This past year Ionuts has spent most of his time at the Center for Minors, a state-run institution for children under the age of 18, who are neglected by their parents. The director of the Center helped Ionuts get a job selling the daily newspaper called “The Monitor” – from which Ionuts takes his nickname. At daybreak “Monitorul” can be found at the busiest intersections in town selling his papers to the morning drivers.
But the daily paper is not the only motif that Ionuts displays. Taking a cigarette lighter, Monitorul holds a sharpened needle until the flame blackens its tip. He wraps a thin thread tightly around the tip and proceeds to dip the needle in blue ink. Then he takes the sharp point and pierces the skin, depositing the ink below the epidermis. Monitorul repeats the punctures until he finishes tracing the pre-drawn picture. A scorpion. A knife. A girlfriend's name. Tattoos decorate his arms, legs, back and chest, placing his amateur needlework on permanent display.
Like the street children's nicknames, tattoos are symbols that speak to the identity of their proprietors. They speak of strength, intimidation, and love. But much more than these oscillating emotions of adolescence, tattoos are a sign of control. Street life inflicts much pain; so does a self-given tattoo. The difference is that a street child has no control over the pain inflicted by the streets. He must accept it. The pain from the hot needle, however, is controlled by the child. It is his pain. He owns it. And the tacky blue die stands as a reminder that he is in control.
Tattoos show not only ownership of pain but also ownership of the body. Daily, street children are abused. Their bodies are beaten, tortured, raped and forced to do many things that they do not choose to do. A tattoo says, “This is MY body. I own it. I choose to look like this.”
The tattoos on Monitorul's body lure my eyes likes a carnival lures children. I am captivated by their strangeness. They enlighten me to the identity of Ionuts Monitorul. But after the novelty wears off, I must avoid setting him aside as I do with yesterday's newspaper. I must continue to read Monitorul's tattoos and advocate his rights to freedom and his rights to ownership of his body.
