To give or not to give…

One of the biggest challenges that I find living in Bangladesh is the issue of begging. It is an issue that most people that I’ve spoken to here have justified to themselves in some way or other, as I have in my own way. I’m not about to discuss the ins and outs of the issue here, nor my own response to it, but it is something that, no matter how much I talk about and justify my own actions, it still challenges me regularly.

I find it more of an issue when I’m in Dhaka, perhaps because it is more prevalent there than it is when I’m tucked away in my village. But here, I get to see a much more personal side to it. One of the most meaningful experiences I’ve had so far was a couple of months ago, when I went to my local bus station, about a 15-minute rickshaw ride away from my house. In the bus station, I was approached by a young beggar (about 16 years old) who couldn’t walk. I gave him the small change I had and he smiled and shuffled outside again. A couple of weeks later, I was invited to visit a local village of some friends of mine. As I walked into the village, I saw the same boy sitting on the ground, smiling and waving at me. My friend Mijan, whose house I was visiting, said, “You’ve seen him, in Dhoabunga.” It turns out that he is related to Mijan. It is the most personal experience I have had with a beggar, and was very emotional for me. I saw him again today, two months later, sitting on the floor of a rickshaw. He waved and smiled as he passed me. I guess the reason why it affected me so much was that I could see that he comes from a loving family, and he has a life outside begging, which all beggars do – but we usually don’t get to see it. I feel privileged to have met this boy.