his is a daily situation. The car is at a signal. Suddenly, there is a "tap-tap" on the window. I turn, and see either a young kid in rags or a mother with a child in her arms or an old man or woman or someone with one arm or one leg or no legs or no arms or any combination of these, asking for money.
What do I do? Most of the times, I look away, trying to ignore them. Sometimes if the tapping is incessant, I lose my temper, roll down the window and shout at them, telling them to get lost.
When I was young, I used to dream of being in an Aladdin-like situation with a lamp, a genie and three wishes. My first wish used to be to "banish poverty from this earth", the other two being "happiness for all" and "peace for all". Today, I wish the beggars would just disappear, my wish-list for the genie consisting of "money", "more money" and "more, more money".
And yet, every time beggars come to me for money, and I ignore them, I become a little irritable. Why? Because I really don't know what to do, and it bugs me. Should I give them money and perpetuate the act of begging or should I just ignore them, which is what I do anyway, and keep feeling a little guilty for not having helped them.
If I give them money, it encourages them to continue begging as a profession. A typical beggar usually makes about Rs 100-200 (4-5$) a day, which is not a bad amount, considering the average Indian daily income. If they can make this much, why should they try to work at other jobs? The thought comes to mind, "why don't then more people turn to begging"? Probably because begging is socially demeaning and beggars need to be able to kill their egos completely before starting to beg. But once they have passed this psychological hurdle, what else is there to stop them from begging? Like all professions, begging too involves considerable work and planning. Beggars have to handle a continuous 10-12 hours routine, through rain and shine, often in difficult terrains and with unsympathetic customers. They need to understand marketing techniques so as to be able to position themselves cleverly, using their assets such as handicaps, young children, etc to arouse sympathy, while at the same time guarding their begging territories from encroachments and competition.
On the other hand, if I don't give them money, I feel a twinge of remorse, because giving money is the only real thing I can do for them. Despite realizing that for most beggars, begging is just another profession. Despite knowing that begging is more often than not an organized business, with its own mafia, commission dealers and territorial fights. It is easier to escape the situation by giving money, rather than trying to do something about the plight they are in. Not giving money is a double whammy - not only am I not helping today, but I am also not doing anything to change the situation for the future. And yet, is there anything I can do?
My uncle used to roll down the window and tell the unhandicapped ones to go and get some work and to stop begging. One of them once called his bluff and told him that he would leave begging then and there if my uncle could get him work. My uncle rolled up his window again and looked away and forever stopped giving this advice to beggars. In a country where unemployment touches 20%, can we individually even hope to help beggars find work?
Often when foreigners or even my cousins and friends from abroad see these beggars and my reaction to them, they cannot fathom the entire situation. Their hands go to their purses immediately and if I pull the car out from the signal before they have given money to the beggars, an argument invariably results. "How can you let people live like this, why don't you do anything about this, are you'll completely desensitized, don't you feel anything?"… are the standard threads. It is tough trying to explain.
At the end of it all, just as with so many other things, I go about my work and daily routine, accepting the situation, without actually getting used to it….or maybe most people have already become used to it and its only just me……
What do I do? Most of the times, I look away, trying to ignore them. Sometimes if the tapping is incessant, I lose my temper, roll down the window and shout at them, telling them to get lost.
When I was young, I used to dream of being in an Aladdin-like situation with a lamp, a genie and three wishes. My first wish used to be to "banish poverty from this earth", the other two being "happiness for all" and "peace for all". Today, I wish the beggars would just disappear, my wish-list for the genie consisting of "money", "more money" and "more, more money".
And yet, every time beggars come to me for money, and I ignore them, I become a little irritable. Why? Because I really don't know what to do, and it bugs me. Should I give them money and perpetuate the act of begging or should I just ignore them, which is what I do anyway, and keep feeling a little guilty for not having helped them.
If I give them money, it encourages them to continue begging as a profession. A typical beggar usually makes about Rs 100-200 (4-5$) a day, which is not a bad amount, considering the average Indian daily income. If they can make this much, why should they try to work at other jobs? The thought comes to mind, "why don't then more people turn to begging"? Probably because begging is socially demeaning and beggars need to be able to kill their egos completely before starting to beg. But once they have passed this psychological hurdle, what else is there to stop them from begging? Like all professions, begging too involves considerable work and planning. Beggars have to handle a continuous 10-12 hours routine, through rain and shine, often in difficult terrains and with unsympathetic customers. They need to understand marketing techniques so as to be able to position themselves cleverly, using their assets such as handicaps, young children, etc to arouse sympathy, while at the same time guarding their begging territories from encroachments and competition.
On the other hand, if I don't give them money, I feel a twinge of remorse, because giving money is the only real thing I can do for them. Despite realizing that for most beggars, begging is just another profession. Despite knowing that begging is more often than not an organized business, with its own mafia, commission dealers and territorial fights. It is easier to escape the situation by giving money, rather than trying to do something about the plight they are in. Not giving money is a double whammy - not only am I not helping today, but I am also not doing anything to change the situation for the future. And yet, is there anything I can do?
My uncle used to roll down the window and tell the unhandicapped ones to go and get some work and to stop begging. One of them once called his bluff and told him that he would leave begging then and there if my uncle could get him work. My uncle rolled up his window again and looked away and forever stopped giving this advice to beggars. In a country where unemployment touches 20%, can we individually even hope to help beggars find work?
Often when foreigners or even my cousins and friends from abroad see these beggars and my reaction to them, they cannot fathom the entire situation. Their hands go to their purses immediately and if I pull the car out from the signal before they have given money to the beggars, an argument invariably results. "How can you let people live like this, why don't you do anything about this, are you'll completely desensitized, don't you feel anything?"… are the standard threads. It is tough trying to explain.
At the end of it all, just as with so many other things, I go about my work and daily routine, accepting the situation, without actually getting used to it….or maybe most people have already become used to it and its only just me……
