Oakland – Forcing a 102-year-old man in a wheelchair to clean up someone else’s mess doesn’t seem to please the government of the American city of Oakland. The very elderly Victor Silva senior has been harassed for years by vandals who spray graffiti on his fence. But according to the municipality, the centenarian can pick up the brush himself, otherwise he will face a fine of $ 1,100.
Silva has lived in his home in Oakland (California) for more than eighty years and has paid taxes all those years. He has fallen victim to graffiti vandals before, but before he ended up in a wheelchair, he could easily paint over the ‘art’. “I was a contractor, so that was very simple,” Silva told local news station KTVU. “But I will be 103 in two months, so yes, that slows everything down a bit.”
Oakland law does not allow graffiti, which is considered vandalism. Silva was fined US$1,100. And each new violation carries an additional fine of $1,277. “It’s bizarre. It seems like a joke,” says daughter-in-law Elena Silva. “When you drive through the city you see graffiti everywhere, I don’t know what to say.”
Son
Today, the burden of repainting falls on the shoulders of his 70-year-old son, Victor Silva junior. “It’s difficult to keep track,” junior tells KTVU. “As soon as we paint over the graffiti, it is sprayed over again. The fence won’t stay clean for long.” Silva’s house is not the only target, according to Junior: “A power box down the street had six different types of graffiti!”
According to him, how father Silva lived to be 102 years old is simple: “Just keep breathing. And you have to behave well.” In the meantime, his son hopes that his father’s situation will improve: “I hope that more centenarians will not be harassed like this. Oakland needs to change. The system has to change.”
And that message seems to have gotten through. After a major media outcry, a city inspector contacted news station KTVU and announced that he would immediately schedule a new inspection of the Silvas. Hopefully also to declare the fine invalid.
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