Glimpses of Mercy
Tay Kay Chin
SINGAPORE

Walking down a busy Dhaka road during the last Chobi Mela, I was besieged by a group of street kids who followed me from one block to another. I assumed they wanted my money. Bearing in mind the conventional wisdom and advice that I should not give to one child, for the rest would feel left out, I shouldered on, determined to lose them. For a reason I no longer remember, I decided to just turn around to make a picture of the kids. After that, they all just smiled and left. I was mortified. It was not my money that they were after. All they wanted was a photograph taken. It did not matter if I would send each of them a copy. I learned, from this little incident the true meaning of the word dignity. As I traveled across Asia to document the less fortunate ones, the lesson I learned in Dhaka is often reinforced. They may live in conditions we consider inhumane, but self-pity is seldom in their vocabulary. Pride and resistance are.