Eliminate Beggary
- Reema M Ismail, Karachi

I CAN'T recall the last time I stopped at a traffic signal and was not assailed by one or more demanding beggars hovering over my car, waving, screaming and thumping hard on the windshield to get my attention. Unfortunately, this usually happens when I am engrossed in my thoughts and on my way to running some important errands of the day.

And if I choose to ignore them, the women shamelessly scratch the car windows with their rings to make a noise that is very annoying. The men too, keep knocking hard. And in the end, I feel that I am almost blackmailed into opening my window and my wallet to them. I realize that I am doing more harm than good by giving them money.

On the one hand, it is an act of kindness that may get them through one day, but on the other hand, it rewards them for begging. Therefore, drastic measures have to be taken on a long-term basis to combat the problem. Previous efforts of the government have failed miserably, and in recent years, the invasion of these beggars has increased dramatically. They relentlessly pursue us in every nook and corner of Karachi.

Not only that, no matter how ungodly the hour, say, if you run out to buy medicine, they are there to harass you. If they can invest so much time and energy in this profession, they can certainly put the same effort in doing something constructive with their lives. All they need is proper guidance and support to get out of this life of failure and misery. As a first step, the government should address the issues of illiteracy and unemployment more seriously, and then explore other avenues for these under privileged members of our society.

For this, we should aim to set up training camps and provide them with proper incentives to work. Also, the numerous NGOs which work diligently for the advancement of humanity, should set up shelters, educate their children and help them to be self sufficient. We, as a society, need to come up with a plan, the one that takes all the beggars off the roads and makes them productive.●

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