THE other day while I was relaxing with my child at the entrance of our apartment, two men appeared and one of them said, “My car has run out of engine oil. Can I borrow some cash? I will return it by evening.”
“But I don’t know you. What’s the guarantee that you will return?”
He said he would deposit his CPR or phone. On hearing this, my heart melted.
I went into my apartment and got BD10 and handed it over to the man. When I asked for the guarantee, he gave me his old Samsung basic set phone that had run out of battery.
When I asked for the phone number he said his phone was switched off. When I asked for his CPR, he gave me a laminated copy of his vaccination certificate.
By now I had become slightly suspicious.
I tried to verify the identity of the person on the Labour Market Regulatory Authority website but to my shock no such work permit existed!
It then dawned upon me that I had been duped in broad daylight!
On another occasion, a labourer approached me asking for some help in buying grocery, pleading with me that he had not eaten for more than three days. I felt pity for him. I took him to a supermarket and bought him some oil and grains. When I picked up a particular brand of rice bag, he said he didn’t eat that brand of rice and instead took me to another section of the supermarket and selected another brand of rice.
He was so choosy that I started wondering if he was the same person who had not eaten for days!
After these two episodes, I have stopped entertaining beggars!
Anthony Dsouza,
Lecturer in English,
Bahrain Training Institute.
Lecturer in English,
Bahrain Training Institute.
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