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For the past month, Muslims around the world have been observing Ramadan, a time known for increased giving. But in Pakistan's largest city, the spirit of Ramadan has also fueled a unique and controversial migration trend among charity-seekers. Betsy Joles has more from Karachi.
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BETSY JOLES, BYLINE: Sixty-one-year-old Sayani Soomar (ph) sits on the curb in a busy commercial area in Karachi holding a pile of medication and a paper sign asking for help.
SAYANI SOOMAR: (Non-English language spoken).
JOLES: She says she's sick and needs food rations. So this afternoon, she came to the streets to ask for zakat, an obligatory form of charity in Islam for those with enough wealth reserved for the poor and needy. It's often given out during the month of Ramadan, which started in Pakistan in early March.
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JOLES: Soomar shows NPR an electricity bill and a medical report she says is for her high blood pressure. For these expenses, she says, she often resorts to begging. Soomar says Ramadan can be a fruitful time for it.
SOOMAR: (Through interpreter) Many people are giving charity. We may try our luck.
JOLES: Every year, people from around Pakistan flock to Karachi during Ramadan to collect charity, banking on increased generosity from people in the country's financial hub. Ramadan comes this year during a period of economic recovery in Pakistan, but many people are still struggling to get by.
AMMAR KHAN: It's important to understand that Pakistan's labor force, it's fairly informal and unskilled. So if you're an unskilled labor force, it's difficult to get a better price for your services.
JOLES: This is economist Ammar Khan. He says, despite on-paper improvements, Pakistan is facing major structural challenges that limit opportunities for its working class.
KHAN: We do not have any significant or serious growth happening in either modernization of agriculture or industrialization of the country.
JOLES: Begging is illegal in Pakistan, though laws against it are loosely enforced. Police say there exist criminal networks that force children into the business by trafficking them. This month, the government in Karachi has arrested 220 people who they call professional beggars - in other words, those who make a living out of begging. But even though begging is socially frowned upon, many in Karachi are still willing to give money to those who ask for it, especially during Ramadan.
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JOLES: Around sunset, dozens of people gather under a tent for iftar, the meal that breaks the daylong fast during Ramadan. Workers from a charity organization serve heaping plates of biryani from a big metal pot.
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JOLES: Twenty-eight-year-old Muhammad Younus (ph) is among the people who've come for a free meal.
MUHAMMAD YOUNUS: (Through interpreter) I am not a beggar, but circumstances have overwhelmed me.
JOLES: He says he travels to Karachi every year during Ramadan from his hometown, around 3 1/2 hours away. He usually looks for daily wage work, but after failing to find any, he's resorted to staying in the streets.
YOUNUS: (Through interpreter) I only ask people to help me.
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UNIDENTIFIED MUSICAL ARTIST: (Singing in non-English language).
JOLES: Around 100 meters away from the iftar, people are collecting money near a well-known shrine from the Sufi tradition of Islam, which people hold in reverence because of the saint that's buried there. One Urdu word used for beggars, fakir, can also refer to religious ascetics who give up worldly possessions and exist on donations to strengthen their connection with God. Abdul Rashid (ph), a 47-year-old who traveled nearly eight hours to Karachi for Ramadan, says he's here to bring the saint his troubles.
ABDUL RASHID: (Through interpreter) Because they are saints, and saints are the friends of Allah, everyone comes to them in the name of Allah.
JOLES: He says he hopes God will grant him what he needs. And for that, help might come from the people of Karachi.
With Sameer Mandhro, for NPR News, I'm Betsy Joles in Karachi, Pakistan.
(SOUNDBITE OF DE LA SOUL AND USHER SONG, "GREYHOUNDS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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