THERE are countless studies on corruption and how to combat it. Corruption itself has been defined in various ways, including that of the World Bank: “A form of breach of trust or crime committed by a person or organization entrusted with a position of authority to obtain an illicit advantage. Corruption can be the abuse of that position for personal gain and includes practices that are legal in many countries.”
Another definition focuses on political corruption, describing it as the illegal actions of any government official or individual in position of power for personal gain.
Some countries -- or rather, regimes -- have earned the notorious label of being ‘countries ruled by thieves’.
The following story defines corruption better than all other definitions and articles written on this subject.
It is the story of the beggar and the tourist, retold here with slight editing:
A beggar sat near the door of a national museum in an Arab country. As a foreign tourist passed by, the beggar called out, “For God’s sake.”
Confused, the tourist responded, “What?”
The beggar repeated, “For God’s sake.”
The tourist replied once more, “What?”
In the end, the beggar despaired of getting anything from the tourist, and the latter despaired of knowing what the beggar wanted, so he walked on. Before leaving, however, the tourist snapped a souvenir photo of the beggar.
Later, when the tourist returned to his country, he showed the photo to an Arab friend who worked at a university. Curious, he asked, “What was this man trying to say to me when he said, ‘For God’s sake’?”
The friend replied simply, “That poor man was asking for charity.”
Filled with compassion, the tourist sent a large sum of money in a bag through the ambassador of the beggar’s country. Inside, he put a picture of the beggar and the place where he met him.
When the ambassador saw this large sum of money, he said that half of it would be enough for the poor beggar and his family. He then put the other half in his pocket. The ambassador sent the bag to the governor.
When the governor received the bag, he said to himself: “$20,000 is too much for a beggar.” The governor took half and sent the other half to the district manager. When the latter received the money, he said to himself: “$2,000 is more than enough for the beggar.” He sent it to the chief of the police station.
When the money reached the chief of the police station, he said: “$2,000 is too much; $200 is enough for the beggar and his family.”
The chief of the police station sent the money to his deputy, who said to himself: “$200 is too much for a poor beggar. $20 is enough for the beggar to have breakfast, lunch and dinner at a restaurant.”
The deputy chief of police sent $20 through a security guard to the beggar at the museum and gave him his photo so that he could identify him.
The security guard went to the beggar and asked him: “Do you remember the tourist to whom you said, ‘for God’s sake’ and took a photo of you?”
The beggar said, “Yes, I remember him well.” The security guard said to him: “The tourist sent a message to you saying, “May Allah help you.’”
The security guard stole the $20!
This happens in most Arab countries when senior officials steal aid, project funds, grants allocated to the poor and needy, and even service projects. Each of these officials takes his share, and then in the end they say to the people, “May Allah help you.”
At the same time, why do other countries give us aid and assistance, while our countries are richer than them?
