Out of the dark street corner, Florin 's small figure slowly came to light. His head looked disproportionate to his frail frame. His sunken eyes stared out from their blackened sockets at a world that would not notice him, and his transparent skin stretched across his bony face. He was barely visible. And then Florin disappeared.
As pedestrians rushed up and down the street, they simply passed Florin by. He found himself among the wretched of the earth, among the forgotten, among the unseen. Florin paralleled the science-fiction character in H.G. Wells' The Invisible Man. Because of extenuating circumstances, Florin and the Invisible Man became just that, invisible. In the beginning, the sci-fi character believed he had an advantage over his fellow humans. He could exert power and achieve fame. Likewise, Florin believed that the streets could offer him a much better life than what he had experienced at home. He could be free to do as he pleased. He could wander where he wanted, sleep when he wanted, and be his own boss. Florin and the Invisible Man quickly realized the fallacy of their beliefs. People fear those who are different than themselves. Because Florin and the Invisible Man were different than “normal” people, they were quickly judged, labeled and segregated from the rest of society. This stigmatism carried further until they were treated as less than human. The Invisible Man was hunted as an animal that threatened humanity; Florin was treated like a street dog that deserved the lot of scavenging for his meals out of the garbage. Because of this dehumanization, they began to act like non-humans.
Florin would sit at a food stand and beg for loose change and leftover food. He would throw rocks to protect himself, and he would scream at the top of his soprano lungs to get what he wanted. He would sit with his glue bag in hand as people chose not to see him. Florin was less than human. He was the invisible man.
Although light does not reflect or refract on that which is transparent, the Invisible Man reflects the image of society. Society believes it is inherently good. As society seeks to fulfill its self-projected image of all that is good, it must hide or deny all that is bad and contradicting. In Romania , the government has officially denied that street children exist. If there is no problem, then they simply do not have to deal with it. In the same way, I can convince myself that I am not dirty and therefore do not need to wash…until I take a look in the mirror. Florin is the mirror for his society. He forces them to see their dirt and their evil. Society must hide their eyes (which leads to blindness), deny the dirt (which leads to anger and frustration with reality), or choose to wash (which leads to painfully treating old, infected sores).
Romania has chosen not to see Florin , but Florin would not remain invisible. He was like a beach ball held under water that always launches back to the surface. He cried out for visibility. He refused to be treated as something less than human. In 1999, he was taken into a partner organization's children's home. Florin was noticed, he was visible, and because of this his life was transformed. Florin is now in the 6 th grade and first in his class. He desires to help the rest of his family and to bring them back together once again. Florin brings us hope. If there is hope for transformation in Florin 's life, maybe there is hope for a society that had denied his existence.
