If kindness is a crime
A girl in worn-out clothes selling garlands approached a taxi. The taxi driver waved her away.
''Hold on, don't do that,'' said his passenger. He rolled down the window and beckoned to the girl. ''How much, honey?'' he asked.
''Forty baht, sir,'' the girl replied. ''Forty? Aren't they usually 20?'' the passenger smiled.
The girl looked at him with puppy-eyes. The passenger sighed: ''Alright, 40 it is.''
She handed him the garland and smiled, saying ''Thank you, sir'' and waiing before walking off. A moment of silence followed, until the light turned green and the taxi drove off.
The taxi driver spoke, ''You know, sir. You shouldn't give money to these kids.''
''Why is that, brother?'' the passenger asked, amused.
''All these kids are working for criminal gangs,'' the taxi driver said. ''You're just wasting your money. She'll probably buy drugs with it.''
''How do you know, brother? ''
''Everyone knows.''
''Everyone knows or everyone thinks they know, brother?''
''It's a fact, sir.''
''Then where's the evidence, brother?'' The passenger laughed softly and offered a thought. ''Brother, what do you think is going to happen to that girl?''
''What do you mean, sir?''
''Let's assume, brother, that a gang puts her up to this. What do you think is going to happen to her if no one buys from her?''
''I don't know, sir, probably gets a beating.''
''Not much of a prospect, is it, brother?''
''No sir, not much.''
''Let's again assume, brother, that people stop buying from her, period. What will the gang make her do then?''
''Probably force her to steal, deal drugs, or maybe into prostitution.''
''I think we can both agree that her future is bleak, can't we, brother?''
''Yes sir, we can.''
''Brother, I think we can both agree that no one is going to rescue her and thousands like her. Not you, not I, not anyone else. Can we agree on that?''
''Yes sir, we can.''
''Brother, did you see that little smile on her when I gave her the money?''
''No sir, I couldn't, not from where I'm sitting.''
''Perhaps it was a grateful smile, brother. Perhaps it was a mocking smile, having fooled me into paying double price. But whatever it was, she seemed happy, satisfied for that one tiny little moment. And it only cost 40 baht.''
''Forty may mean nothing to someone like you, sir, but it's a lot to people like me.''
''And that's why, brother, it was I who bought from her, not you. Life is hard enough, dodging zooming luxury cars just to make a living.''
The taxi came to another stoplight.
''She's probably not even Thai, sir _ a lot of them aren't.''
''Perhaps brother, but all of them are still human beings.''
A boy then approached the passenger's window, begging for money. The passenger rolled down the window.
''Are you selling something?'' The boy shook his head. ''Have you got a piece of cloth to wipe down the windows?'' The boy shook his head. ''Do you expect people to give you money for nothing?''
The boy gave him an angry look and walked away, muttering curses to the passenger's ancestors.
''We get all kinds out here, sir,'' the taxi driver shook his head.
''There're all kinds everywhere in this world,'' the passenger said, smiling.
From June 19-26, the police arrested 241 Cambodian beggars. There were 92 men and 149 women, all deported back to Cambodia.
A study shows that one beggar can make up to 300 to 1,000 baht per day. Some can even make up to 2,000 baht. According to the Social and Human Development Ministry, the begging industry generates up to 20 million baht per month.
Can these numbers be trusted? Make of them what you will.
Experts say begging rings are run by human trafficking gangs. They kidnap the victims and put them on the street. But many also choose the work. A mother with a small child can be rewarded up to 120,000 baht for an 18-month service in the streets. A child aged five to 15 can get 80,000 baht. A handicapped person can make 70,000 baht.
Can these numbers be trusted? Make of them what you will.
The problem, say the experts, is that Thai people are ''too kind-hearted''. The industry exists and the gangs flourish simply because the Thai heart is too mushy.
I say, that's only half of it. The other half is that we Thais, being Buddhists, like to spread kindness and make merit to ensure many happy returns later in this life and the next.
Call it an investment, more specifically, an investment in karma.
I don't disagree that children or the handicapped begging in the streets or dodging luxury automobiles at the intersection to make a living selling flowers or garlands is an urgent social problem.
I cannot agree, however, that the blame should be put on the kindness of the Thai people, or with trying to solve the problem by telling us to stop being kind.
First of all, this is a fallacy. We are no kinder than anyone else, because if we were, there wouldn't be children or handicapped people begging on the streets in the first place. Second, what do we think would happen if each and every one of us ceased our acts of ''kindness''?
Would the gangs give up and their members decide to become good, productive citizens, turning the dungeons where they keep the children into kind and caring orphanages?
Would the children be freed to go to school, complete their studies and eventually become doctors and lawyers?
Would the handicapped get brand new wheelchairs with satellite-guided GPS?
No, no and no. The gangs would resort to more desperate measures. The children would be forced to steal, deal drugs and go into prostitution. The handicapped would continue to be neglected.
Why don't we address the issues at the heart of the problem? Social development for the long term, and targeting human trafficking gangs with vigilance _ instead of pinning the blame on kindness.
Or perhaps the gangs pay too well in bribe money and have connections in high places?
Perhaps many of us would rather invest out of greed for the present, rather than the many happy returns later in this life or the next one _ which means many of us may not be good Buddhists in the first place, doesn't it?
Contact Voranai Vanijaka via email at
voranaiv@bangkokpost.co.th
