Haunting experiences

Since I’ve arrived I have had two experiences that I can’t shake. I haven’t blogged about them because I don’t know that I can do justice in words.
First, one Friday night (holy day, the equivalent of Sunday in the US) Ann, Mike, and I go to shop at Carrefour (think Wal-Mart). The place charges $.25 to get a shopping cart. When you take the cart to the parking lot and return it properly you get your $.25 back.


As we took our cart back a guy stopped and asked us if he could take the cart back.
Umm, yeah, sure.
The guy works ten hours a day, in the heat, six days a week. His one day off is Friday. He spends his Friday walking the parking lot to take any carts back to get the $.25. In an hour he’d be lucky to make a dollar (most shoppers don’t have carts and those who do see the cart returns nearby and would refuse him).
Knowing that he undoubtedly walked two miles to get to the mall just adds to the rock in my stomach.

2. Living in the Hilton I was lucky to have two great house keepers. In talking to colleagues not all were as fortunate. My last housekeeper came to Gwen, next door, in tears. She had orders to be deported. She apparently had a spot her lungs (TB most likely) and had to leave. She revealed to Gwen her pay: 750 dirhams per month. That’s $200 for working 6 days/week for 10/hour days. I’ll do the math; it’s less than a dollar an hour. I had been giving her a tip of 20 dirhams ($5) each week and Gwen was as well. She upped it 50 ($13) in the last couple of weeks. I had no idea our tips were a significant source of her income. She was great and using her income to support her family back in the Phillipines. Now she returns home and suffering from TB.
Ugh.