Salvador de Bahia 2nd Visit
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Salvador’s historic centre Pelhourinho is like an onion slowly revealing itself to you. The first layer stings your eyes with its beauty. The rusty red, yellow ochre, baby blue and stately green buildings from the seventeenth century and the Bahiana women in their white hooped lace dresses, they look enormous, delight you.
The second layer shocks you with the young ragged street beggars, hawkers following you down the streets persisting in offering you colourful ribbons and selling you a myriad of vividly painted jewellery at every turn. I look down any street and the poverty stares back at me. Crack sold on street corners, the drunk and the drugged slinking in the shadows, Skol lager the chosen breakfast drink, while smart cafes and restaurants offer Cappuccinos, Pizzas and Chocolate cake.
Dreadlock boys and gorgeous girls offer themselves to you for the price of a good meal.
Getting down to the third layer where the real people reveal themselves. They show themselves with friendly gestures and offer genuine friendship. I loved Salvador and found great kindness amidst immense poverty.
Where else would you find a beggar boy reward you with a hug and a kiss of friendship for buying him a decent meal?
Fabio could not have been more than eight years old. His father sent him out to beg and he was not allowed to leave his spot even for the offer of a soft drink on a hot day. His freedom came when his father was drunk or drugged. One day I had found him hovering near the street food stalls and offered him a kebab. He chose his meat carefully with great relish but while we were waiting for the food to cook his father came along and tried to change the food for money. The Baiana lady would not hand the money back so the father made his son leave the food stall and go back to begging. Fabio and I managed to make sure that the food would be waiting for him later. Another day after buying Fabio a juice he asked me to bend down to whisper something in my ear. The cynic in me said OK this is where I lose my money but I bent down curious to see what would happen. He planted a kiss on my cheek to say thank you and gave me a hug. I was moved! After that day wherever I was I would always get a friendly wave or a hug from my little friend without ever having to dig into my pocket.
There was a woman who was also a beggar. She was skin and bone. She wore a face mask which probably means she was disease ridden. I found her in tears one day saying she had not eaten all day. It really affected me. Up until that point I had made it my business not to give her money. I suddenly realised that everyone felt the same. She was too far gone for it to make any difference if she bought drugs or not. I had no right to judge her.
