Eidul Fitr is around the corner and will be knocking on our doors to spread joy and laughter. However, not everyone is fortunate enough to celebrate Eid and other festivities, with food on their table or even a roof over their heads. Pakistan is undergoing an enormous economic crisis, businesses are shutting down, which is in turn increasing unemployment, leaving hundreds of thousands of people with either no jobs or extremely underpaid work. To top it all, the prices have been sky high and political turbulence is further worsening the situation. And to redirect your attention, millions are in need of financial help.

But how do you spot the truly deserving in this chaos? Read on to find out.

You are probably wondering, well that’s easy! You can just give away our charity to the beggars on the street that show up while we are out buying fruits or groceries. Sure you can, but do you know who actually deserves your money? That security guard outside the ATM from where you took the money out to buy your fruits, the guard who stood in the scorching heat all day while fasting, who didn’t have dinner so he can save up for his family for Eid, and cried to sleep with an empty stomach.

Starting to see where I’m going? I’m talking about the people hidden in plain sight behind their smiles, who do not ask for money, but work for it, for their pride.

I was heading to my school one day, like every other day, and on the way the traffic was stopped by a traffic policeman controlling the flow of vehicles during peak hours as part of his job. A motorcyclist went past him while the policeman told him to do otherwise, for his own safety. The man got off his motorbike and started to yell at the policeman, cursed him several times, threatened to call up his friends to beat him and told him that he didn’t know how big of a thug he was. He climbed up his bike and left as the policeman stood in fear and others stood in silence. No one took the policeman’s side or even put a hand on the shoulder to show pity. Everyone was a bystander.

That traffic constable, who is working on minimum wage, in harsh weather conditions and bearing humiliation every day is the most deserving of your money, who works hard to earn his daily bread, puts his sweat and blood in his job. People like him working in tough conditions, on low wages, are entitled to your money, not someone who dresses up as a beggar and asks for money when they are more than capable of earning themselves. They get paid without working and earn more than that traffic constable, that’s right!

An average beggar in a metropolitan city like Karachi earns three to four thousand rupees a day. Yes, you heard it right, in a day! Which means they can easily earn up to fifty to sixty thousand rupees if they beg only during the working days, while the most a traffic policeman earns is around twenty-five thousand rupees a month. So, who is more deserving of our financial help? You do the math.

One needs to look for working class individuals like the policeman, seek them out and help them. Start with your own family and extended relatives, observe how they dress and live, etc. Observe their behaviour and find these silent sufferers, and when you do, don’t just give them money, don’t hurt their honour and pride. Either donate with humility or give them a chance to earn it themselves by helping them find a job, or give them some paid work. And, most importantly, don’t announce it, keep it a secret.

Choose wisely who you give your money to, help them before they ask for it and change someone’s life this Ramazan, give them a reason to be happy on Eid, a reason to feel fulfilled and grateful.

Published in Dawn, Young World, April 15th, 2023