Help
A week ago I met these folks on the streets of Delhi, near Saket.
2 men, 2 women and a child.
They were wearing clean clothes and they walked upright. They were trying to talk to people passing by but were quite meek so didn't always succeed.
When I passed by, one of them asked if I understood Marathi. I said I did. It was quite dark, late in night & I felt that it might be one of those begging groups so I was cautiously moving ahead anyways. But their meekness, their clean clothes & them being Marathi made me pause and listen.
I don't recall their names now. But I noted down one name that I think is relevant here - the name of the person who put them in a desperate situation - Rajiv Karade.
According to the guy in white shirt, Rajiv is a labour contractor who brought them from a village in Maharashtra. They specialise in the work of digging earth for laying of telecom cables. The men & women had worked with the contractor earlier near Mumbai too. After the Mumbai work, they were taken to Delhi for work here. After a few days of work in Delhi, the contractor went absconding. He didn't pay them their dues. Without shelter, without money they were left to fend for themselves in the cold weather of Delhi. None of them had prepared for the weather here and were carrying only thin shawls and pair of clothes.
Not knowing Hindi well enough, they were moving cluelessly through Delhi streets. They didn't have enough money to go back to their village. They were asking passersby, quite sheepishly, to help them.
In big cities, usually one listens with one ear only. The other ear is ready with disbelief to let go of suspicious characters. I told myself that it is not a good way to live - employing disbelief & uttering beliefs as per our convenience. So I stopped and listened.
At first, to help them pay for their tickets I gave them Rs. 160, as I only had change of that much amount. The man said thank you, but he also said that it would not be enough. The women then came and said that Rs. 500 would really help. At this point I again became suspicious as they upped their demand when they saw that I was ready to give. But then again, I didn't want to doubt their situation. If I was in that situation, even I would have asked for more from people who would have believed in me. So, I paid them another Rs. 500.
Apparently, there are quite a few other laborers who came with them and like them were walking around the town, trying to figure a way back home. It seems to be a bigger problem.
Last year, I had met another family of 3, again Marathi laborers, on the streets of Kolkata - Park street. Similar story, similar troubles.
Who are these Rajiv Karades of the world and how can we stop them? Anybody knows people in the business of manual labour in major cities? Can the labour department rein in such acts?
Is there any helpline or aid center for these kind of people in cities? Who do we direct these people to?
A city is a bewildering experience for many, still. Is their an organised body that helps the out-of-towners, the victims of scams, the clueless?
What can/ should we do now?
2 men, 2 women and a child.
They were wearing clean clothes and they walked upright. They were trying to talk to people passing by but were quite meek so didn't always succeed.
When I passed by, one of them asked if I understood Marathi. I said I did. It was quite dark, late in night & I felt that it might be one of those begging groups so I was cautiously moving ahead anyways. But their meekness, their clean clothes & them being Marathi made me pause and listen.
I don't recall their names now. But I noted down one name that I think is relevant here - the name of the person who put them in a desperate situation - Rajiv Karade.
According to the guy in white shirt, Rajiv is a labour contractor who brought them from a village in Maharashtra. They specialise in the work of digging earth for laying of telecom cables. The men & women had worked with the contractor earlier near Mumbai too. After the Mumbai work, they were taken to Delhi for work here. After a few days of work in Delhi, the contractor went absconding. He didn't pay them their dues. Without shelter, without money they were left to fend for themselves in the cold weather of Delhi. None of them had prepared for the weather here and were carrying only thin shawls and pair of clothes.
Not knowing Hindi well enough, they were moving cluelessly through Delhi streets. They didn't have enough money to go back to their village. They were asking passersby, quite sheepishly, to help them.
In big cities, usually one listens with one ear only. The other ear is ready with disbelief to let go of suspicious characters. I told myself that it is not a good way to live - employing disbelief & uttering beliefs as per our convenience. So I stopped and listened.
Apparently, there are quite a few other laborers who came with them and like them were walking around the town, trying to figure a way back home. It seems to be a bigger problem.
Last year, I had met another family of 3, again Marathi laborers, on the streets of Kolkata - Park street. Similar story, similar troubles.
Who are these Rajiv Karades of the world and how can we stop them? Anybody knows people in the business of manual labour in major cities? Can the labour department rein in such acts?
Is there any helpline or aid center for these kind of people in cities? Who do we direct these people to?
A city is a bewildering experience for many, still. Is their an organised body that helps the out-of-towners, the victims of scams, the clueless?
What can/ should we do now?
Comments
Imagine if there existed a system where I could have called a helpline and directed these guys there. no question of me giving money, them acting/ being helpless..
its a very elegant simple solution that needs to exist. a helpline, a help kit. something.
The post is not about me, but about an opportunity to fix the system.
you did help some people make a living. perhaps they were lying to get it done. but then some other people get way more to do it in front of a camera!
and this isn't about the system either. innocents get help still and the best systems are duped by crooks. This one is about how they made you feel. This one is about you thinking you didn't do enough to help them or others like them. and that's alright. none of this is your fault. :P
It might be a real issue or it might be a grand con - either way, need to get to the bottom of this.