AMERICAN DIGEST: Comment on Against Compassion

AMERICAN DIGEST: Comment on Against Compassion: Out here in the urban jungle of Jakarta

Out here in the urban jungle of Jakarta, it's easy to find all the
beggars you could want, some of them as young as 5. Women with babies,
too, as well as the occasional amputee or street singer. You can give
them quartas (about 2500 rupiah) if that makes you feel good and salves
your conscience. Problem is, the kids and women and amputees will only
see a small fraction of the money. Look more closely at the major
intersections and traffic circles where the beggars congregate. See
him? No, over there, sitting next to the motorcycle taxi stand. Yeah,
him, the tough-looking guy keeping a close eye on the action. That's
the beggars' "handler", who works for the local "preman" or godfather.
That's the organized crime boss who runs groups of beggars (who really
are poor) to increase his own bottom line. He'll also do really
despicable things like take babies from their mothers and give them to
other women to hold while begging, to increase the sympathy factor.
Sometimes, these women will pinch the kids--hard--in order to make them
cry and generate even more sympathy. In return, the street kids and the
rest get enough food and money to survive, barely. Westerners are
viewed as particularly attractive targets, because we're all "rich",
suckers for suffering kids, and most don't know how the system works.
But what some other long-term residents and I have started to do is to
carry around some local snacks that we can give out when caught at some
of the interminable traffic lights (and traffic jams) they have around
here. The snacks are fairly nutritious, the women and kids like them,
and, unlike money, they're worthless to the thugs. That's life in the
big city out here.


Posted by waltj at August 27, 2009 8:35 AM