The driver and passengers don’t see themselves as criminals. They see a “bargain.” The story condemns not just poverty, but the people who profit from it.
But then he tells the bus driver. The driver stops the bus on a dark, isolated stretch of road and asks the mother to step outside. The other passengers pretend not to notice. After a few minutes, the mother returns alone, fixing her clothes. The driver resumes driving. Her “fare” has been paid. pamasahe full story
What follows is the most disturbing part of the story. The driver tells the conductor that other male passengers have “seen” what happened. Soon, one by one, men from the bus approach the mother. Each pays the driver or conductor a small amount — sometimes coins, sometimes crumpled bills — and then takes the mother to the back of the bus or the roadside. The driver and passengers don’t see themselves as
