Survival

We are sixteen, suppose, we are a group of sixteen. Life is harsh on us. Taking us to the bottom. We barely have enough food. Every night we have to think how to find a dry, safe place to sleep. We need all our creativity to stay alive. That means we are sixteen people trying to survive. But we are deeply connected to each other. Connected by our sour past and our bitter present.

We used to perform together as a group. Our act dates from the old days, when we were trying to survive treacherous streets too. We know where we come from. We don’t know where we are heading.

Suppose we are sixteen. An Opportunity arrives at our used mattresses where we laid our heads. It is too good to be true, for it is kind of unconditional. We shake our sleepy head, toss the muddy sheets and go back to sleep.

Then another Opportunity knocks and rattles the bones of our lean bodies. It is a familiar Opportunity. It speaks the language of our parents and grand parents. This time only nine of us are invited. The rest is oblivious. The nine can earn € 150 each. This is a lot of money for a have-not. So the nine accept in grace and forget about the rest of our group. One has to think about oneself, right?

After some time the nine learn, the familiar Opportunity itself earned € 600,- by just rattling their bones. Their miserable € 150 is spent quickly. Their brothers felt cheated on. Distrust and selfishness take possession of the group. The cohesion and solidarity is crushed into deep earth. The first Opportunity is gone as well, looking for people who deserve unconditional support.

Suppose we were sixteen, trying to survive. By now we are all one. Sixteen times one. And sixteen times losers, because we could not bring ourselves to share. How do you survive by yourself?