Log in to become a member of Mouhssine Kamal's Fan Club!
As a matter of fact, it grieves me to say that Morocco , my sweet homeland, is packed full to the neck of multifarious grave social ills. The vicious spiral of begging is but a living testimony to the quagmire we live in. Begging is the practice whereby a person obtains money, food, shelter, or the like from people they meet by request. This phenomenon is sweeping all the nooks and corners of our kingdom bar none. Beggars come in every age, shape and size; mothers without husbands seem to make up the biggest lot, street children, the deformed, and the blind are another category. A short walk on Moroccan streets is bound to reveal the harsh reality of beggars that my pen perse cannot trace; deep down, I get tongue-tied, and I think I need some water to loosen up ! .Beggars are part and parcel of Islamic societies wherein alms is a religious duty. Hence, they must be treated kindly and whole-heartedly. some ill-mannered, retarded people offer money, usually in denominations of less than one dirham, to beggars in what may seem to be impersonal and condescending way, often without making an eye contact. It is offensive and socially unacceptable to turn rudely away a beggar. Instead, they are best dismissed with any of a few stock religious phrases, such as "Allah Iaawan", "God help you"; "Allah Ishal", "God make things easy for you"
Each why has a wherefore goes the proverb. Begging is a social ill brought about by numerous wherefores. To start with, non-application of law against begging can be deemed the primary cause behind the proliferation of this phenomenon. That is to say, the law is not well implemented and serves just as mere ink on paper. Much in the same vein, poverty lies at the bottom of sponging prevalence as well. In the eye of the have nots, sponging (begging) proves to be the easiest and the most effortless means to raise money. According to a field study conducted by a handful of studious students, including me, our findings were the following: Children on the breadline comb up and down streets turn at mosques and bakeries, and miserably, broken-heartedly moaning in pursuit of charitable souls. Brahim, 15, an innocent-like, emaciated guy, is one the beggars polled by me in person. Deep down, his shabby and patched clothes speak themselves. Over the last three years, after his parents divorce, Brahim turn to begging as the ultimate source of livelihood. Approaching passers by next to the bus station in Agadir becomes second nature to the sun burnt poor Brahim. "I can collect between 80 and 120 DH a day", he says proudly", "the older you get the lesser people want to give you money", says his friend,17 years old, Ahmed. In parallel with this, homelessness is of a loaded weight behind the dramatic upsurge of beggars. No wonder that homeless people resort to begging as an alternative gateway to survive, for it is the most accessible means to eke out a living. Both marginalization and illiteracy cannot go unnoticeable when talking about begging. When a person is marginalized, he assuredly views himself a burden on his society. This results in alienation and disintegration from the outside world, which leads more often than not to sponging. Strangely enough, some illiterate people find panhandling as their last resort; that is, they do not feel stigmatized in asking for money, as a large number of beggars are oblivious of the grave ramifications of their act. What strikes me odd is that though some people can manage a life of their own, yet they madly go down streets to raise more money, which turns to be their mere preoccupation__ they are in a cat race after money. As you can see that both greed and lack of self-content have turned people into professional beggars. Unfortunately, drug dependency has converted lives of many youths into spongers, since the latter are obliged to practise that humiliating habit for the sake of buying alcohol or the like.
As far the as the consequences of begging are concerned, they can be divided into four categories:
Psychologically: the act of begging leaves harmful impressions on the beggar's psychology that can change his/ her life upset down. Beggars are aggravated inwardly because of the humiliating treatment they receive from their social milieu. Thus, they are in constant movement from one place to another, fleeing from the police, from attackers, and from the eyes of society. Worse than this, begging girls are, day in day out, exposed to sexual harassment. This in turn leads to another complicated social ill, prostitution.
Culturally: this is very much related to children in the first place. Because of the begging virus, the bulk of children drop out of school at an early age. Thereby the illiteracy rate is on the increase
Economically: begging weakens morocco's honor, if any, and tarnishes the country's reputation; beggars distort the image of morocco worldwide. This has negative implications on the economic side, since it decreases the country's income of tourism. Last year in Agadir city, two female tourists were being assaulted by some beggars, who get bored with chasing them.
Physically: beggars are easy preys to diseases, especially those related to the sun. they suffer from chronic headaches due to much exposure to sunstrokes. Babies who are used by their mothers as a means of begging are susceptible to all kind of diseases.
Disclaimer: All information on this site is provided for informational purposes only! By no means is any
information presented herein intended to substitute for the advice provided to you by any health care or other professional
or organization.
