Kolkata Traffic Beggars
I am haunted by the faces of the street beggars that beg in traffic near where our hotel is. Several times we have been stopped in traffic for long periods of time and a beggar will come up to the window and knock on the window… Sometimes with a clubbed disfigured hand (more than one had this). Sometimes a child. Last night it was a beautiful young lady who couldn’t have been more than 16 years of age. She was motioning that she was hungry. Her lips were dry and she was dirty; her saree was old and dirty. We tried to hand her a bottle of water out the car window but she refused and motioned that she was hungry. Just then, the traffic moved along and we were gone and left to contemplate the experience.
Were they really hungry? What about Jesus’ command to feed the poor? What about compassion? Where will the money actually go? Much of the beggar’s money here goes to the mafia. Is this where the money will go? This is one of the many heartbreaking scenes of Kolkata.