Two Worlds. John, a cameraman
by jarek_eight_thirty on February 27, 2008
in stories, students
When we came into the building we expected to meet a parent or carer of the child in the flat. When the door opened we saw a girl. In my opinion she was over ten years old. She was dressed in simple clothes but she looked neat. Karen introduced us and said that we were from television and came to interview Rosie. The girl told us she was Rosie and agreed to let us in.
At first we walked along the corridor with a few doors. It was half-dark there, but some sunlight got through the doors of other rooms. I noticed the peeling paint and under it a few previous layers, where the oldest could remember the times of World War Two. We entered the kitchen. On the table there was some food – slices of pizza, cans of drinks, an English textbook and a notebook. I realised that the table was the place for both learning and eating. Rosie asked us if we wanted to sit down and have some tea. She put on a brave face to turn our attention away from her difficult situation. It was behaviour typical of the English, or people who experienced a lot hardship in their lives. Among the opened empty tins lying in the basket and in the sink, some had images of cats and dogs, but I didn’t notice if there were any animals in the flat.
At some point we heard a cry coming from the neighbouring room. When we got in there I saw a three-year-old girl standing and crying in the middle of the room. I suspected that she had been hungry. I didn’t know how I could help her, but Rosie knew. She simply gave her a slice of pizza. It helped. I looked around and saw in my camera lens the mother of the children. She lay drunk on the sofa, covered with the curtain which she had pulled from the window. When we asked Rosie what had happened, she explained that her mum was given the benefit money yesterday and got herself drunk on that occasion.
(jj)
That morning I was going to interview Rosie, a poor child living on a housing estate close to Canary Wharf. I had slept badly before that visit and felt nervous and anxious. I went there in my car with John, my cameraman. We left the car near the building and asked some boys to keep an eye on it. John gave them five pounds each.
We found ourselves in another world. We entered the building with fear. At first moment the smell of dope and piss hit us. The dirty staircase smelled of cooking and dust too. John’s heavy equipment became even heavier for him to carry. In spite of my feelings I could hardly wait to see Rosie. We knocked and after a while heard a barefoot child run to the door. Rosie opened the door and looked cautiously at us. A wave of awful smell hit us again. She looked haggard. I immediately thought that it was a mistake to come here and the world I saw was so different from mine. I felt embarrassed. Armani perfume on me was out of place.