I know, I’m guilty.
Let me introduce you to Mac. For 9 months, every work day at the same traffic light, I’ve seen this young man asking for money. So often I’ve pretended that I’m busy setting the radio, looking at something on the other side of the street, or I’ve just plainly ignored him when he got closer to my car.
Then I got curious. What drives this man to be begging for money? What happened in his life that he was caught in this desperate cycle of begging?
Enough of unanswered questions. Today is the day that I’m going to add answers to all my questions. I pulled next to the road when I saw Mac this morning and I called him to my car.
Sadness filled me when I could see him clearer, the unneat brown curls, the dirty hands, his peeling nose and his big blue eyes. He was indeed a source of great sadness.
How old are you? I am 32. Still too young to be doing this kind of job
Why are you begging? To support my family
Who is your family? My wife and my daughter of 9 months
Where do you stay? I stay at a shelter and my wife and kid stays with my mother at the other side of town
What do you ask for? I ask for money or food. I don’t like it when people give me cigarettes because when someone sees me smoking they think that I have money and then they do not want to give
Why are you not working? Although I am willing to learn and will give anything to have a steady income I cannot get a full time work. I have tried. I also have a physical disability, I get epileptic seizures and therefore cannot hold a steady work like a fitter and turner or even working on computers
How many hours of the day do you stand here? I start from early in the morning until late afternoon
How much do you make in a day? Today was not good. I got no money
I said goodbye with money leaving my hand and still a whole lot of unanswered questions. Is this for real or is he just an expert in panhandling? Did he push the right buttons, his child, the epileptic seizures and the “no money for the day”?
I know that many people asking for money are caught up in a desperate cycle of begging from the public. I also know that giving is not a benign act without consequences as so often money does more harm than good for many of these beggars are addicted to drugs and alcohol which can cause deterioration in health.
