Blaming the poor for poverty
The other day, I was talking to my sister about this feeling I have increasingly; this feeling that I am living an extremely privileged life due to what is essentially an accident of birth. I didn’t always feel this way. When I was younger, my focus was mainly on what I wanted to do, the obstacles I had to cross, the things I would achieve. As I grow older, I feel more and more that individual effort and success is only part of the game. Let me explain.
For the last year or so, I have been noticing this group of children in and around M.G.Road. All of them are impossibly thin. They stand at traffic signals, often in groups of 2 or 3. Sometimes, one of the older kids will even carry an infant. These children are not ordinary beggars. Their modus operandi is to entertain you in return for money. This entertainment, they provide by putting themselves through hoops, literally. They carry these tiny hoops, hardly more than a foot in diameter, and they contort their bodies to pass through these hoops. Then, they come up to you, tap the windows of you car, and ask for money. They don’t beg or plead. They demand. When I look at their eyes, I see sullenness and anger. There is no childhood left in these eyes. I have seen beggars before. Who hasn’t, on our streets? But these children are one of the most painful sights I’ve ever seen.
Everytime I pass them, I wonder - what is this rage that their young life has already taught them to feel? Watching them put their bodies through those hoops, somersault at busy junctions, move away just as vehicles begin to speed - it is gut-wrenching. Watching their eyes - it is impossible to feel contented with one’s safe life. It is not difficult to imagine how one’s life would be, if born into such a family.
India is shining, in a sense. Certainly the economic boom has benefited many people, including people from poor families who can now get better jobs. But large parts of the population are still left out. Sometimes I feel that the middle class is either immune to or contemptuous of poor people. Often, I hear comments like, “they just squander away their money.” Certainly, there are men from poor families who drink away their money instead of spending it on their children. But, I am sure alcoholism is not absent in affluent families as well; the only difference may be that they have a better safety net to fall back on.
Once, someone told me that they didn’t contribute to charity since the children supported by these organizations were kept in “unnecessary luxury.” Who are we to decide that destitute children should not enjoy some comforts? Why should we prescribe that children on welfare should only get the most basic of materials? I bet no one thinks the same for their own children. It’s a different story that in reality, many charitable organizations have little comfort to offer - they operate in fairly basic conditions.
Sometimes I feel the middle class has an inflated sense of its own troubles. We spend a 1000 rupees for a celebratory meal at a fancy restaurent, but crib about how expensive maids have become, when it comes to adding a 100 rupees to her pay. I am not advocating austerity - every individual has the right to spend their hard earned money - but if we cannot do much for others, atleast let us not harm those poorer than us. Propagating negative stereotypes of the poor is harming them - it creates a climate of acceptance. It makes it convenient to say, “Oh, these people will never improve” and walk away. Sure, personal responsibility is important. But, even to take that responsibility, each individual needs the right opportunities. Let us not blame poor people for their poverty.
Some worthy organizations working with children: Project Why (New Delhi), Sri Rakum School for the Blind (Bangalore), Udavum Illangal Ullam (Chennai)
Hey Apu - I’ve felt the way you do for a while now. But in addition to all that you’ve mentioned, I’ve also arrived at a place where I don’t feel guilty for all that I have. I think I’ve come to understand that my good fortune is precisely that - and it could go away any day so all I can do is do the best I can to serve it and enjoy it while it lasts.
And that “unnecessary luxury” thing is one of the most horrible things I’ve ever heard. From personal experience with such foundations, I can tell you there is no such thing as “unnecessary luxury” when it comes to their lives. Plus, they’re kids! Why on earth would you grudge anything to a child?
yes, Ams - feeling guilty doesn’t serve any purpose actually.. I wouldn’t even call it guilt actually - perhaps its more a feeling of being undeserving? In general, I’d call it a good thing, if it spurs people to help..
reg the unnecessary luxury thing - totally agree. I think many people haven’t actually seen the conditions under which many support centres/ homes operate… (and I’m talking about honest/sincere ones here; the frauds are a totally different story.)
Apu, I couldnt agree more. I was talking with my dad the other day on the same. This middle class mentality of penny pinching the poorer part of society while simultaneously spending a lot more easily on discretionary and luxury expenses is not talked about a whole lot. Moving up whole steps on the social ladder but not letting the poor rise an inch is all too common, esp. in India. Charity aside, one of things that I think we Indian middle classes ought to do is to recognize and respect labour. Pay more generous wages and leave respectable amounts as tips. Picking a fight with a Chennai auto driver for 10 rupees of fare on my way to a restaurant where the bill was easily over Rs 100 is something I remember doing far too often.
Another way I think we could help is actively mentor and support kids of our housemaids, our gurkhas - pay for their schooling. There are really many opportunities to help not just beggars and strangers on roads, but also the poor whose lives touch ours on a daily basis.
Unnecessary luxury???!!! Whoever said that needs to be smacked…
Sri, Rohini, thanks. This mindset is saddening, isn’t it. But yeah, there are lots of things one can do to help, in our own small ways… and I agree with Sri there - very often, it is people who interact with us, like maids/ drivers, whom we can start with…
Apu:
I had started typing a comment out but it became too long and as usual, typing fingers could not keep their speed up with the brain so I wrote a post instead (see track back).
hy, Give something to help those hungry people in Africa and India,
I created this blog about that subject:
on http://tinyurl.com/6kv7fu
Trying to help individuals is of course laudable, but it’s the system that needs changing - Cuba has a higher standard of living than both the US and India.
Hi Apu,
Excuse my rambling - I so enjoyed your brief post.
I recently went hunting for a honest (read: my donation will reach the intended) orphanage. The sad fact of the matter is - in India, it’s really hard to know which organizations are really going to help the deserving and which ones are just serving some of the under served to keep their PR and fund machinery operating well. There are multiple organizations that accept donations but when I asked for more information, like a desire to meet the children who will use the toys, books and clothes I wanted to hand over, it turned out that few of them were genuinely taking care of orphans. Of course it was good to know that so many organizations were taking care of poor children - certainly the orphans aer not the only ones who need care.
the other day I was listening to a radio program and was appalled to hear the insensitivity with which the RJ made fun of beggars, clearly his beautiful illusion of reality was getting distorted by their appearance.
I loved what my spiritual teacher recently shared with me - if you think you are donating, don’t donate because then all you are doing is increasing your credit in the balance of karma. you are an instrument of action and you have nothing of your own that you can donate.
I too feel the way you do these days. When I was young and brash I thought it was I that did this and that to be who I am. Now I reflect back and at each stage, there seems to have been a force that led me to a fork. Yes, I did try to make the right choices some of the time and worked towards goals but if I did not even reach those forks, was not born with those few breaks where would I have been?
@ Aurita - thank you and you are welcome to leave long comments. I agree it is difficult to keep tabs, especially up to the last mile. However, that should not deter us from giving. There are ways to check and perhaps that is one reason audit firms are coming up in this sector. Reg meeting the orphans - well, different organizations have different policies on these - some don’t encourage people meeting them, for good reasons. It’s nice though to see other people who realize that where we are (from the time we are born) has a big impact on where we get to.