--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: If you were the poor, suffering was your…" description: "\"If you were the poor, suffering was your currency.\" — Khaled Hosseini" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png" --- # If you were the poor, suffering was your currency. ![“If you were the poor, suffering was your currency.” quote by Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png) > “If you were the poor, suffering was your currency.” [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. States that poverty makes suffering a common currency, implying shared hardship. **In simple terms:** Suffering unifies the impoverished. Key Takeaway Recognize and alleviate shared suffering. Themes poverty shareduffering solidarity Mood empathetic urgent Type personal reflective When to use this quote - humanitarian aid - policy reform - community support Key Concepts social justice economics human rights Questions to Reflect On - How can we transform suffering into empowerment? - What systemic changes reduce poverty? A Different Perspective May overlook individual agency. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Currency](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currency/) [Poverty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/poverty/) [Suffering](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/suffering/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing good came free. Even love. You paid for all things. And if you were poor, suffering was your currency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/nothing-good-came-free-even-love-you-paid-for-all-things-and-if-you/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Father's world was unsparing. Nothing good came free, even love. You paid for all things, and if you were poor, suffering was your currency.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/father-s-world-was-unsparing-nothing-good-came-free-even-love-you/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Nothing is more inspiring to see how poor and suffering people, living under conditions incomparably worse than we endure, continue quietly and unpretentiously with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/nothing-is-more-inspiring-to-see-how-poor-and-suffering-people-living/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [God gives us humans everything we need to flourish, but he's not the one who's supposed to divvy up the loot. You want to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-farmer/god-gives-us-humans-everything-we-need-to-flourish-but-he-s-not-the-2/) [Paul Farmer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-farmer/) > [Lord, help us to recognize you in the sick, poor and suffering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-francis/lord-help-us-to-recognize-you-in-the-sick-poor-and-suffering/) [Pope Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-francis/) > [“how much Jesus had broken away from the historically conditioned attitudes of his time, for the prevailing idea at that time was that good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-a-sanford/how-much-jesus-had-broken-away-from-the-historically-conditioned/) [John A. Sanford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-a-sanford/) > [There's a belief that you're supposed to be poor, and suffering, and show your humility. I just don't see the Bible that way. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-osteen/there-s-a-belief-that-you-re-supposed-to-be-poor-and-suffering-and/) [Joel Osteen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-osteen/) > [Do not fret under such assistance as is needful; therein lies one great grace of poverty. It were overambitious to aim at being poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saint-francis-de-sales/do-not-fret-under-such-assistance-as-is-needful-therein-lies-one/) [Saint Francis de Sales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saint-francis-de-sales/) > [Blessed be the inventor of photography! I set him above even the inventor of chloroform! It has given more positive pleasure to poor suffering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jane-welsh-carlyle/blessed-be-the-inventor-of-photography-i-set-him-above-even-the/) [Jane Welsh Carlyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jane-welsh-carlyle/) > [Poverty urges us to do and suffer anything that we may escape from it, and so leads us away from virtue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace/poverty-urges-us-to-do-and-suffer-anything-that-we-may-escape-from-it/) [Horace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace/) > [Then there are the addicts, the hunger addicts, the rage addicts, the poverty addicts , and power addicts, and the pure addicts who are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeet-thayil/then-there-are-the-addicts-the-hunger-addicts-the-rage-addicts-the/) [Jeet Thayil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeet-thayil/) > [“Greatness can be bought with the currency of time.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/greatness-can-be-bought-with-the-currency-of-time/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [Who, being loved, is poor?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/who-being-loved-is-poor/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [In comparative terms, there's no poverty in America by a long shot. Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [“Poor people do not go on holiday; they go home.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/poor-people-do-not-go-on-holiday-they-go-home/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) ## More by Khaled Hosseini > [“Winter was every kid’s favorite season in Kabul, at least those whose fathers could afford to buy a good iron stove. The reason was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/winter-was-every-kid-s-favorite-season-in-kabul-at-least-those-whose/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Their fights didn’t so much end as dissipate, like a drop of ink in a bowl of water, with a residual taint that lingered.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/their-fights-didn-t-so-much-end-as-dissipate-like-a-drop-of-ink-in-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I think that everything he did, feeding the poor, giving money to friends in need, it was all a way of redeeming himself. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-think-that-everything-he-did-feeding-the-poor-giving-money-to/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“it always falls on the sober to pay for the sins of the drunk.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/it-always-falls-on-the-sober-to-pay-for-the-sins-of-the-drunk/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Mariam knew that life for the most part had been unkind to her. But as she walked the final twenty paces, she could not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/mariam-knew-that-life-for-the-most-part-had-been-unkind-to-her-but-as/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“I pray. I pray that my sins have not caught up with me the way I'd always feared they would.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-pray-i-pray-that-my-sins-have-not-caught-up-with-me-the-way-i-d/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“shoes: that putting them on a bed invited death into the family, that a quarrel would follow if one put on the left shoe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/shoes-that-putting-them-on-a-bed-invited-death-into-the-family-that-a/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [I have a theory about marriage, Monsieur Boustouler. And it's that nearly always you will know within two weeks if it's going to work.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/i-have-a-theory-about-marriage-monsieur-boustouler-and-it-s-that/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [The short of it is, as an aspiring writer, there is nothing as damaging to your credibility as saying that you don't like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/the-short-of-it-is-as-an-aspiring-writer-there-is-nothing-as-damaging/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Throughout the last century there were multiple attempts at giving Afghan women more autonomy, to change marriage laws, to abolish the practice of bride…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/throughout-the-last-century-there-were-multiple-attempts-at-giving/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [At that moment, she cannot think of a more reckless, irrational thing than choosing to become a parent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/at-that-moment-she-cannot-think-of-a-more-reckless-irrational-thing/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“He says this is war. There is no shame in war. Tell him he's wrong. War doesn't negate decency. It demands it, even more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/he-says-this-is-war-there-is-no-shame-in-war-tell-him-he-s-wrong-war/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [For many people in the west, Afghanistan is synonymous with the Soviet war and the Taliban. I wanted to remind people that Afghans had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/for-many-people-in-the-west-afghanistan-is-synonymous-with-the-soviet/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [Educate yourself, learn about what refugees face when they don't have homes, after they have lost everything.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/educate-yourself-learn-about-what-refugees-face-when-they-don-t-have/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) > [“Rahim Khan laughed. “Children aren’t coloring books. You don’t get to fill them with your favorite colors.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/rahim-khan-laughed-children-aren-t-coloring-books-you-don-t-get-to/) [Khaled Hosseini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) [Explore all 697 Khaled Hosseini quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/) ## More Currency quotes > [A man walks down the street. It's a street in a strange world. Maybe it's the third world. Maybe it's his first time around.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-simon/a-man-walks-down-the-street-it-s-a-street-in-a-strange-world-maybe-it/) [Paul Simon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-simon/) > [Most paper money initially existed as a substitute for gold. That's what gave it value. But right now what gives a currency value is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/most-paper-money-initially-existed-as-a-substitute-for-gold-that-s/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [When the dollar collapses, it's not doing it in a vacuum. If the dollar loses value, it's doing so relative to some other currency.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-schiff/when-the-dollar-collapses-it-s-not-doing-it-in-a-vacuum-if-the-dollar/) [Peter Schiff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-schiff/) > [The bitcoin network is not a payments network and it is not a scaling network.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-bankman-fried/the-bitcoin-network-is-not-a-payments-network-and-it-is-not-a-scaling/) [Sam Bankman-Fried](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-bankman-fried/) > [I'm not in the business of bayoneting the wounded. I feel the blockchain revolution is kind of my victory. I don't care whether I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patrick-m-byrne/i-m-not-in-the-business-of-bayoneting-the-wounded-i-feel-the/) [Patrick M. Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patrick-m-byrne/) > [If you do more than your share you'd better want to: otherwise, you're paying yourself in a currency recognized nowhere else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-richardson/if-you-do-more-than-your-share-you-d-better-want-to-otherwise-you-re/) [James Richardson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-richardson/) > [“Relationships are the currency of business.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-basilico/relationships-are-the-currency-of-business/) Brian Basilico > [The spectacle of a great, solvent government paying a fictitious price for gold it did not want and did not need and doing it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garet-garrett/the-spectacle-of-a-great-solvent-government-paying-a-fictitious-price/) [Garet Garrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garet-garrett/) > [I had been exposed to bitcoin early. I thought the consumer application of it felt, to me, further away. I thought there would be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-garlinghouse/i-had-been-exposed-to-bitcoin-early-i-thought-the-consumer/) [Brad Garlinghouse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-garlinghouse/) > [This is not really currency that circulates. It's like the old joke about expensive vintage wine. Wine prices will go up and once in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-hudson/this-is-not-really-currency-that-circulates-it-s-like-the-old-joke/) [Michael Hudson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-hudson/) > [This separation was absolute in our original Republic. But the sky-godders do not give up easily. In the 1950s they actually got the phrase…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/this-separation-was-absolute-in-our-original-republic-but-the-sky/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [As far as income goes, there are three currencies in the world; most people ignore two. The three currencies are time, income and mobility,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-ferriss/as-far-as-income-goes-there-are-three-currencies-in-the-world-most/) [Tim Ferriss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-ferriss/) > [The euro is not a currency. It is a political weapon to force countries to implement the policies decided by the E.U. and keep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marine-le-pen/the-euro-is-not-a-currency-it-is-a-political-weapon-to-force/) [Marine Le Pen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marine-le-pen/) > [“Key Points: ● Transparency - Blockchain offers significant improvements in transparency compared to existing record keeping and ledgers for many industries. ● Removal of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-gates/key-points-transparency-blockchain-offers-significant-improvements-in/) Mark Gates > [In 2008, Bitcoin was mysteriously introduced to the world in an obscure, technical paper written under the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto. By late 2013, the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-hanke/in-2008-bitcoin-was-mysteriously-introduced-to-the-world-in-an/) [Steve Hanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-hanke/) [Browse all 1,256 Currency quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/currency/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "If you were the poor, suffering was your currency.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Khaled Hosseini" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your-currency/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Currency" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your-currency/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a52/khaled-hosseini-251_currency_if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your_2935885.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“If you were the poor, suffering was your currency.” — Khaled Hosseini", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Khaled Hosseini", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/khaled-hosseini/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "If you were the poor, suffering...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your-currency/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/khaled-hosseini/if-you-were-the-poor-suffering-was-your-currency/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```