Begging Profession
By Bipul K Debnath
Farjana Akhter, 35, was once a pie seller at a makeshift stall near Rampura bridge in the capital. Her husband was an auto-rickshaw driver. With their only daughter, life was good for them. Then, the sudden death of her husband in an accident three years ago brought her immense misery. To make ends meet, she started begging in the streets of Rampura. For that, she was arrested by the police under an anti-vagrancy law and sent to a rehabilitation centre, run by the Department of Social Services (DSS). But they soon released her after giving her some money for a fresh start. She then became ill with kidney disease. So, finding no other way to earn money, she returned to begging.
I am sick, so I cannot do any heavy work. Once, I tried to work as a maid servant. But they were not satisfied with my service because I cannot work like a physically fit person. So, I returned to the street and started begging again. There are some people who give me regular alms. Roaming around this area and getting regular money from them, I somehow manage to survive with my daughter, Akhter said, when asked why she prefers to beg rather than work. She makes Tk 800 on average every day, which adds up to Tk 24,000 per month, more than she could ever hope to earn as a housemaid. Her daughter is now 8 years old and a student of class 2 at a charity-run school in Badda, where they live.
In Bangladesh, where the minimum monthly wage is Tk 1,500 for all sectors, begging may seem lucrative, but is not an easy task. It is not all money for nothing as some may believe. Sometimes, it can be quite a troublesome job. Besides giving up all dignity, a beggar has to seek alms walking around for hours, even under a scorching sun or heavy rain. Incomes vary on time of day and day of the week _ rush hours and weekends are more profitable. They sometimes face the wrath of passersby for being a nuisance, or risk harassment from local gangs.
While talking to this correspondent, Farjana Akhter urged the government to arrange permanent rehabilitation programmes for people like her so they can stay away from begging.
The government has attempted several times to put an end to begging as a profession, even declaring Dhaka a beggar-free city. But the reality is that it has not been possible to free the capital from beggars, despite enacting anti-begging laws, which are hardly implemented.
According to the Vagrant and Shelterless People (Rehabilitation) Act, 2011, a person who engages in begging in public places or flaunts disabilities to get alms, he or she will be arrested and face a maximum of three months in prison, or detention for up to two years at a rehabilitation centre. Signs against begging have popped up all over the city, and law enforcers occasionally carry out anti-begging drives. Many government and non-government agencies are also working to provide training and assistance to beggars so they can make a decent living.
People from different parts of the country throng the capital with the hope of earning more money. Most of them have few bankable skills, or are physically challenged and unable to do any work. Thus, many turn to begging. Amin Hossain, 55, is one of them.
I lost my eye sight 22 years ago. So I moved to Dhaka from Gaibandha and started begging to earn money. My wife has been sick for a long time. We have no children. I earn about Tk 800 per day, said Hossain, who begs near the Rampura bus stand.
Of course, nobody really starts out wanting to be a beggar. But sometimes, the irony of fate forces them to take up begging for their livelihood.
Twenty years ago, I was a good football player at my village in Jamalpur district. But I lost my left leg to a bone tumour, it was a tragic incident of my life. Since then, I have become a street beggar. I earn about Tk 900 per day. My wife is dead, so I have to look after my family alone. I have six daughters. They all go to school, my eldest one is in class 8. My neighbours and the teachers at my daughters school help us a lot, said Habibur Rahman, 59, who was seen begging at Hatirjheel.
I know that begging is not a dignified profession. People consider it as a shameful job. But being physically challenged, I have to beg in the street. Regular anti-begging drives by police give us extra pain. If we are considered as a burden to society, the government must do a lot more to rehabilitate us permanently, Rahman added.
There are also many who are physically fit, yet they choose to beg occasionally. They can be considered as seasonal beggars. Passersby often ignore them and refuse to give them any money. Ayub Ali, 69, from Rangpur is one such beggar.
I have no child and so I have to survive on my own income. I live in the village with my wife, who is blind. Being an elderly person, I cannot do any hard work. So, begging is my only option to provide for us both. People in my locality do not pay much, so I come to Dhaka every Ramadan to make extra money. I earn about Tk 750 per day, said Ali, who was seen begging at Gopibagh recently.
