Homeless bottle collector went to the police with a wallet he found. Thanks to a fundraiser, he himself was now richly rewarded
“There are still honest people,” some may think about this event that sounds like something out of a Christmas fairy tale: Last Sunday, 33-year-old homeless man Hadjer el Ali found a wallet while collecting bottles on a train at Amsterdam Central Station. It contained almost 2,000 euros. Nevertheless, the man took his find to a nearby police station.
The police officers awarded the finder with an award, a “silver thumb”, as well as a voucher for 50 euros. And with an Instagram postThe latter turned out to be a stroke of luck for el Ali:
The mysterious Instagram account “CESTMOCRO”, which has been sharing short summaries of official news sites since 2017, then started a fundraising campaign for the homeless man. CESTMOCRO has over a million followers, making it one of the most popular news channels on social media in Belgium and the Netherlands. The person behind the account is still unknown.
Within just one day, the (now stopped) campaign delivered a whopping 34,000 euros for el Ali. A message today, in which the recipient also has his say, was received within just a few hours as many likes. Accordingly, the story of the special honesty moved many people, the man is greeted on the street and receives further gifts.
A normal life
El Ali is the father of two small children and has been living on the streets for a good year and a half. He now wants to use the money to rent an apartment. When he asked whether anyone might have a job for him, he is said to have received several positive responses. In his words:
“This makes my life better, I can invest in the future again. I always believe that something good comes from a good deed, that’s how I approach life. But I could never have imagined that.”
Hadjer el Ali on Instagram
Another twist: There were no personal details in the wallet. If the rightful owner does not report to the police within a year, the honest finder will also receive the 2,000 euros.
But who carries around such amounts of money in a country where almost everything is paid for with a debit card and many shops no longer accept cash? And without any identification papers. It could be someone from the drug scene.
Fate of the homeless
Perhaps the summer fairytale draws attention to the fate of people on the fringes of society who are less fortunate. The number of (statistically recorded) homeless adults in the Netherlands has recently increased by increased by a full 15 percent to 30,600At the same time, the proportion of young people and women also increased.
Life on the street is hard and dangerous. In times of tight finances, offers of help become rarer. And bureaucratic hurdles do not make it any easier: without a place of residence, no account – without an account, no apartment? And you also have to be able to afford the services of a bank.
This example shows how a homeless bottle collector can suddenly be celebrated as a hero. People hope that he will be able to make a fresh start. How many of the other 30,000 people in the world’s eleventh richest country by gross domestic product could make it if they were helped to get back on their feet?
CESTMOCRO showed the lucky finder el Ali in an Instagram videoHis gratitude and feelings cannot be expressed in words. He uses his brief moment of attention to wish people the best, to thank Allah – and to conclude with a political message: “Free Palestine!”
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Follow Stephan Schleim on Twitter/X or LinkedIn. Title graphic: falcon on Pixabay.