Throughout my life, people have asked me how I deal with poverty in India and still enjoy my time there. Unlike poverty in the West, poverty in India takes on a whole new face altogether.
Here, the guy who begs on the street corner but still looks sufficiently clean and totally able bodies is pitied and people throw money encouraging him. I have always maintained that people who give money to them are doing society a great wrong. Granted that this man who is totally capable of working could have seen better days, could just be at a moment in life where he is down and out, or could be a drug addict and it's necessarry for our society to reach out to them. Total Bullocks! I am sorry if the guy has seen better days - bad luck is something none of us can plan against. I am sorry if the guy has come upon drugs - but I see no reason to fund him using more illegal substances. There are plenty of ways our very generous government goes out of their way to make life livable and even help these people. It's up to them to not accept it and to choose to live the life they live. If they are capable of work, surely they can get a job at McDonalds or any other job that is easily available. But they choose to hang around the streets and beg and this I have a problem with.
Now, before I get a platitude of emails about how I do not understand poverty, how I have a priveledged life etc - I want to clearly state - I do understand povery. I may not have experienced it, but Ihave seen real poverty and that is the kind of poverty that motivates even the hardest ones of us to search in our conscience to justify how we are contributing to this world.
The poverty that I speak is what is found in India. As everywhere, poverty exists on different levels. You have the inhabitants of shanty towns in big cities who live in their huts, both parents have jobs and work day and night and still, because they have so many children the possibility of a better life for the next generation is remote. These are the people who spend their days cleaning and cooking for others so that their kids can have a glimpse of a better future. They do this without grumbling. They are about as hardworking as I have ever seen, waking up at 5.30am to cook for their families and then spending the day cooking and cleaning for as many as 4-5 homes in a day. It is these people I have deep respect for.
There is also another group of poverty stricken people for whom my heart totally bleeds. It is the children and aged who have been abandoned not only by their families, but by the Indian government and society. Nothing you have seen will bother you as much as the absolute poverty these two groups experience. Children in rural india are often seen rummaging through garbage, when we were in Madhya Pradesh we saw such extreme poverty among these kids that it just made you wonder what is the purpose of life. It is an open fact that these kids are easy prey for the vile pedophile industry. Nowhere is this more apparant but in Mumbai where you see little girls and boys beg for food every day and then one fine day, you see them all dressed up in pretty clothes with lipstick and makeup on their faces, their stomachs obviously fed, oblivious to the evils that society has forced them to endure to get a meal.
As for the aged, the sad thruth is that even the sex agencies don't want them so they are just left on street corners to die our of starvation, disease or even beaten up.
What I find totally appaling is how foreign tourists to India choose to look at poverty. One of the "in" things to do on the travel circut is to pay touts $100 to get a tour of the shantytowns and slums. Somehow, these pitiful western tourists feel they are bonding with the poor by going on this voyage. How utterly stupid of them. Surely within 10 seconds of arriving in India they must have figured out that poverty is pretty acceible - you don't need to shell out a lot of money, you need to have good intentions if you want to really experience it. The $100 they give goes to the local goon, who in turn runs the local prostitution-pedophile-drug racket with his henchmen. It would be far more sensible for them to just give the money to a reputable charity and allow them to continue their work.
And as to how I deal with poverty in India, every time I come accross a hard working poor person, I made sure I tip him handsomely - if nothing else, atleast this will keep him trying to get out of the trap of poverty.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
The severity of the global food crisis is undeniable. Prices of major commodities have increased substantially over the last three years, and especially, in the last few months.
According to the World Bank, about 100 million people might be thrown back into the ranks of the poor because of these price rises. There have been riots in a number of countries, and the Bank has identified 33 as especially vulnerable.
The poor are especially vulnerable because they spend the largest portions of their income on food. For example, in Nigeria, about 70 per cent of income is spent on food, 75 per cent in Vietnam, and 50 per cent in Indonesia compared with 12 per cent in the United States (though that figure is also now on the rise).
I totally agree with your view or perceiving poverty . In places like mumbai you will people especially small children and aged people being .. on the streets and on the platforms of railway stations.
But have any of us ever thought of ending such poverty ?
What are your views in eradicating poverty and bringing smiles to millions faces who are dying out of hunger..
Post a Comment