Begging techniques and forms in Durban
DURBAN is becoming a city of beggars.
Drive through the streets of town and at nearly every intersection you will find a person standing with a story for you.
From the outset, let me declare that there many legitimate cases of people who are down and out and find no way out but to beg for a living. Our sympathies and alms go out to them regularly.
What is a never-ending source of wonderment is the many and varied methods of extracting money from sympathetic motorists or pedestrians. Some are outrageous, others are funny and yet some boggle the mind.
There is a curious chap who takes over a corner near the Durban Unisa building daily. He is unkempt with matted, long hair. He approaches every car that stops at his traffic light and suddenly breaks out into prayer with his head and arms stretched upwards to the heavens.
I firmly believe, after dwelling on his appearance – especially the long hair – that he thinks he is a reincarnation of a sage.
Am I being blasphemous? I beg you to meander down to that auspicious corner and prove me wrong.
Then, at the Sandile Thusi (Argyle) Road intersection with the M4, I see a young boy begging for alms every morning.
However, I come back that way an hour later and he is transformed into a white-faced ghost. He paints his face white and stands absolutely still with a funny whistle that he emits every few seconds.
As soon as anyone gives him a handout, he breaks into motion with moves that would have given the late Michael Jackson a run for his billions of dollars. I know it is the same character, as his eyes are unmistakeable and the sad demeanour is inescapable.
Where it starts getting dubious is when some of the beggars, who are just con artists, forget which particular limb they sought sympathy with the previous day.
Alms merchants
One day the left arm is pulled into the shirt and is purported to be missing and the next day the right arm disappears. Same with the legs. Unfortunately, these alms merchants can cause a serious danger to motorists. They go from car to car at traffic lights and weave through traffic when the lights turn green.
Then there are some who, as they approach you, suddenly fall to their knees as if doing obeisance to you. You have to be careful not to drive over them, or part of them, when you take off as the traffic light turns green.
Over the years, a drastic change has appeared on the begging scene. The hue of the needy ones has changed drastically. Many Caucasian individuals have joined the fray. Signs of the times indeed.
The issue I have largely, is that so many of the beggars appear to be healthy and strong.
They are able to work or seek work. I give them the benefit of the doubt, in that they may have possibly searched for work but are unsuccessful in their endeavours. Therefore they have resorted unwillingly to this demeaning task. I’d like to think that.
Then we have Blue Lagoon and the Durban beachfront. In fact anywhere the normal citizen goes to relax.
Conscience
These venues have become “conscience arenas”. We go there to catch our breath and unwind from daily stress. However, no sooner than we switch off our cars’ engines we are assailed by charity seekers. Sometimes a whole family lineage appears at your car windows.
Your conscience is piqued and pricked simultaneously.
They play on our sympathy. It is a sad thing when an entire family is starving and have to make a display of their suffering in a public place.
The sinister thing is when we hear that some enterprising beggars have borrowed other people’s children and pretend that they belong to them.
Others send out the children to beg from cars, while watching from a nearby vantage point.
Some family beggars have children in steadily increasing ages. They seem to reproduce prolifically. One wonders why did they procreate when they know they cannot afford to sustain so many children?
Don’t dare ask them that. I did once and was met with a dirty look and had their backs swiftly turned on me.
The one positive side to what beggars do, is that although they are needy, they are not resorting to crime or petty stealing to subsist.
They are putting their case out there, put up with derision and abuse and live to beg another day.
We pray for an ideal world where beggary and poverty will be eradicated.
In the meantime, excuse me while I beggar off till a fortnight’s time.
Ravi Govender is an entrepreneur and philanthropist. E-mail ravigovender@telkomsa.net