Is it begging or robbery? [Archives:2002/19/Reportage]

FARAH SALMAN
FOR YEMEN TIMES
Begging is a very dangerous habit in our society, as young people work, if we can consider begging a job as beggars while they are in good health.
The question is why do those people pave the way to seek money from other people, in the time they can get a pleasant job and work with dignity?
Here are some answers:
1. They find begging the easiest way to gain money.
2. Theyve lost hope because they werent accepted at any kind of job.
3. They are obliged to do so under pressure of other reasons.
The first two reasons arent valid and dont even deserve to be talked about.
But the last type is one that needs discussion, because maybe these young beggars want to study and to have a normal childhood but their parents situation or their greediness prevents them from doing that.
Here are two examples from our daily life.
The first one is about Hanan, a young girl, 8 years old, who begs at the college where I study. When I asked her, Why do you beg? What would make a child like you ask people for money? she told me a very upsetting story.
She said her family is poor, and its needs money to survive. Her father cant work because he is sick with epilepsy and needs to go to a doctor from time to time to take some medicine and electric shocks.
What is worthy to be mentioned is that her sister begs with her. Each one works at her own area and sometimes they work together. Hanan makes up to 2,000 YR a day, at least that is what she told me.
My impression about Hanans case is that she might have been lying. Could a child lose their innocence for the sake of money? Or maybe is she lying because of fear of getting home with no money, to be punished and sent to bed without having a dinner? Or maybe for other reasons?
On the other hand, if the girl was telling the truth, from can her family get help? And from where they are going to get money if they dont beg? As I remember, she is the second or the third child in her family and no one of her siblings had finished their schooling to work and give the father money he needs to pay for his medicines.
I believe that the answer is very clear to everyone. If the Islamic rules were carried out correctly I think we will not see other beggars like Hanan, whether she was saying the truth or not.
The second example is of a girl I saw begging near some traffic lights. She was acting like a real poor girl, being without having food for two days I was about to believe her when I was told that she is studying in school, and her father owns two flats in Al-Asbahe City.
Owing flats in that region would make him appear as a wealthy person.
I really would like to know why people are so greedy? Why they are not convinced with what they have, that they think that money is the only thing in life? Why do they insult themselves, and act like puppets in a show to attract people to throw money for them?
Finally, in the cases like Hanans case if she was telling the truth the ones who should be blamed are us, because we havent done more to pull her and her family out of their problems.
In the case of the second girl, we also have to blame ourselves because we gave the chance to such a father to throw his child in the street in the hard weather to ask for money, in other words to steal money which should go to a real poor person.
Begging is a social phenomenon is spreading very quickly out of control. I think the government is already doing good job to stop it from growing bigger and bigger.
But as people living in this society its also our duty to help stop this it in one way or another. It is now our turn to spend some time with ourselves and think whether we are doing all we can for poor people.
Or we are just thinking that we are the only person who lives on this planet?
 


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