During our travels many of us have been confronted by young children begging for money, knowing on some basic level the cash they receive doesn’t stay in their pockets. Most travelers don’t contribute for this reason, despite wanting to help kids who are clearly living in extreme poverty. Unfortunately this system of child abuse goes deeper than many of us could imagine. My live chat guest today will answer your questions on the economy of forced begging, the process of child binding, and what you should do the next time a small palm asking for change is extended in your direction.
Zulfiqar Rashid was born in Lahore, Pakistan, and spent the first eighteen years of his life in Pakistan and France. He is the author of The Rat-Boys of Karalabad, a book based on the system of organized beggary, which is a deep-rooted part of society in Southeast Asia.
Leave your questions for Zulfiqar in the comments below. He’ll be by later today, Tuesday June 3rd from 10:30pm-1:30am US EST to answer them live.
Zulfiqar will be here for a few hours this evening to answer any questions you have about organized begging. Don’t be shy to ask things you think you should already know as we all benefit from learning where our assumptions meet reality.
I’ve been in India where children have an official looking paper from their head teacher saying that they need help to continue their studies. What’s that about? I also am interested to know whether all these children have an adult watching from a distance and how it would be best to help children in need in big cities if you are just passing through.
– Sorry to say, but most likely yet another scam. Any money given to these children most likely goes to their ‘handlers’.
– You are correct in that the ‘handler’ will most likely be close by to make sure the children do not keep anything for themselves.
– What I have found most effective is to give the child something they will use in front of you. Buy them some food or if time permitting take them to a reasonable place nearby for a proper meal. This way you can be certain your money is going where you intend to.
I have two questions to follow up.
How many children per handler is there usually?
Does buying a child a meal or giving them food instead of money in these situations put them in any potential trouble with their handlers?
There is no rule, but usually 10-15 children per handler. It is usually determined by sections of streets or blocks.
You are right. There is a possibility of the child getting in trouble with the handlers. It is a hard choice – do you give them money and they get beaten for not collecting enough, or do you at least get them a hot meal – something they may not have seen in days? If enough of us do this, we will at least have a shot at breaking the cycle.
This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. A while back I wrote an in-depth expose about a Nepali NGO that was getting rich off the donations of foreigners while the children in their facility were not receiving the care that the donors were promised. I have also published stories about volunteering and voluntour operators, urging people to thoroughly research firms before committing to work with them or donate money. However, this is easier said than done. It took me nearly two years to get to the truth in the above situations, so how is someone who is only in a country for a week, or even a month, supposed to determine which are legitimate programs and which are not? Can you offer any suggestions for questions to ask or things to look for when making assessing these type of organizations? Or perhaps your advice would be not to work with them at all?
Thanks for sharing your experiences. You are right that one needs to be careful when giving money to organizations, and even NGOs are not safe from corruption where corruption is an accepted part of the societal structure. My advice would be to only work with charities or organizations that either you or someone you trust in that country has researched. One way is to personally talk to the management of the organization. The environment they maintain (offices, clothes, cars, etc.) can give you a reasonably good idea of where your money is going. I also try to talk to the children, women and men the organization is helping.
I would not advise to not work with these organizations – then we would be hurting the good ones because of the bad ones. But I agree with you that it is not easy. The good thing is that in this age of social media connectivity, finding out about corrupt organizations is a little easier – for example your writings.
Is there any circumstance where giving money would be okay?
Earlier in my experience, I used to give money, hoping to help the child or frail woman, or man with deformed, twisted limbs. But over the years, as I have learned more about this, I have found that the chances of any money I give actually benefiting that individual are extremely low. While it is painful to not be able to help the beggar, the money is better used through a reputable, non-corrupt organization that helps these children, women and men break out of the vicious cycle they are caught in.
The only exception I would accept is if I know beyond a doubt that the money I give to that child will be used to improve the condition of that child.
I hadn’t heard of the process of binding for young beggars before, can you please go into a bit more detail about how it works?
