For this week @ladiesofhive - Contest , I choose to answer this question.
What is the most extreme example of poverty you have ever seen?
If you are an Indian then you will never have to struggle to answer this question, and if you have ever visited India, I am sure in some parts of the Country you would have witnessed it.
India has a lot of disparity in terms of wealth. The rich keep becoming richer and richer and the poor keep becoming poorer. This is the tragic part of the Country. If you have never seen poverty, then visit the slum areas of Mumbai, and you will see it all over there. Well at the same time it is equally true that in these slums also there are many who are very well off and still staying there. Do you know Begging is one of the most booming businesses in Mumbai city. Some Beggars have more wealth than the so called upper middle class, but they live that life to continue getting money from their source of income which is begging. One should never take it for granted that all people living in slums are poor.
This was an incident some years ago. One evening I was travelling by cab as always from work to home. It was a little late in the evening so it had become dark and I was very tired. The first cab that I got on the way I sat down and I told the driver my destination. I was then busy on my phone. In a couple of minutes, I realized that he was driving very slowly, I looked up and asked him why he was driving so slowly and in a very feeble voice he told me ok I will drive fast, but still nothing much changed. The drive from my office to home was around 45 minutes, as it is a long one. I was getting annoyed that it would take me double the time at that speed.
I told him once again, this time paying full attention on him, and at that time I saw his face clearly. He was a very old and frail person. I was a little taken back in that moment. I assumed he was easily above 80 years. I asked him, what was his age, he told me 82. I was in complete disbelief that at that age some one had to do this type of job. I asked him, he is so old and not in a very good-looking condition then how can he drive a cab. He told me, Madam what to do my Son does not work, and I have to support his family also. I have no money so I have to do some work. I was feeling very sad for him. At that age he had to work to feed his family because he has no savings. I asked him little about his family why they were not working. He said his son was on alcohol addiction, his wife was taking care of 2 very small children at home and doing some cleaning work in houses, he had grandchildren too. So to feed so many people at home, he and his daughter-in-law both had to work with whatever jobs they could get. He had managed to get this cab on hire from a friend and part of his income would go as a rent to him, so there would be not much left for him.
It was sad to hear his story. At the same time, I was also thinking even though he was poor he never succumbed to begging or taking help just on the name of his age and chose to work. That was not it, when my journey got over, I decided to pay him some extra money and he refused to take it. He told me just give me the cab fare and keep me in your prayers. I was touched by his self-respect.
He was so poor that at his age he had to still work and also take care of his family. God forbid if some medical condition would arise, what would he do :-(
As such in Mumbai city we find many people living on roads and we feel sorry for them, we think they are very poor, but as I mentioned earlier you cannot really say if they are genuinely very poor, because these people know that living on the roads means more money for them.
Back home in India I was heavily engaged in social work visiting slums and chawls and teaching children there but trust me, those small huts you see, if you visit inside you will see that they have all the luxuries of life. It is just their way of living. Many people stay like that because in that manner they get a lot of government subsidies as well.
This Cab driver incident touched my heart. I kept thinking about him for a long time. How his life must be a daily struggle to earn and feed his family. Some people, when they see that the cab driver is very old, they would not even want to take that cab. This was some years back, so I do not even know if he would be still alive. But hats off to his dignity even with such conditions of life.
I will like to invite @sayee to participate in this contest.
Thank you for visiting my blog. 👼🏻👼🏻💖💖🌹🌺🌸
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Your story with the taxi driver is very touching. And you are right that there are people who choose to live in the slums, even though they are not poor. I live in Ukraine. After the collapse of the USSR, we had a period when beggars could be seen everywhere. And I was shocked to see the conditions in which some of those families live - they lived much better than my family.
Self-respect is something that does not depend on wealth. These people are admirable.
hello @nainaztengra, I hope you are doing well today. I am really touched by that old cabman's story, unfortunately they are many more just like him, being old and and poor is a very common combination among poor countries. I grew up seeing elderly people who could barely stand upright anymore working hard jobs to earn a living; it has always felt very wrong to me. Everything about poverty is very sad, being alive but unable to earn a living is sad and no one deserves to live like that.
I've never cared to buy into the whole beggars are very rich tales but I understand why that could be considered true. Maybe not very rich because how much do they actually make? We give them mostly change and not a lot of people give to them, but in the grand depth of financial power, I don't think they actually posses any. Though they are some persons who run a network of beggars, they have lots of beggars signed to them like a record label and all the beggars make goes into the treasury... those ones can be considered to have lots of money. I don't really know, it's all speculations.
No one deserves to be poor and it is quite unfortunate that we live in a world where poverty is inevitable thank you for sharing; you have a kind spirit and we should all try to extend grace and understanding to everyone like you did with the cabman.
Have a lovely day/night.
You are right in poor Countries there are many such people who till the last days of their lives have to keep struggling to feed themselves.
Oh my dear, you would be surprised to read about some cases in India where the beggars have managed to buy apartments in the most posh localities of the city. The network guys are also there, they run it like a business and that's dangerous because they harm kids in that and make them beg.
In my city, when I come across a child beggar I give them food but so many times they refuse to take that and only demand for money. Some times you do not know who is genuine and who is into business.
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts @atyourservice
This is all too crazy, a lot children we see begging on the streets were actually trafficked and forced to do that, so sad.
You really can’t tell which one is genuine and which one is on the clock 🤦🏾♀️ We just have to do our best to help the ones we can.
Thank you for writing back.
Absolutely. It's very difficult to differentiate.
Wow... some of the huts are not homes of the very poor... they chose that kind of lifestyle.
That's an eye opener, @nainaztengra .
Indeed, that elderly cab driver displayed a lot of integrity.
So many people to pray for.
Thanks for sharing and
good luck with the contest.
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Thank you @silversaver888. Yes, it is difficult to make out who is actually poor and who is purposefully living in such conditions.
Wish you a good day!
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A very moving story, thanks for sharing.
Life can be very tough on lots of people, but it breaks my heart to think an 82 y/o still working so hard to feed his family. I hope and pray mankind will reverse its course, stop the greed and share the wealth.
Blessings to you and your loved ones.
Thank you @farm-mom. You are right, we cannot even imagine, what life is for some people, so hard and difficult.
Wish you a very good day!
Good day to you @nainaztengra, The world seems to be going crazy, way too much sadness and stress. Although living in the woods, on a mountain has it's challenges, I truly find peace here with beautiful nature all around me.
Thanks for stopping by, always nice to hear from you.
Oh dear. Thanks for the invite and this story has really touched me. I hope there is some improvement in our country.
Seriously, a lot of improvement is required. Politicians have to look beyond their personal agendas of filling up their pockets.