The beggars and disable people are also human being

Mother is begging for her child

Dulal Chandra Pattak

Dhaka, Bangladesh: When we give anything to anybody without any interest or without the hope of repayment, we call it help and the person who is taking this help calls it begging. In the earlier period, begging was welcome especially in the Hindu religion. We have seen in the Ramayana, Mahabharata etc that the pious are begging and the beggars are treated as Narayon (one of the Goddess of the Hindu). But this picture has been changed eventually. In the 21^st centenary, it has become a source of being billionaire, a curse, a profession, a way of cheating, a destruction to humanity. Nobody goes for begging unless he or she has a little hope for leading the life by not begging. They are treated as the curse to the society; they are considered as the burden of the society. The society is cursing them saying fie! Fie! Fie. But think a little as human being, is this duty of a society? Society is to curse them or to save them? Do they at all responsible for their position?

As a human being, I curse the society that cannot rehabilitate the human beings (beggars). It is the duty of a society to save the humanity. The beggars can be an asset to the society. Only our good thinking and the policy makers’ good decision can convert this gigantic task into a very simple issue. Each and every man has some potentiality. Nobody can disbelieve it. From my little life, I have seen that there are many beggars who are expert in many activities. Some can sing very well, some can write novels, stories, songs and poems etc. Some can play tune well, some of them has a lot of experience relating to the human life and behavior. Some of them can make many handicaps, toys etc. Some disable people can do such activities that we cannot believe at the first sight. Like this there is an innumerable potentiality in the beggars. If we are able to use this, we will be benefited; our country will be benefited; our humanity will be developed. Just they need some nursing and caring. They need a helping hand to stand against poverty and struggles in life.

Way of their begging.

Although we know that some beggars and disable people are bound to beg. Many of them are genuine. But now-a-days most of them in Dhaka city and others are fake. Due to the high pressure of bogus beggars, the real beggars are not finding any alms. Their style of begging is very much diversified. Most of us will fall in confusion whether the beggars are real or not. They are the real actors in these cases. I have discovered some counterfeit style of begging in Dhaka city for three years.

Style 1: Some middle aged or about old aged woman carries a baby during begging, whose age is more or less 30 days. She will beg saying this baby is starving for one day or since morning, I have no money to feed it and so on. And she will be crying continuously. Seeing the baby and the crying face of the woman, everybody like you and me get emotional and generally give some money. But if you observe regularly this scene with same woman carrying different babies in different places, then it raises some questions. Later on, I discovered that the woman regularly hires a baby from a mother giving her 200 or 300 taka daily. And her income is more than 1000 taka daily.

Style 2: Another regular scene in the city that is very much popular is begging for going home. What is this? Some people coming to you will say that please give me some money I will go back my home, I came to Dhaka to meet my father, mother, husband, or anybody but I did not find him or her. Now, I am run out of money or some people have hijacked my everything or I have lost the person’s address etc. I want to go my home back. Understanding the problem you have given the full amount of fare that he or she needs to go home. So, naturally he or she should not beg further. But if you see that person immediately in another place or in another day, then it raises some questions.

Style 3: Now come to another scene. Frequently, you will see a man or woman with a boy aging 12 years or around putting a white cloth (The cloth that is put on if the mother or father of a HINDU boy is died) will come before you and say give some money I want to perform by fathers or mother’s burial occasion or cremation. Naturally, you are soft hearted and will give some money. But if you see this scene again after 2 or 3 months later occurred by the same people whom you gave some money, then what will happen to you? Anger or affection? Ha ha ha…. But this happens here.

Besides

1. Some rickshaw puller (after carrying you to the destination) will demand some more money than the settled fare saying “I want to get my daughter married.”
2. Some people will come to you and ask for financial help. Why? His mother, father, brother, sister or wife, husband is seriously sick and staying in the hospital or somewhere. He or she will show a prescription from a so called doctor for your better belief.
3. There are many old man and woman who always ask for financial help for buying two squire meals.

Who controls the beggars?

Have you ever thought that who gives food and shelter to these beggars or disable people? Have you any idea that who controls or sets them in different places? You will be astonished that some people are becoming billionaire from this business. How? I have collected information that there are some people in some places of Dhaka like Gulistan, Comlapur etc who are handling them. They collect this kind of disable and old people for begging. Sometimes they make the able people disable due to begging. They only provide the food to these people. Sometimes they do not provide the food because if they are well, nobody will want to help him. If they are not properly feed, they will be sick and people will give much money seeing the sorrowful face. This devil people take all the money they beg all the day. In the very morning theses people send the beggars in different places and collect them in the dead of night. In this way they are earning a lot of money each day.

What we can do for them?

As a human being, only we can do a lot of things for them. We can build some buildings in a certain area for their living. This living area will include hospital, school, colleges, temple, mosque and churches for them. It must have a playground, a paper room, a TV room, kitchen, canteen etc for them.

The source of income

1. A little portion government budget is a source of income which can run this project.
2. We will use the potentialities and abilities of the beggars and disable people to produce some products according to their abilities. For instance, we can make some food items, handicapped, toys by them. The woman can sew well. So, we can use them for making cloths making a contract with the garments company owners.
3. There are many organizations like UNISEF, UNESCO; UNDP etc can help in different ways.
4. The private and multi-national organizations can help as the corporate social responsibility (CSR).
5. We are 14 core people in the country. If we deposit 2 taka each, then it will construct a big amount of 28 core taka. At least 25 core taka we can get from it after excluding the inefficiency cost.
6. The government can make a market from where the rent can be collected for the beggars and the disable people.
7. We can control its operational cost. From the disable and beggars, we will find many who can cook, go to bazaar, take the responsibility of mosque, temple etc.
8. We can contract some dealers who will supply the rice, pulse, sugar etc all the year round at cost price.

Our benefit

1. There are many college and university going students in the country. These students can run these institutions (schools, colleges and hospitals etc) willingly without any payment.
2. Government can create many employment opportunities for the people here because at least a market will be made up here as this project includes many people, school, colleges, and so on.
3. The students both medical and general can practice here as their internship or part time teacher or doctor so that they can be a good teacher or doctor being trained here at the beginning of their educational life. There are many students who will do willingly it without any payment.
4. Social safety and peace will be ensured.
5. Their potentials will be discovered.
6. The duty of the society will be properly performed.
7. The country will be decorated.
8. Our unproductive land will be utilized.

If this situation continues, one day our society and country will face a serious problem. Now it is very difficult to move in the Dhaka city due to beggars and disable people. Most of us now neglect and hate them weather they are fake and genuine. Isn’t it a depreciation of our humanity? It is high time the government and conscious people took some fruitful steps to save humanity. Some problem may arise but we should not be frightened. We have to keep in mind that no good can happen without obstacles.

Author: Dulal Chandra Pattak