Monday, February 12, 2007

I will remember his face

Last night as I was about to enter Shah Alam Mall at Sek 9, a boy holding boxes of raisins approached me. I quickly looked away not because I do not want to contribute but because I do not want to remember. He softly called me and common decency forced me to look at him. Big mistake.

He said his mother is poor and really needed the money. How much is it for a box of raisins and he said it is up to me. I gave him RM 5 and he asked me is it sedekah or do I actually want the raisins. I got upset. Very upset. I shook my head and he thanked me and I quickly left. I do not want to remember his face nor his voice as it will plague my nights.

Is it wrong if I get upset seeing children begging and selling items on the street ? Where are his parents or at least his mummy ? It was Sunday night and he is suppose to go to school the next day. What is he still doing there ?

I can’t forget the pitiful face as he begs for my pity. Where has his dignity gone ? How long ago had it disappeared ? What happened if his friends saw him ? What happens if his teacher saw him ? What do his parents feel when they see him and his brother ?

As we were leaving his little brother approached me with a very pitiful “ Kak…...,” I told him politely that I have given some money to his borther. The said brother again approached me but when I was recognized, he nodded his head and gave me a little smile. My heart gave a little sob instead.

“ Rumah kat mana yang ? “ I asked. Although he was still smiling, the smile stopped reaching his eyes.

“Takpe, “ he said over and over again and I gave up.

Can I call the police to report ? What will the police do then ? Send them home and then what ? Will they be really out of food if they were no longer allowed on the streets ? What happened to his parents ? And seriously what happened to duit zakat ? If he is really poor, why hasn’t my zakat and my taxes reached him ?

Is it another one of the harebrain schemes by those Sekolah Agama ?

What can I do to help ? I want him to go to school so that he can get out of this. If he is not interested in school, fine, learn a skill. I want him to play and watch the telly. I want him to be a kid.

Maybe I am not really in tune to this world yet. Maybe I haven’t seen enough.

Look, I just want this kid, his little brother and all the children like him to be sheltered. Is that wrong ? Maybe not wrong, but I know it is too much to ask.

Hmmm……..

1 comment:

Sheik said...

Orang dewasa pergunakan budak-budak ni patut kena tangkap dan disumbat dalam lokap.

Wrong concept of defending anak-anak yatim dan miskin.

They were put into sekolah, tapi di brain washed, telling them that education alone cannot help them in tihs cruel world, and being in the state of poor is a curse, and therefore they should get money to continue live, and the strategy is drawing public empathy through jualan amal.

Sungguk keji cikgu dan ustad2 depa ni..membawa imej agama Islam ke satu tahap yang hina.

Looking back in the Quran, all the adults yang buat kerja eksploit budak2 ni, walaupun berserban berkopiah; Allah confirmed that no matter how good they appear, if they exploit and suppress orphans and the poor - they are actually PENDUSTA AGAMA. Orang yang menjadikan agama as a PERNIAGAAN MENIPU. (SURAH AL-MAUN AYAT 1-2)

Stop the giving and stop the buying. What appear to be sedekah or jariah in this case is actually gross profit and net income for adults behind it.