Then there are people who willingly pay beggars, often to avoid pestering, or out of a sense of moral obligation to help.
I give money to elderly beggars, as I feel they cannot work and have no means of earning. I feel sympathy for them, said Kazi Mehedi, a private service holder.
The government has declared certain areas of the capital, such as VIP roads, cantonment, diplomatic zones and residential areas like Banani, Gulshan, Baridhara, Dhanmondi and Ramna free from beggars. But they still seem to be everywhere.
During the recent Eid festival, Dr Hasina Ahmed, a resident of Dhanmondi, had to come away without saying her prayers on Eid day as a group of female beggars surrounded her rickshaw in front of Takwa Mosque.
They started pulling at my saree and demanded I give them money. I wasnt carrying my purse, and I couldnt even get down from the rickshaw. So, I asked the puller to turn around and I returned home. No one, not even the security guards who were on duty there, came to my aid, Dr Ahmed said.
When she drew the attention of the traffic police on duty near the mosque, they said it was not their job to catch beggars, but the responsibility of the criminal division of police.
About controlling beggars, Majeharul Islam, officer-in-charge (OC) of Tejgaon police station that includes beggar-free areas like the Prime Ministers Office (PMO), said: Though it is a humanitarian matter, I try to arrest those who are physically fit and able to earn money. We arrange regular drives to check roaming vagrants and beggars. That is why Tejgaon and PMO areas are now about to free from beggars. Only last week, we arrested 38 beggars and sent them to the vagrant reception centre at Mirpur.
Abu Baker Siddique, OC of Gulshan police station, said: In reality, it has not been possible to free Gulshan and Banani diplomatic areas from beggars. During Ramadan, the number of beggars reportedly increased because people tend to give more alms to the poor at that time. I have been here for three months and we arrested more than 65 beggars who are physically disabled. I sent 35 of them to the court, while another 30 returned home. Anti-begging drive is a regular activity for us. Only yesterday, I arrested 23 beggars and after taking undertakings from them, we sent them back to their respective homes.
Masiur Rahman, OC of Ramna police station, said, We help the officials of the Department of Social Services (DSS) when they make anti-begging drives in the street. During the month of Ramadan, they did not conduct any mobile courts in my area. I have been here for four years. I have arrested about 100 beggars. I have sent them to court and rehabilitation centres of DSS. There are various types of beggars in our city. Most are physically fit for work. But when we catch them, they deny they are begging and often mix with the pedestrians. Using small children to get sympathy is also a widely used tactic to get more alms.
Maidul Islam, public relation officer of the Ministry of Social Welfare, added: The ministry took a project to rehabilitate and create alternative employment for beggars and vagrants in 2010. Back then, 37 beggars from different parts of the capital were rehabilitated. They were sent back to their hometowns and given rickshaws and cash for starting small businesses. But after a few days, they sold the rickshaws and returned to the capital. Mainly for such reasons, the ministry has not been able to free the capital from beggars. But the ministry is taking strict action. Anti-begging drives are conducted on regular basis.
Though there are no exact figures available about the number of beggars in the city, a DSS survey in 2011 counted 10,000 beggars.
Syeda Ferdous Akhter, additional director of DSS vagrant rehabilitation project, said: The Department of Social Services is working to increase rehabilitation facilities for them. The situation is improving. But the main problem is that people who are beggars and vagrants do not want to stay at the centres. They always prefer to move independently. So far, 500 beggars from different districts have been rehabilitated and the project is still going on, she added.
There are some non-government organisations that are working to help beggars. Among them, BRACs Human Rights and Legal Aid Services Programme (HRLASP) provides support to vagrants.
We have assisted 123 vagrants and handed them over to their families from government shelter homes at Trishal in Mymensingh and Betila in Manikganj districts. We have also helped to release 179 children from juvenile development centres at Tongi and Konabari in Gazipur, from January 2014 to March 2017, said Ekramul Haque, programme manager (field operations), HRLASP.n
Parveen Ahmed contributed to this report.
Photos: Mahmud Zaman, Nazmul Islam, File
