Every cent counts

My father brought me up on a philosophy that every cent counted.  I was reminded of this during the past week when I was on a bus on the way home from the refugee centre.  The Bangkok Refugee Centre is not an accommodation facility but a facility that acts as a base for the offering of service, es to the local refugee population.  So the refugees come to access services and then return home to wherever they live in Bangkok. 

So I get on the bus with a refugee couple who pay their fare but then the husband is looking at his change and questioning what he has been given.  He believes that he was short changed but he was not and what was the amount he was questioning?  One baht. 

I can identify with standing up for a matter of principle but we live in a different world when we start getting upset over one baht.  Still this became for me a symbol of these people's plight.  One baht does matter for them existing on such little income.  Being short changed one baht for them could easily be $10 or more for soemone else in the world.  Yes, it does matter and this simple story is but a symbol of the level of desperation under which these people exist. 

As I reflect further, this could also matter to this man as he seeks to stand up for his rights in a society where they are a hidden underclass, lacking access to their rights, and victimized in many ways.  It might have been a case of just one perceived wrong too many and so it was time to stand up for himself.  They are a truly desperate population and what is their crime?  Seeking a life for their family?