Imagine...
Imagine... imagine you were born say... 1938, like my Dad.
Or like W, our neighbour, who knows what hunger is.
My Dad spent more times in a bunker than at school, bombs all around.
W at times had but fish-heads to eat.
They worked hard as kids, unlike me it was more than just throwing ads/newspapers in mail-boxes, they went to the fields, stole coals, potatoes and all.
Then the 50´s came around - better times, hard work, all your life.
Retirement.
Retirement?
This is what chancellor "Mum" Merkel came up with:
Rubbish bins with holders for beer bottles that young people are too drunk and or lazy to recycle, so retirees who have not enough money today do not have to grab into the bins.
Can you believe this????
They collect and recycle used bottles for some mini-Euros 😥
OK, it was early arvo, the bottles were gone - IF there were bottles at all. More important to put some stupid graffiti on it, huh.
Here is another rare one, empty, too:
Most bins do not have this "comfort-gadget", I see so many elderlies.. and it makes me feel so bad, grabbing into the "normal bins" for "treasures".
The smell, sorry, dear lille one, nothing against you...
Now, in summer, it smells real bad. And they have to grab in there.
And then... do not get me wrong,please, but we have sooooo many financial refugees who get more money than our retirees do.
Red Nike-shoes (a sign for "I made it, you dumb ones, work for me!"), gold chains, golden watches, money in hand.
They can take public transport for free - our retirees have to pay.
Why I do not give to the "old" ones? Looking for a job myself.
And my motivation is low. Very low. Red sneakers I pay for others then.
And... offers are rare. I even applied on "Senior Artificial Intelligence Architect",hahaha....
Please understand. I am just telling what is going on here.
Some of "them" called me bitch, whore, did not serve me cause I am but a woman, even as Ingo stood behind me once.
Times are a changing. I do not dare to go lonely places no more. Sad. Same in your place?
Again: REAL refugees are nice. Thankful. Learn the German language and all! But Merkel opened this country up to financial refugees and hence our retirees go out blank.
Henry 🦁
Too sad to show up.
Is it the same in your place??? (Well, not Henry-wise)
P.S. To end on a lighter note, I was in bed already when more comments came in on last post, I answered today and rememered:
Before I knew of the "Moin, Moin" (you rather say that in Emden) - I got a phone call in the late afterno-hooon (arvo) and automatically answered with " Good Morning"!
The lady on the other side of the line laughed her head off. ⛵
But, really, do you have such constructions around your rubbish bins, also?
Big Addendum, Ingo said I forgot something to make you understand correctly, and he is right:
Those two financial refugees said "something" in their language to me. I managed to remember the words and google translate gave me the words "whore" and "bitch".
My point was: They get more money, despite never having worked here and the retirees who rebuilt Germany get so little they have to go through bins - and Merkel´s answer is the wrong one with these "helpful constructions"...
24 comments:
At least Merkel stood up to Trump, and as a result, he pulled thousands of troops who paid good money to buy products in Germany to other parts of the world.
We have a homeless problem here. Our president does nothing to help them. If the homeless get there in time, they can eat at soup kitchens, if not, they eat out of dumpsters, especially those close to fast food restaurants, where many are required to throw out food that has been left on the heater/steam table over two hours. However, I have NEVER heard anyone call a homeless woman a whore or a bitch. Most people in my country are sympathetic to their cause.
We also have people who collect bottles and cans for a bit of extra cash. It helps in these times when many of us don't know if we will be able to pay our rent or mortgage, much less put food on the table. The banks can now foreclose on homes if the mortgage isn't paid, and owners can remove tenants for not paying their rent. All this had been suspended until mid August due to the pandemic. Somehow, I feel you may be luckier than many of us in the states right now.
Difficult
Elizabeth, I´m not homeless, those financial refugees - it was winter and I was in "correct clothes", but my hands were visible - called me a whore, bitch.
Yes, hard times, but what is getting at me is that these financial refugees get more money - they never ever worked here - than our retirees.
If Merkel stood up she would send those financial refugees back and take care of the people who helped rebuild Germany...
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Bertiebo, yes, but there could be solutions other than these...
We don't have the attachments on the rubbish bins here, but many who rummage in them for bottles and cans wear heavy duty rubber gloves or they have those long-handled grip tongs to reach in.
Refugees here get looked after better than our homeless also.
River, at least your retirees are more clever, here they go in with bare hands.
Sad, how come people who never worked for a country are better treated than the ones who did all their lives?
This post hit me straight to the heart. I feel very sorry for the retirees. I always feel emotional whenever the topic is about senior citizens because they deserve all the respect no matter what, especially the kind ones. I just hope that they are all okay in this pandemic and hopefully it does end soon because they are one of the most vulnerable.
Sending out weekend hugs! I am on an early work shift today so I am very excited to end this work shift very soon! Plus a holiday on Monday. Hope you are well dear Iris!
Dear Stevenson, yes, they deserve respect, not dragging through rubbish bins! And, yes, with "Corinna" it´s even worse.
