beggars

What do you do with beggars in a country where it is a profession? According to the laws of Islam, you have to give to beggars to get to heaven. If that is true, then you have to have beggars to give to. I struggled for a long time about what to do with them. Some are truly poor and desperate, some are not. Some of the children aren't beggars at all, but see a foreign woman with a nice face, and act like a beggar to see if they can get anything from me.

In the past, I sort of picked and chose according to the moment. There are times in the bazaar that if I give to a beggar, tons of them will crowd around me, and it becomes a mob scene with women and children pulling my clothes off. I hate that.

Lately though, because of the wretched winter they had here and now the drought we are in, prices have doubled for staples like flour, oil, and rice, so I give to nearly everyone I see. When I shop, I ask for small change so I have something to give.

I have been looking for other ways to give as well though. My roommate loads little draw string bags to give out. She packs it full of sample bottles of shampoos and soaps or first aid supplies and a 50 afghani note (one dollar...a lot for a beggar). I used to buy cookies when I went in to a shop to give to the children, but being the nurse that I am, I have wanted to do something a bit more nutritious. So, today, I walked home from "du sad bestar" (the hospital I am working in). It is about a three mile journey, so I usually run into a lot of beggars. Last week, I ran into about 5 in a 5 minute period, so I thought this week that I would be more prepared. So, I stopped at a little store and bought 4 little boxes of Mango juice, thinking it would add some vitamin C and beta carotenes to their diet. So I walked and walked, and no beggars. I couldn't believe it. There just weren't any out today! Perhaps they were hanging out at wedding halls, as it is wedding season. Or, perhaps the police came through and cleared them all out. That is possible. I saw a big truck full of Kalashnikov armed men drive by as I was leaving the hospital...who really knows?

I was a bit disappointed, as I was very tired from the day at the hospital, and I had loaded myself down with all these juices. But, as I got to the back side of the bazaar, where all of the used clothing is, I saw a little old woman bent completely in half shuffling along with her little bag of bread looking into a shop to see if the man would give her a bit of change. I looked to make sure she was a beggar (though I really didn't have a doubt). Then, I turned around and bent over to talk with her and gave her the juice and told her it would be good for her. At this point, usually the beggar will say "God bless you", because to give to beggars gains favor with God. I don't believe this. I give, because I know that God loves these poor distressed people. I said, "God bless you khAlla (auntie)". Then she grabbed me and hugged me around the waist because she couldn't stand strait, and burst into tears. I bent down to hug her back and cried with her.

What else could I do?