http://www.lightstalkers.org/galleries/contact_sheet/19562 Images by Skye von der Osten The city of Riga reveals a sad fact that has become the norm, old women are fighting for survival. In many places of the city old women at the age of 70 and upwards,who cannot call themselves the lucky ones who can still find work, are begging to raise money, or they try to sell home-made items to earn a few euros. Their pensions are often lower than the economic institutes defined subsistence level and are not enough to cover basic living expenses. Before the entry of Latvia to the EU, Latvia was the economically weakest state in the Baltics. Although Latvia in the first years following the joining of the EU showed strong economic growth, the situation of old women has not sufficiently improved. http://www.lightstalkers.org en-us http://images.lightstalkers.org/avatars/35706/skye-001_small.jpg http://www.lightstalkers.org/Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817117/_MG_3018_Edit_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817117'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817117 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:53:22 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817117 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817117/_MG_3018_Edit_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817117'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817126/_MG_3095_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817126'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817126 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:54:16 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817126 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817126/_MG_3095_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817126'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817129/_MG_3278_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817129'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817129 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:54:41 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817129 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817129/_MG_3278_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817129'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817132/_MG_3123_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817132'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817132 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:55:27 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817132 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817132/_MG_3123_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817132'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817135/_MG_3100_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817135'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817135 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:55:55 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817135 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817135/_MG_3100_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817135'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817141/_MG_3112_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817141'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817141 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:56:53 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817141 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817141/_MG_3112_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817141'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817144/_MG_3280_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817144'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817144 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:57:14 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817144 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817144/_MG_3280_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817144'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817147/_MG_3067_2_Edit_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817147'>view full-size image</a> http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817147 Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:57:54 +0000 http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817147 <img src='http://images.lightstalkers.org/images/817147/_MG_3067_2_Edit_small.jpg' /><br /><br /><a href='http://www.lightstalkers.org/images/show/817147'>view full-size image</a> Skye von der Osten