Yes, but is is a painful thing to talk about. Children, as young as 2-3 years old are subjected to this. Their hands and feet are bound in leather, and is some cases their heads are capped with metal. They are left that way for months and years, which atrophies their limbs. In the case of the metal cap on the head, they grow with limited mental capacities, and a deformed head which is much smaller than their bodies, but ‘normal’ sized ears, eyes and noses, all pulled back towards the back of the head – hence the term Rat-boys or Rat-children. It is a painful, visceral experience to see them in person, especially if you know how they came to be that way.
What was the exact inspiration behind your book and is it fiction, or are there elements from personal experiences or things you’ve witnessed?
Thanks for asking. There were two key inspirations being the book.
One was the fact I strongly believe in children being the future of humanity, and I get enraged when children are abused or exploited. I have seen rat-children and I think it is particularly cruel and inhuman form of abuse against children, which I wanted to bring more awareness about.
Second, this specific exploitation of children is done under the guise of religion, which is an exploitation in its own right. Supposedly ‘religious’ people exploit and corrupt religion, and use children as objects. Their are cases where rat-children are formed in shrines.
While the book is a work of fiction, it is based on both personal experiences, and research that I have done over the last few years on this subject. As an example, see this write-up from BBC a few years ago
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/122670.stm
How much does a typical child make in one day? Does not giving money really free the kids from this type of life?
It depends on the country. In Pakistan, it would be around one to two hundred rupees, which would be one to two dollars. Not giving them money does not necessarily free the children from this kind of life, especially in places where beggary is prevalent and organized. My rationale for not giving them money is that it is almost certain all the money will go to the ‘handlers’, and in most cases they will still be abused and beaten for not bringing enough in. It would be better to give the child something they can use immediately, like food. Remember these children are kept in very poor condition, with little sustenance.
Thank you for taking the time to answer my questions. I also want to know where are these children’s parents during all of this? Are they sometimes the handlers?
My pleasure. Thanks for the conversation. You have brought up a very difficult point. While is it not very common, there are cases where the handlers are the parents of the children, and they have maimed or mutilated their own children so they can ‘earn’ more money through begging. I have children, and I cannot imagine how a parent would do such a thing.
In some case the parents leave the children at a shrine, believing that the child will have a better life – at least food and shelter. In some instances that actually happens, but often the child will spend their life as a beggar.
In many cases, the children are abducted so the parents are as much the victims as the children.
Are there any countries or places that have done a good job of preventing or reducing child beggary?
As I am sure you know, beggary is more common in countries where the per capita income is very low, rate of literacy is low, and surviving the next day is a struggle for a majority of the population. Beggary has been reduced in some countries where governments have become less corrupt, and economic conditions have improved over the years, including programs of improving the literacy rates. Bangladesh is an example of this. In other countries, like Pakistan, there is hope because the government, at the regional and local level, appear to be making some headway by targeting and capturing criminal gang leaders of organized beggars. But unless the overall levels of corruption are reduced and this societal issue is tackled, it is like a hydra – one gang is jailed, and another takes it place.
What are some good organizations people can reach out to so they can learn or help fight this problem?
There are the globally recognized organizations like UNICEF. There are also other organizations that work at local, regional or global levels, including SPARK, FATA, Children First, Coalition against Child Labor, Aangan, Edhi Foundation and many others. It is important to remember that there are a lot of selfless, driven people in many countries who are tirelessly working against these societal issues, and they need our help in any way we can provide it. Even if it is just providing support and comments through their websites.
do you go back to pakistan often? when was the last time
I try to go at least once a year, with the entire family. My children were born in the US, but I think it is important that they experience their culture, and as many other cultures around the world as possible.
Last time I was there was in March/April this year.
What are some places or instances where child beggary has been successfully combated?
If by successfully you mean eliminated, I would not be able to give you an example. This of course excludes developed countries where the per capita income is high, literacy rate is high and rating of governmental corruption is low. In countries where these factors are in the other direction, it is a mixed bag. Bangladesh has seen some improvement, in Pakistan the government is more active in combating organized beggary, but I would not classify them as being successful on this front.
Do any children ever try to hide the money they get for themselves? Is there any way out of the life for them?
