My friend looked very dismayed. He does not see enough “poor people,” or to be precise, “real poor people” available to hand out qurbani meat to. He could not reconcile this fact with himself. While government statistics tell him that 25% of Bangladesh’s population is living below the poverty line, and newspaper reports still talk about “Monga,” or seasonal unemployment, of pervasive poverty in the northern districts, why is it that there is not enough people to distribute fitra or zakat to during Eid-Ul-Fit’r, or even for joining Milad prayers after the death of a near and dear one in the family?
Statistics do tell us that there has been a sharp reduction in Bangladesh’s poverty numbers in recent decades. However, another group of people say that if we take $1.75 to be the minimum threshold limit per day, then almost 40% of our people are living below the poverty line. Social scientists also point to a rise in “poor people statistics” during any natural calamity or political impasse.
During our early days, we used to see day labourers coming from the northern region to work in paddy fields in Sylhet or Noakhali during the harvest period. That scene is increasingly fading away. The minimum daily wage for day labourers has increased manifold in recent years. A day labourer can buy a higher amount of rice today than he could in the late 90s. During the harvest season, a day labourer could easily earn Tk15,000 per month, if not more. A rickshawpuller in the urban areas earns more than Tk20,000 per month. Courtesy of inward remittances, rural Bangladesh is now thriving with new spenders.
Because of an inadequate and corrupt rural healthcare system, there is an increase in the mentally and/or physically-challenged populace, or “passenger population.” Preliminary studies show that almost 8% of our population is comprised of this passenger population. Many of them resort to begging. Guess how much a beggar earns a day? There are juicy stories: A beggar in Dhaka could easily earn Tk120,000 per year at the minimum.
Thanks to NGOs or government social safety net programs, or even political harnessing, even a rural denizen can earn Tk72,000 per annum. Of course, I have not included the emerging small entrepreneurs in rural Bangladesh, a convertible trading community among urban slum dwellers, or non-resident Bangladeshis, joining or floating businesses abroad and employing other Bangladeshis and supporting establishments back home.
Though there may be a seasonal rise in favour of help-recipient groups, there will be a reduction in the number of regular beggars, or “desperate for help” groups, in the coming days. We may not get enough people to “pray on rent” for our departed beloved ones, or to hand out fitra or zakat. Most of this money won’t go to the target market or the really needy people, unless we smoothen the “supply chain” or the distribution network.
All this money would only enter a few pockets of a beneficiary group, not in compliance with Islamic Shariah or directives. Poor people who are not willing to travel to urban places won’t be receiving these. Really poor people, though their numbers are also reducing, won’t receive a sustainable benefit in the remote corners of the country.
A portion of these favours or giveaways must reach the educational institutions or health centres through capable NGOs. Some Pakistani or Indian NGOs have already established a good track record in this regard.
Continuous and massive urbanisation is forcing us to change our lifestyles – the way we sacrifice cattle, distribute alms, or organise religious programs. People are increasingly resorting to floating small businesses or shifting modes of earning. We don’t get enough people to join political rallies on rent – even for Tk500 – for half a day. In the near future, we may not have enough beggars asking for money, telling concocted stories about their health, their relatives, or their wretched poverty either.
We have to change, change for good, and change through the respectable transporter to make sure our money is well spent and has reached out to the right target group. We should also look for visible impacts of the distributed sum.
