I decided this morning to stroll to the shops to buy a few things still left on my list for Naogaon. It is not very far by foot from my hotel and I enjoy being outside at this time of the year when the weather is absolutely gorgeous for walking (about 16 degrees Celsius). I am making the most of it now because I know that later it will be boiling hot, and then it will be dripping wet, and I will not want to step a foot out of doors if I can help it.
En route, I was accosted by this trio of street urchins, or more accurately, I let myself be approached, as really I could have kept my head down, taken a few larger and faster strides and ignored them very easily, but when I saw their little faces, I chose to relent. There was some self-interest involved as the tag 'urchins' aptly reflects their tenacious shadowing and following people skills and I may have spent the next ten minutes hurrying along and trying to shake them loose.
Over the years I have heard stories about the street children being controlled by syndicates. These children are selling stickers, the kind that children their own age love, and this does seem to be a strategic ploy to pull on the heart strings of passers-by. I took a moment to select the stickers that I would not usually purchase in the normal course of my life (see below), and thoughts of my nieces and nephews sprang into my head. If it is a ploy, it is definitely an effective one.
While I was crouched down picking out my ten taka purchase from each child, I was surprised when the people standing in the vicinity started scolding the children and told me that the price should only be one taka per sticker strip. The littlest boy stuck out his lip and insisted it was ten, and the girl verbally fought back and defended herself very strongly. I paid ten anyway.
It was nice to have people looking out for my best interests, but it was also sad for the children. There are so many other places where it is strictly business and the shop keepers with no compunction at all, will do their best to part me from as many of my taka as possible. I experienced this shortly afterward while searching for a rechargeable emergency light (see above, a necessity in Naogaon where there will be regular power failures). The first shop quoted a price of Tk. 2,500. Noone nearby stepped forward to tell me that was too much, but each shop keeper adjusted the price so that it was slightly lower than the one before. By the fourth shop, they were asking me to give them a mere Tk. 1,800. Now that I have a ball-park figure, I will check out another market and see if I can do better elsewhere.
I feel lucky to have the option to look elsewhere. I wonder what will happen to the children. I see older children selling books to car passengers and perhaps this is what is in store for them once they lose their baby faces that look so full of promise now.
I am sorry this is sounding so depressing. I like talking with the children and perhaps this will spur me to start to learn some Bangla and get involved in the local community in Naogaon in some small way. I have a friend who has asked me to set up a play ground once I am settled. I am not sure I can pull that off, but at the very least, I will look and see what my options are.
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