Invisible Populations
By: Angela Cupo
What does it mean to be invisible? How can you raise awareness about invisible populations?
What does it mean to be invisible?
Personal invisibility
I am an invisible man by ralph ellison (poem)
"I am invisible, understand, simply because people refuse to see me. [...] they see everything and anything except me." (Invisible Man, Ellison)
Populations
Examples in real life
Migrant Farmers
"The garage was worn out by the years. It had no windows. The walls, eaten by termites, strained to support the roof full of holes. The dirt floor, populated by earthworms, looked like a gray roadmap.” (Jiménez 68)
Thousands of migrant farmers live in horrible conditions like the one described above. After a season is over, they pack up to find new work. Their wants are neglected, and they aren't getting what they need. They end up living in horrible places with no windows and dirt floors. No one cares about or for them. The people they work for only give them the minimal amount of things they need to survive. While they live in luxury, migrant farmers live on almost nothing. This lack of caring causes them to be an invisible population. (Jiménez, 68)
How can you help raise awareness
Homeless Children
Homeless children is a major invisible population. These kids don’t have the necessities they need, like shelter and food. Many people don’t acknowledge them at all, so they don't even get donations in order to buy what they need to survive. Most of these homeless children don’t get breakfast, water, or the new shoes people today take advantage of. About 2.5 million children are sleeping on couches, in cars, and even at diners, everyday. Because not many people “care” about homeless children, it makes society consider them an invisible population. (NewsELA)
How you can help raise awareness
In order to solve this problem, regular people are donating money towards shelters, and directly to a homeless child. If you want to help, you can inform other people that just a dollar, goes a long way.
Citations
Ellison, Ralph. Invisible Man. New York: Vintage International, 1995. Print.
Jiménez, Francisco. The Circuit. New York: Scholastic, 1997. Print.
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