Extraordinary gifts | as easy as ABC

You feel irritated and then feel a bit of guilt that you are even irritated over those who incessantly tap your windows at a stoplight. You are eager for the stoplight to turn green before you can be approached – at least you would not have the guilt feeling of saying no. Or you stare blankly, straight ahead, until they turn to the next car behind you. Anyway, begging is an act criminalized under Presidential Decree 1563.

We are familiar with people who escape from war-torn Syria and their hazardous lives. They would rather live dangerously as refugees than stay and die for sure in their devastated country. We can look no further, as we can place under the same category those who trade the difficulty of surviving in areas of conflict in Mindanao for a life in Manila, even if that means begging in the streets.

You are probably acquainted now with “Badjao girl”, a social media sensation whose picture taken by talented photographer Topher Quinto Burgos first went viral earlier this year. From begging in dirty streets to modelling in glamorous studios, from being a nobody to becoming a celebrity interviewee of a popular TV host, and being drafted in a popular reality TV show – she has gone places.

Okay, I am not an entertainment writer and I will suck at it. So let me get to my Badjao story. A PwC associate of ours did a research on the Badjaos by interviewing those who beg and dwell on the streets. He talked to about 20 Badjaos in Ermita, Manila. Louie Esguerra found a common story among Badjao families who migrated to Manila. The father was a fisherman and the mother, a weaver. Pirates attacked and seized the Badjaos’ boats and almost killed the father. Since the Badjaos’ main industries are fishing and pearl-diving, having their boats (which also serve as their homes) taken means making their already difficult lives become miserable.

There seems to be no hope for redemption for them as well in a place where good commerce is hindered by constant fighting between the military and rebels, and where their very lives are placed at risk due to their own tribal conflicts.

With their very meager savings, they travelled to Manila. They heard begging is better here. Initially, the rest of the family were begging, and they dwelled in the streets without roof over their heads. They would look for shaded spots along the streets of Ermita but they get soaked when it rains.

It did not take long for Mang Lando to learn how to drive a jeepney. When Mang Lando became a jeepney driver, their lives improved from sleeping on the sidewalk to sleeping inside the jeep. Today they live in a rented house, costing them P1,500 a month. Many of the Badjaos do improve their lives and make begging merely a stop-gap measure against hunger.

It seems though that their reality has become a fad – you can’t tell if the woman or child, holding an even smaller sleeping child as accessory, is a Badjao or works for a syndicate.

To be sure, it’s not only the Badjaos who beg. Some fake an injury or illness, like this man in the Guadalupe-Pasig River area who walks with a limp, with his mouth open to one side, to beg for food. When the light turned green and I looked back at him through my rear view mirror, he closed his mouth to rest until the next red light. Children seem to have fun begging too, like this little chubby boy in Pioneer Street who I thought was begging me for money to buy KFC fried chicken. Make no mistake though. There are many who beg because that is how they survive abject poverty.

It’s easy to think that if all the money, just from high-profile corruption crimes that made it to the headlines, were instead used to eradicate mendicancy. Then there would be enough government funds with plenty to spare for “inclusive growth”. But then “kung walang kurap, walang mahirap” became a very sinister punchline used to hide intent to the contrary.

In relation to this issue of begging, these are my ideas of extraordinary gifts:

1. Wars and conflicts can make beggars out of ordinary families. To eliminate mendicancy in Manila, we should succeed in stopping the war in Mindanao, so that investments can come in, commerce can be ushered in, and jobs will be generated. This is the invaluable gift of peace.
2. The local government has vast powers that can help street dwellers have productive lives. All it takes is a bit of political will to give at least the gift of shelter.
3. We can’t give money to beggars as it encourages them to beg, and we may be giving to predator syndicates, but we can give food, even used clothes. We can give the gift, not of alms, but of sharing.
4. Most important of all, we can copy the example of Burgos. He found a way to teach the Badjao girl how to fish, or led her to the opportunity to do so, and now she wouldn’t need to beg for a fish in her life. This is the incredible gift of means.

This season is as good a season as any to count our blessings – and this Christmas Day, we are reminded that we cannot stop there. Have a great Christmas everyone and please, be Merry!