EMPATHY AND DIFFICULT CHOICES
Many child beggars are forced to beg under the orders of criminal gangs
That skinny woman clad in a sari carrying an infant in her arms waited for me in front of the bus door. A few small children wearing dirty torn clothes gathered around my legs looking up at me. Like robots, they repeatedly uttered words “Sawasdee, Maharanee [meaning a queen]. Khob khun kha”, begging me to give them money. These sights and sounds were common at all pilgrimage sites in India I visited recently. Initially, I felt pity for them until I asked the guide and friends if I should give them money. They warned me against more beggars’ arrivals.
On the second day of the trip, a male vendor chased me and tried to sell votive tablets at the Jetavana Monastery Shravasti, where the Lord Buddha had stayed for decades. The vendor annoyed me so much that I thought buying anything might end this nuisance. I wanted to stop this harassment as fast as possible, so I turned to talk to him for price bargaining. As a result, a Thai monk who was invited to give lectures at all the pilgrimage sites reprimanded me for not listening to him. I felt remorseful and apologised to the monk who suggested that I not make eye contact with the vendors and beggars, which encouraged them to follow me.
On the third day, on my way back from the birthplace of the Lord Buddha in Lumbini, Nepal, to India, the sight of a poor little boy holding his little sister’s hand softened my heart and I handed my breakfast to him. The boy did not say thank you or look happy at all. Later, I learned from a friend that most beggars there were vegetarians and could not eat meat, so the food I gave him might end up in a trash bin.
The final day of the trip was like the final straw that broke the camel’s back. At a few sites in Kushinagar, nearly everyone asked me to give them money. Child beggars surrounded our group and repeatedly recited a Buddhist prayer, although they might not have understood the meaning. This upset me, since I believe the prayer must be said with great respect, not for begging. I complained, but the monk lecturer told me to be patient since the children did not mean to do harm. I calmed down until another group of beggars chased me while I was walking back to the bus. Eventually, I ran away in fear. In all, everything in India — except the begging — impressed me.
Like in Thailand and many other countries, many child beggars in India are forced to beg under the orders of criminal gangs. As disabled child beggars receive more money than healthy ones, gangs often increase their profits by inflicting abducted children with wounds or even maiming them. To prevent escapes, traffickers often keep the kids addicted to drugs.
According to UN sources, there are up to 150 million street children in the world today. In 1994, Unicef estimated that there were 11 million street children in India. This number is said to be a drastic underestimation. Indian authorities estimated 314,700 street children in cities like Bombay, Calcutta, Madras, Kanpur, Bangalore and Hyderabad and around 100,000 street children in Delhi.
According to the article “How Children Are Forced Into Begging By Cartels”, by the children’s-rights advocacy organisation Save The Children India, a conservative estimate shows that 300,000 children across India are forced to beg, using everything from drug addiction to threats of violence and beatings to form what is a now a multimillion rupee industry led by human trafficking cartels. The Indian National Human Rights Commission reports that 40,000 children are abducted in India every year, over 25% of them remaining untraced. However, child begging is not addressed by authorities the way it should be. It is often assumed that these children belong to families who push them into begging.
According to accounts of rescued children, they were given daily targets for their begging trips. Drugs are used to keep children sedated. Women pretend to be mothers with a “sleeping” child who is actually drugged into submission. There have been cases where gangs “rent” babies from working-class mothers. Mumbai police found that many parents in Mumbai are able to live comfortable lives simply by pushing their children into begging. Even when sent to shelters by the Child Welfare Commission, parents would come to the shelters to retrieve their children, and push them back into begging.
In India, there is no central law that penalises begging. However, 22 states have anti-begging laws.
It seems very difficult to end begging anywhere in this world. The best way for tourists to brace for begging is not to give beggars money or buy pens, candy or cheap toys for local children chasing visitors at tourist spots. Such kind deeds make youngsters expect free things from tourists, which encourages begging. Tourists — and the people they wish to help — are better off making a donation to foundations working for needy children. Last but not least, long-term solutions include better welfare and education, although there is a long way to go.