Begging: Addis Ababa’s Smokeless Industry

Everyone is wondering on how to tackle the begging scenario. Many have tried their best, which is very laudable by the way, to help the beggars out of their misery. Some have tried to provide them alternative sources of income, some have tried reintegrating them back to their old homes, some have tried counseling thinking that it has to do with attitude and amazingly enough Teddy Afro even sang a song to help these campaigns. However, still begging is proliferating. Ever more people on the streets than before. Many have blamed the government claiming that the reason many are out on the streets is due to unbearable costs of living. It is just heart breaking looking at mothers with neat clothes asking for alms. It is frightening to see children following you on every corner asking you for money.

All of the reasons and interventions had their fruitful consequence although short lived. All of them in fact considered begging as a problem. I am not writing this to scrutinize any of the interventions, at least not yet. I am fully in support of any interventions carried out from different perspectives. Accordingly, in this note, I attempt to provide you new perspective.

That said my view towards the beggars dramatically changed when I read an experience on Reporter (Amharic) newspaper. The story involved about a beggar who became a millionaire after depositing 38,000 birr. The story teller apparently peaked at the old beggar’s account book. Even though, I am not supposed to believe everything I read, it made me skeptical of the entire begging venture which I am glad it did. Because I might be on to something here and I am sure you would follow suit and If not don’t say that I never warned you. Tighten your seat belt, reader!

Who are the Beggars?

I want you, first, to look at the begging scenario as an industry, a smokeless one perhaps. When you look at it that way, the beggars will suddenly become the business men and women or as I prefer to call them the entrepreneurs. They are, in all honesty, the best entrepreneurs who I suggest our conventional business men and women should learn from. I call to witness Al-Amoudi. Putting aside the joke, these beggars like any other business person design their business plan, in their mind of course. But just because I have never seen one doesn’t mean they don’t have one. In their business plan, and so to say, they identify a location preferably with high traffic, they see their positioning with regards to other beggars, they look out for opportunities such as Eid or Timket festivities, they dress to impress (advertising) but in the opposite way which is the more they seem impoverished the likelihood of their income to increase. We hear stories of beggars faking their physical pain, stories of babies being rented out to them and stories of their dramatic return once they were taken back and all because they want to do business. Furthermore, they employ different distribution channels or they have branches, some send out their kids who may not necessarily be theirs while some bring their kinsmen from the countryside and increase their accessibility. In addition, some beggars are seen diversifying their income. They are exchanging the coins they receive for profit of 10 cents or so. I will not blame nor sympathize with the beggars. In fact, I envy them for they have identified a gap and use the demand for their profits. If you seem angered by this notion, then you could be among the people I am going to talk about.

Almsgivers: The ones who seek help

Almsgivers are the customers who in the first place are the reason for the establishment and growth of the begging industry. Yes obviously just like any other business. There is a demand and boom entrepreneurs provide. But what are the products and services these customers seek? This is the complicated part. The demand is in the almsgivers mind and the service providers are the beggars. The demand is in the mind because it is not something physical. Even you, if you are an almsgiver, is not conscious of your need. This need is endless, perhaps eternal. Just as we need food this need will always exist until we die. This is the need to overcome guiltiness as a result of a sin committed. This phenomenon is common in a religious society because the idea of sin and the guilt that follows it are visible. Accordingly, we almsgivers, I am afraid I was once one, commit sins and many of which we keep to ourselves. We know that we can’t confess all our pitfalls even to our closest priest or imam. And so, guilt overtakes us. But, truly we believe good deeds could wash away the bad ones, don’t we? And, therefore, the first easiest, approximate and most affordable good deed that comes towards us is to become an almsgiver. The so-called beggars come in to provide us this service. I wish to call them the “brokers to spiritual healing”. What attracts us is their advertisement. The beggars definitely know what we want. The more sick, poor or sad they seem the likelihood that we feel much better about ourselves after that small coin we give them.

We seem to believe that we are free from guilt the moment we drop them the “simuni”. I am definitely sure that each and every one of us knows to his or her fullest knowledge that that simuni will not change the beggars’ life rather it will reward him to further engage in it. Behavioral psychology says if you reward a behavior it persists. The reward here is both ways. The beggar gets some coins while the almsgiver gets some sort of “relief”. As long as there are religions or taboos that restrict certain behaviors, there will always be sins resulting in more guilty feeling and more coins to give and more beggars to receive it. It is an endless vicious circle.

My upcoming article will be dealing with the solution to this challenge.