And what does Merkel do? Nothing. But these constructions around the bins. Well, she has money... she does not understand, just pretends and here, the truth shows.
Yay for weekend, dear Stevenson, hugs from here, too, and a long one, yay!
Sadly I do not dare to ask if you have big plans... or do I?
I have seen people here going through rubbish bins and pulling out empty bottles and cans that they can get a little money for. It is a sad sight to see.
Our government opens the door for war refugees (which is commendable), but then gives them homes and an income when many of our citizens struggle to find work or a place to live. I know this creates a lot of bad feelings and resentment in some quarters.
There doesn't seem to be any easy answer for any of this.
I have to say most people in my country would totally agree with you, including me. Well said. These bins are such a sad idea to me. Everyone should work for money, of course a little help from the government is needed sometimes, but not all the time. Deep topic to talk about - politicians. Have a lovely day!
Margaret, I so agree with you.
There is no easy answer, but... oh, I could go on forever. As said, I don´t dare to go normal routes, I choose busy ones.
Sad to learn it´s the same in your place!
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Natalia, glad... glad? Sad you have to agree! Just, here at least there is near to no work. But, yes, in the homes or ... it´s like for soldiers where those refugees, both, financial and real ones are put - they get Germans who clean up.
But none the less, a lovely day, right.
...Imagine, a wonderful word, imagine how things could be or should be!
...should be, Tom! It´s not fair how it is.
I fear I'm missing the point, Iris. I don't know what a financial refugee is. Here our "refugees" are being turned back at the borders and those who have asked for asylum are put in cages and separated from their families, much like families taken to Auschwitz, except they don't get the "showers."
Speaking of showers, ironically, they don't get water to clean themselves either, going weeks at a time without being able to bathe or even brush their teeth.
Here in the states, if you don't pay taxes, you don't qualify for aid. Period.
Our state Michigan has one of the most rigorous bottle and can return laws — 10¢ each, whatever the size, money back from the shops that sell the beverages, responsibility for recycling on the drink producers. The result is MUCH cleaner streets and parks because lots of different people pick them up and return them — sometimes even kids’ organizations like girl scout troops. This is seen as a good thing because the material, especially aluminum, can thus be recycled much more easily than having to sort it at trash facilities. We don’t have any special racks on the trash cans, though. THe net result, however, seems positive, no matter who does the picking up. (Group activities of course are currently suspended, and return centers are limited for the moment due to the pandemic, but it will come back).
I guess the positive or negative side of things depends on your point of view.
be safe... mae at maefood.blogspot.com
A financial refugee is some young male (!!!) whose family (my Brother saw a docu on it, too) collect money, so they can come here.
In Germany they get a place to live for free, they get money for free. Can take services like public transport, doctors, all for free.
They do not respect our culture, they do not learn the language - I speak of financial refugees, right.
Likely, too, they will stay.
Who pays for them? Ingo (I am looking for work still).
Here they are in financial heaven- no work, getting it all.
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Mae, Glass bottles: 8 €cents, plastic €25... but the automats don´t work properly, it takes ages. But that´s not the point. I am sad and scared what happens and will happen (to us) when we get old...
Will I wear red sneakers?
Here the bottles and cans aren't being returned right now because of Covid.
"Lucky you".
I've never seen the bottle rings on bins here Iris. I hate to think of anyone struggling whether they be retirees, veterans or refugees.. the balance is not always fair that's for sure, it has never been and never will be a fair world, as John Lennon sang.. imagine 💜
David and I are retirees, who are doing well financially. We have Social Security, Medicare, health insurance, and savings. We do not have to pay a mortgage, rent, or maintenance fees. We are very lucky, I know. Many other retirees are struggling.
Sad situation when retirees have to resort to going through trash to make ends meet. But unfortunately, all too common these days.
It's sad to see anyone go through the bins looking for bottes or cans but having a place to put them outside the bin, I think is a great idea. We don't have that here. I never feel comfortable judging a refugee because I don't know their story. It's not like they grew up to be one. Unfortunately, there will always be people who take advantage of any program that helps people. Scammers are everywhere in every country.
Grace, yes, "imagine"....
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gigi, I hope we´ll be on that level too!
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Spare Parts, yes. but why do financial refugees get it all for free...?
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Bill, you can easily tell real refugees and financial refugees apart, here at least.
A scammer calls me a bitch, a real refugee is thankful and learns German. Offers his food, shows us what they eat, lets us be one people...
Interesting post Iris. Over here, Merkel seems to have a good reputation. She stood up to the big mouth idiot who runs our country right now. I never heard this side to her. But then we don't hear a lot about places outside of the US here. It is a bad thing because the world is so interconnected now. Times do change and so does the world. Hugs-Erika
I do feel for the retirees, but also for those who came to our country in search of a better life and are also scrambling. But I guess if I had to say it in words I couldn't say it any better than Elizabeth did in her two posts or than Mae did. And as Erika mentioned, here Merkel is highly regarded as a leader in Covid fighting and for standing tough against Trump who put refugees in cages and separated children from their families. He would send them back if he could because he is a cruel, human being. But I do feel for the retirees.
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