Australians Abroad - To Give or not to Give

Many Australian expats live in very poor countries. Others live in affluent ones. But whether we live in rich or poor countries, most of us have found ourselves in situations where we are asked for money by beggars in the street.

Should we who have money, certainly in comparison with those living on the streets, give money?

The following article by Rebecca in Mumbai, India, gives a personal view on what it is like to be confronted daily with abject poverty.

It was first posted on Australian Abroad's Pub with no Beer message board. It is reproduced here with the permission of the author. [ed]

You want to see a large divide between the rich and the poor? Come to India. It is so sad and so very upsetting. I only need to think about some of the things I have seen in the last year and I can easily be bought to tears.

In India, begging seems to be a well planned industry. The money collected by beggars is not usually theirs to keep, it belongs to the kingpin-pimp who holds all the aces. This so called kingpin is usually sitting with full view of his "employees" and ready to pounce as soon as money hits their hands. Young children are sent out to beg with babies in arms. Women drug their babies in order to get more money; parents disable their children in order to get more money. It is all honestly just so upsetting to see.

I do not give money, I have learnt my lesson a few times.

The first lesson was when I gave money to a child on the street. I was suddenly mobbed by a huge bunch of children - it was pretty scary - they were all pulling and grabbing and one actually kicked me. The second lesson was when I gave to a man on a corner downtown in Mumbai. I was in the car at the time and gave him a few rupees. The next week when I pulled up along side him, he remembered me and my car, and wanted more money. This time I would not give him any money, and because I did not, as we took off from the traffic lights he ran a coin down the side of our car and scratched it. When I rarely give money out now, it is only to lepers.

I have found the easiest solution is to give a piece of fruit or any left over food. We never leave food in a restaurant if we cannot eat it, we always have it packaged up to go and then it is given out usually to the first beggar we see. I have had people refuse food before and only want the money, I do not understand this? They are giving me the hand signal that they are hungry and then they do not want food. It just doesn't make sense.

I would say that quite a few people would be having thoughts towards beggars like "Get a job you lazy bastard", or "You have two feet and a heart beat". Even in economically wealthy countries there are unemployed and homeless people, with a population like India what would you expect?

Across the road from my apartment is a park. A large group of beggars sleep on the outskirts of the park every night. I see them in the morning, my guess is about 30 - 50 of them all heading off to the main road to their designated traffic signal to beg for the day. They move in a pack and work together. Unfortunately for them, begging is their one and only profession.

Whether I like it or not I have to realise that extreme poverty is an unfortunate part of living India, and I have to learn to see and deal with it daily.