Beneath The Surface
Crisis always cripples the poor most
The classes of Jahangirnagar University (JU) were closed sine die following the recent unfortunate and unexpected crisis in the country. But as offices remained open and some had to do their research and other official works, a very negligible number of teachers used to come to the respective departments.
On September 8, after finishing my research and official works, I was waiting for a rickshaw at the porch of our social sciences faculty. It was a rainy day and a bearded rickshaw puller, breathing very fast and looking very weak, appeared to take me home. Rain water rolled down his head, cheeks and beard and I suspected that he could fall sick soon. At first sight, I guessed that the rickshaw puller standing before me might be aged 60 plus as reflected by his body structure and squeezed skins. But soon I was told that the rickshaw puller named Noor Muhammad was 40-45 years of age. Not a surprising observation, perhaps, as poverty makes people look awfully old at a relatively young age.
As I came to know, two sons of Noor Muhammad also pull rickshaws on the campus for eking out a living. But they are now separated from their parents. Thus, bread earners left home to let Muhammad lean on his labour to look after the bread eaters -- two sons and his wife. This is a socio-demographic feature of the extreme poor families in Bangladesh.
However, that is not the end of the story for my puller Noor Muhammad. To add to his misery, the wife had been suffering from serious kidney ailment, and in recent years, reportedly, a total of Tk 2,000 had already been spent on her treatment. Most of the money came from debt. Again, she fell sick and now needs Tk 500 to take her to Dhaka for specialist doctors. The two sons living with Muhammad used to go to school but now stopped going for reasons not explained to me. The only asset for Noor Muhammad is the rickshaw and his labour to feed a family of four. He lives nearby the campus in a rented one-room house. For the last one year, his family hardly ate any fish or meat. Rice with "varta" had been the daily manue for a pretty long time.
Muhammad had been pulling rickshaws in JU campus for a long time. In fact, there are roughly 200 rickshaw pullers (both official and unofficial) in the campus who are addressed as "mamas" (maternal uncle) by the students. It is true that they feel eulogised by the address but, equally true, they feel the pinch from the treatment of some students alleged to be to nagging while paying the due fare. However, before the university was closed sine die, the daily income of a rickshaw puller in the campus was Tk 100-150. With this amount, so said Noor Muhammad, he could buy roughly 4 kg of rice which he needs daily for his household consumption. Remember that a rickshaw puller needs more calories than the average norm of 2,100 as recommended by the FAO.
The recent most crisis in the country and closure of the campus sine die appeared as a bolt from the blue for this poor family. Noor Muhammad's daily income (and of other rickshaw pullers as well) came down by more than half to stand at Tk 60-65. No "nephews" and no "nieces" for Noor Muhammads and the like to take a ride and pay them for living. As I was told, he was then unable to meet even the daily requirement of rice, not to speak of other commodities. Already Noor Muhammad had to borrow Tk 500 just to maintain his daily food requirements. The soaring prices are adding salt to the already inflicted injury. How would he pay the amount borrowed? "Well, if the university opens, I shall be able to double my income and then attempt to gradually repay the debt."
When I informed that the campus might be open very soon -- possibly within a few days or so -- Noor Muhammad stood erect and seemingly felt a sigh of relief. To be sure of my utterances he asked: "Is it so, sir? Are you speaking the truth? That's good news to convey to my wife. I direly need Tk 300 to take my wife to a specialist doctor very soon. I hope I can make it provided the campus is open." Meantime, from my wallet, I gave Noor Muhammad Tk 300 and said: "Go and take your wife to a doctor. You need not have to return the money. Always take care of your health. For you, health is wealth. For others, wealth is health."
The above case study is just a tip of the iceberg. Thousands of rickshaw pullers like Muhammad might be hard hit by the closure of educational institutions all over the country. Now that the universities are open, probably, they could heal some of their economic wounds during any crisis, political or natural, the poor like Noor Muhammad suffers the most. Be it a hartal, a curfew or a deteriorating law and order situation, it is the poor who gets the worst treatment in terms of loss of income. Therefore, as far as possible, crisis should be averted for the poor's sake. The solvent can somehow tide over the crisis. But crisis cripples the poor most. We want no more crises, no more closure, and no more chaos. The opening of the universities would help the Noor Muhammads earn an income just to be on an even keel. No fish, no meat or milk, but rice with "varta" is what they need. And we should allow them with this opportunity of unhindered transactions -- a freedom to trade commodities, labour, or other things. We should not forget that, more often than not, what is "fun" to us is a foul to them -- the millions who are crushed during political or economic crisis.
The university is open now. The bells of the rickshaws in the early morning, on the road passing adjacent to my home, wake me up from the bed. I feel comfortable to note that Noor Muhammads on the campuses of Bangladesh would be able to earn a few bucks more than before just to help them survive the economic onslaughts.
Abdul Bayes is a Professor of Economics at Jahangirnagar University.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments