LETTER TO EDITOR APRIL 27, 1998
TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY BEGGARS?
This is with reference to the letter on the above subject published in your esteemed newspaper (DAWN) on April 27, 1998. I would like to offer an idea to the youthful, energetic, but gullible Nehal Q Alvi. He got into an emotional mode and parted with his cash ostensibly to aid and give succor to le petite vagabond. Like most of the citizens, he was swayed by the "mother is sick, the family is starving, the father is dead, I am desperate" syndrome and succumbed easily. One more effortless victory for the mendicants of the city.
It is generally accepted that these are professional beggars who have bought the "site" from whosoever is incharge of selling these prime locations of alms
. The police act nonchalant, not out of any altruism, but one may be cynical about it, more so for some consideration or a piece of the supplicant's pie.I used to either ignore the beggars, wave them off, or if they persisted, I would scold them away. I was advised to stay cool and either give them some money or just say "Maaf karo". Since I consider them either as professional beggars, or hard-core junkies needing money for a quick fix, or working for the Beggars Mafia, I believe giving money corrupts and encourages them for what it matters. Finally, a practical suggestion from my younger brother solved my problem.
His advice was that if I did not want to give rupees, I should give them something to eat like fruits, juices, etc. That idea sounded pretty workable because it is a good deed to feed someone. I called up a close friend, who owns one of the top biscuit brands, who was kind enough to send me a large box of biscuits in "tiki packs". Now, I just roll down the window and give the beggars one or two packs and they go away happy.
This concept has caught on and now my friends and colleagues do the same and find it a better alternative. My factory's dealer who had come from Lahore was so enamoured with the idea, that he called his manager in Lahore on his cell phone and ordered him to get the packs and keep it in his car right then. My advice to younger brother Nehal and all others is to try it too. Karachi will soon have a healthy, albeit impoverished, beggar force. You, of course, will get the "Sawab" for feeding a fellow human being. A favorable quid pro quo. What more do you want?
Sincerely:
MAJYD AZIZ