(Going to the foodbank by car: English subtitles)

I hesitated posting this when I first saw it, but since it’s somewhat shocking, it’s time to share. You’ll probably be left with more questions than answers after this video. The ones I had as a foreigner looking in were:

1. Why doesn’t this woman work? Don’t answer because she has children, I’ll scream.
2. Where’s the father and/or his alimony? Deadbeat dad? There’s an obvious cultural issue here.
3. A car? What about agoraphobia therapy?
4. Do the Dutch give money to the poor for nothing so they don’t have to look at it?
5. Is that really a good thing? Is it a Judeo-Christian guilt thing?

I’ve seen teenagers for years in Montreal, Canada sleeping on the street outside at -20 degrees in sleeping bags. The ones sleeping outside in +30 degrees in the summer are purely decorative.

The person at Radio Netherlands who did the interview mentioned on their site that they found it difficult to find someone willing to go on camera. Hmm, people are willing to have sex on camera for free these days, so I’m really not convinced. The film is very good though, no question.

Again, some people really think that this is being poor in the Netherlands. I am happy the children are well cared for, that’s true. Some are proud to show that the poor don’t look poor. Her lack of gratitude is the clincher, making this film very interesting. Others have said that junks on the street are dirt poor, a film about them would have shown real poverty.

My suggestion would be to go to the Salvation Army (Leger des Heils) in downtown Amsterdam, as that is where poor people congregate, believe me.

UPDATE
The video was removed by Radio Netherlands.