Reading about laterna (traditional instrument) players being required to give receipts for donations reminded me of a niggling concern.
In Athens especially, but also on islands, sellers walk amongst diners in tavernas selling things (e.g. roses, paper tissues), or playing a few notes on an instrument. Sometimes the sellers are young children; sometimes disabled people. My concern is not with the sellers themselves, but how they are organised andn are they being exploited. The children sellings flowers or whatever will have someone behind them supplying the goods, And it is that "someone behind" that concerns me. It is the "someone behind" who needs to be regulated and taxed.
In Athens I had eaten a meal at a taverna, and a tout had walked round selling something - this was a month or so ago and I forget what was being sold. After the meal I bought an icecream and sat in a small park to eat the ice cream. The park was surrounded by tavernas and felt perfectly safe. A woman was sitting at a nearby seat, and I noticed the young tout approach her. I did not hear what was said, but from the general demeanour of the two, it seemed that the tout was not trying to sell something, but was getting instructions from her "minder", the "someone behind".
In Athens especially, but also on islands, sellers walk amongst diners in tavernas selling things (e.g. roses, paper tissues), or playing a few notes on an instrument. Sometimes the sellers are young children; sometimes disabled people. My concern is not with the sellers themselves, but how they are organised andn are they being exploited. The children sellings flowers or whatever will have someone behind them supplying the goods, And it is that "someone behind" that concerns me. It is the "someone behind" who needs to be regulated and taxed.
In Athens I had eaten a meal at a taverna, and a tout had walked round selling something - this was a month or so ago and I forget what was being sold. After the meal I bought an icecream and sat in a small park to eat the ice cream. The park was surrounded by tavernas and felt perfectly safe. A woman was sitting at a nearby seat, and I noticed the young tout approach her. I did not hear what was said, but from the general demeanour of the two, it seemed that the tout was not trying to sell something, but was getting instructions from her "minder", the "someone behind".
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