Yes, they do. However it is a big risk for them. If they are caught hiding any of the money, they are usually beaten viciously and forced to go hungry. I know it sounds very Dickensian, but this still happens today in some parts of the world.
It is a vicious cycle they are caught in. There are NGOs like Aangan or Edhi Foundation where these children can take refuge. However it is difficult for them to take this step because they have been oppressed, in captivity for all intents, all their life. It is usually a social worker or member of the charity organizations who take them out of this cycle. They also have a chance when their gang leaders are apprehended by the police, in which case they would also be placed in the NGOs.
Hi Zulfiqar,
Can you please give some background into how this kind of begging began? I mean to say, what is the history or organized begging from when it began to today? Does it continue because it is relatively lucrative for the people behind it? Where do these children live at night, are they allowed to go back to their families?
Thanks for answering my questions!
One more question – what are some of the signs of binding? How can I tell? I don’t think I’ve seen this before in my travels.
If a limb has atrophied into a dry, lifeless branch, there is a chance that it was bound in some way for some period of time.
Another clear sign is a Rat-child which I have written about in my book. In this case the head would be much smaller in proportion to the body. The eyes and ears would be pulled to the back of the head, the nose would be much larger in proportion to the face. The lips and mouth would also be disproportionately large. The brain development of a Rat-child is also stunted, resulting in a slurred speech, and jerky, somewhat uncoordinated movement. While there is a rare genetic condition, microencephalopathy, which resembles this, the creation of Rat-children is a documented fact in certain parts of the world. Thankfully, due to increasing social awareness and governmental intervention, there is a decrease in this forced deformation.
You can easily trace the the root of most organized beggary in certain countries, anywhere across the world. Where there is a mixture of poor economic conditions, high degree of illiteracy, corruption in governmental organizations especially the police, and people wanting to exploit the weak for personal gain, you will find organized beggary. If there is no consequence of abducting or maiming a child and putting them on the street because the police gets a cut of the beggar’s take, there are plenty of people out there to take advantage of this ‘easy’ money.
You are right, it continues because for the criminal gangs – and I include the religious group if they are involved in these activities – it is easy money, with no investment required. They will just abduct more children as necessary.
Unfortunately for most of the children we are talking about, there is no home or family. They are abducted young, and the beggar rings are all they know. They live in squalid conditions and do not have anywhere else to go.
What religious groups? Can you please give an example. Thank you.
There are certain shrines in the interior parts of South-Asian countries. The ‘religious’ leaders of these shrines exploit the lack of education of the rural population distort religion for their own purposes. They could not be further away from religion.
Hi Zulfiqar,
As we’re heading into our last half hour, I wanted to see if you have anything to add; is there anything we should know about your book, child beggary, or anything else that hasn’t been asked?
Hi Anil,
Thanks very much for allowing me to converse here with your wonderful audience.
While my book is a fictional account, it is very much based on dark, painful things that happen in this world, today. Some of these I have personally experienced.
I think about the exploitation of children as a global problem, which is manifested in different ways in different countries. I have focused on beggary and the exploitation of children in South-Asia because I have experienced it personally, especially how religion is subverted by some corrupt people. The same things happens in different forms in the US or Europe in the form of child trafficking. It is the darkness in human nature.
I would ask everyone to lend their voice and support in any way they can to bring awareness to this issue. That would be the light that shines on the darkness. With enough light, officials in these countries will have no choice but to take active steps to protect their future and the future of the world, the children.
Hi everyone, I want to thank you for your time and questions as well as you Zulfiqar, for taking the time to join us today. You can feel free to stop by and answer any late questions and in the meantime we’ll look to find you on Twitter:
@zulfiqarrashid
and on your website: ZulfiqarRashid.com
For a more in-depth look at organized child beggary pick up a copy of Zulfiqar Rashid’s latest book, The Rat-Boys Of Karalabad.
Thanks Anil.
Quick correction – the website is http://www.zulfiqarrashid.com
(No u after the q, it unusual).
I apologize and will make the correction above now 🙂
What do I do?