 10, 2009 11:31 AM PDT

Shame on IRI & his supporters.

Down with IRI


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fozolie

Please tell this to all the supporters of the regime that

by fozolie on Mon Aug 10, 2009 09:04 AM PDT

gives 280million dollar loans to a Latin American country; stands by to see the treasurey robbed of 18.5 billion dollars; that keeps running propaganda about Palestine when there are 25000 homeless children in Tehran alone. //news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/picture_gallery/04/middle_east_tehran0s_street_children/html/1.stm  

Mr. Fozolie


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Anita

This is while...

by Anita on Mon Aug 10, 2009 07:58 AM PDT

oil reserves in Iran ranks third largest in the world! and Iran has been one of the world’s largest oil exporter.

:-(


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Amir Sahameddin Ghiassi

For a united Iran and united Middle East.

by Amir Sahameddin Ghiassi on Mon Aug 10, 2009 07:11 AM PDT

We should support our children and send them to school. Amir


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