On The Streets

by Miguel Jimenez

It was late last night as I was strolling along the streetside of Katipunan that two small boys by the age of 8 wandered up to me. "Pang-kain lang po, kuya", they said, as they begged for spare change.

Instinctively, I avoided their gaze and tried to walk away; it was halfway into the evening after all and I remembered the stories of the criminals which patrol Katipunan's streets.

Thus it was by some coincidence that in that exact moment I recalled our discussions in class on our responsibility towards the Other. My conscience too troubled me a bit and I knew then that I couldn’t just walk away doing nothing and not feel bad about it.

“Yet what could I do?”, I asked. Giving them some spare change outright won’t drastically aid them in their situation and would only further their dependence on others.

An idea suddenly sprung up in my head and I guess it went as a surprise for them when I said “Bigyan ko kayo ng barya, pero tulungan nyo  muna ako maghanap ng trike”. Suddenly, their faces which had been feigning gloom all this time changed so much as to appear inquisitive – that kind of face you make when you’re actively thinking of a solution to something. Eventually, I got a trike and rode back home in safety.
Through it all I realized that applying Levinas’ concept of responsibility does not necessarily have to be in the form of charity or one-sided generosity. More often than not, the best gifts are those of which a part comes from the recipient. Also of note is the traumatism we encounter when we experience the Face. I found it incredibly difficult to look them straight in the eye when I tried avoiding them at first; it was only afterwards when I could converse without feeling tense.


I guess it’s something to keep in mind whenever we go out to the streets.