A Conundrum : What would you do?

» Posted by on Nov 3, 2011 in Blog, Life Lessons | 2 comments

A conundrum for you.

You’re walking along a street, and you notice a small boy sitting on the side of the road.

This boy is incredibly malnourished. Face gaunt from lack of food, distended belly, visible ribs and shockingly thin limbs. He’s starving.

He sits on the side of the road with his hand lifted. He’s begging.

You’re shocked.

What Would You Do? (note your answer)

You know that most begging that occurs in this area is organised. Street gangs kidnap abandoned children and train them to beg. The children are abused in every possible way. Physical assault, forced starvation, sexual abuse, disfigurement – it’s all used as a ploy to attract more money whilst begging. Each day, exploited children are dropped at different points around the city, and then picked up in the evening once their begging shift is over.

Now that you know this, what would you do?

If the children don’t meet their begging quota for the day, they endure physical and sexual abuse once they return back to their ‘home’. They’re punished for not earning enough. If you give money to this starving boy, you might be able to help him meet his begging quota and reduce the risk of abuse when he returns home.

Now that you know this, what would you do?

By giving this starving boy money, you’re also showing the street gangs that exploiting and abusing is a profitable business. They know that for as long as they can shock you with disfigured children, you’ll continue to give the children money. It’s a business. It’s easy money.

Now that you know this, what would you do?

You think it may be a good idea to buy the boy some food. However you know that severely malnourished children will have problems digesting most types of food, and you could potentially make him more sick by doing this.

Now that you know this, what would you do?

I’m interested in your response. I found myself in this situation just three days ago whilst wandering through Chandni Chowk in India. What would you do? Let me know in the comments below / or via Facebook / Twitter.

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  • http://twitter.com/marlousteh marlous teh

    Hi Chantelle,

    I would feel his pain and I would give him money or food straight away.!

    Second, I would assume that giving him money is always better, because then he would at least be able to have some food and, I am amazed while saying it, live longer. However, gangs might ‘recruit’ more beggers to get more money..

    My first instinct says: get him out of there! That is probably the best solution for the boy, however it’s not a solution for the collective as it is likely that another child will be replaced that will be beaten, assaulted and abused…

    Tackle gangs who make a business out of beggers…? Create new sustainable business opportunities in areas that are needed?

    Marlous.

  • http://www.facebook.com/eyalnow Eyal Matsliah

    namaste,

    i was always inclined to give food to beggers , especially if it seemed that money will go straight to their veins or gulped from a bottle.

    honestly, i never thought about the problem of causing more pain by feeding a malnurished person.
    i think white rice with a little bit of wattered-down dahl might be ok even for those kids.

    giving him a bit of money is one temporary solution that ensures that at least he will not be beaten up TODAY.

    the best solution of course will be to take him to some NGO that deals with these kids, or optimally, to adopt him.

    kinda reminds one of slumdog millionaire.

    what did you end up doing ?

    blessings to all those who are in need,

    e.