Here’s your chance to sound off on the topical issues of travel in a new series at BNT
Photo by Jayray24
From time to time, I’ve posted various articles directly asking the readers to give their opinions: from “did you achieve your travel dream?” to “what’s the worst thing that’s attacked you?”
Now I’ve decided to make a concerted effort to challenge you more frequently, starting right now.
The issue I’m asking is the age old dilemma faced by many travelers in poorer countries of the world.
We’ve published a few articles in the past on this issue, including:
One camp usually says “Yes, it’s the least you can do for their suffering.” While another steadfastly believes “Giving to beggars only perpetuates the problem!”
But imagine, for a moment, the situation as it usually happens. You’re high on life, exploring a new city street for the first time, eyes never resting as you survey the colours, hear the sounds…until suddenly, you’re confronted by a voice.
You turn. It’s a person. A human being. They softly ask you for money…to help their child get food, to replace their leg blown off my a land mine. They ask for money because they know you have it.
Your mind races over a number of questions: is this person really poor? Are they faking it? Will my money make a difference? I’m just a tourist, why is this my business?
Or perhaps you feel guilty. After all, you’re living it up on vacation. You have so much and this person has so little. Will you really miss a few dollars from your pocket?
When you’re face to face with a very simple question, the answer becomes more complex.
How do you decide whether or not to give to beggars?
Let’s get the discussion going. Share your thoughts in the comments!
And if you’ve got an idea for upcoming “Ask The Reader” questions, send me an email.
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22 Comments... join the discussion!
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I’ve all but stopped giving money.
One conversation with a “homeless” guy in Savannah revealed that he’d been divorced three times, and had been offered a job by his sister in North Carolina. He told me, “f**k that!” and says that when he came down to river street and put up a sign, he got enough to buy a few beers and a meal and head back down with some of his friends and sleep under the bridge.
Another homeless guy (I actually spent an afternoon drinking with him) was a reasonably successfully trucker, and candidly admitted that he lost his CDL after his 3rd DUI.
In New Orleans I had a man sing a Louis Armstrong rendition at my dog, and then proceeded to ask me to help him out. Unfortunately, the clean shirt and bright-white Nike’s had be screaming “B***Sh*t”.
My problem is not those homeless. As the Georgia Coalition to End Homelessness puts it (http://0033d8f.netsolhost.com/beta/Myths%20About%20Homelessness.htm): “An estimated 10 – 15 percent of the [homeless] population is observed on the street. These are most often chronically homeless, and involved in substance abuse or mental illness. Many other homeless people, particularly women with children, go out of their way to be not noticed.” The people who are most capable of being helped–people who just got dealt a bad hand and could really use just a little bit of assistance–are not begging on the street.
I’ve just stopped seeing any benefit to handing money to beggars. If I’m really worried about helping those peoples’ disadvantaged population, I’ll seek out an organization that understands the situation more thoroughly and give THEM a few bucks.
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This might sound callous, but I solve the problem by having one answer to every situation: no. That’s always been my policy at home, and I never really thought to change it overseas (though of course, conditions are very different in Canada than in some of the places I’ve traveled). As at home, I do what I can to support organizations and initiatives that (to my eye) seem to be doing good, constructive, effective work, instead.
Though to be brutally honest, it rarely gets to the point of actually saying “no” – when I’m traveling in a place like India, I almost never turn around when I am “confronted by a voice” – because 7 times out of 10 (at least) it’s a man with something to say that would qualify as sexual harassment back home…
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It’s very rarely that I give money nowadays. Most of the time it’s a polite no. Sometimes I do buy them a noodle soup or something else to eat when we’re close to a food stall. That way I can at least be sure that my help gets where it’s supposed to go.
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A few years ago, I was traveling in Beijing. And when I say traveling, I mean I was staying in Beijing, looking for a job. In Beijing, begging is a definite problem. My companion, Brian, and I were constantly asked for money from mutilated people, children, adults, everyone. I actually heard from another Western traveler that in Beijing, parents will severely mutilate their own children in order to get sympathetic Western money from tourists and/or travelers. We certainly saw a lot of victims of this practice near our hotel (about a mile from the Forbidden City).
I didn’t have extra money to give to these people, and if I had, I wouldn’t. I’ve often been warned that, when traveling, money shouldn’t be given to children on the street-that they usually do not get to keep that money, that it goes to the equivalent of a pimp. Brian, on the other hand, wouldn’t listen to my line of reasoning. For a week, Brian gave a couple of quai to a little girl who walked up and down the outdoor mall that we went to (they had a great noodle hut). She was, obviously, grateful for his generosity.
One night, though, Brian and I were walking through the area in search of supper when the little girl came up to beg again. Brian had no extra money, so we did our best to ignore her pleas and continued on our way. The little girl, angry or distraught, grabbed onto Brian’s leg with both arms, both legs, and refused to move until he put out. Brian dragged his leg behind him for about eight blocks before she finally let go. The girl returned to her pimp-like “supervisor” downtrodden.
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“screw em”… sorry, harsh, but it is the truth.
What are they going to do, buy something good for them. Not likely.
Survival of the fittest. And, you my little wretched beggars, are not fit – begone, perish.
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For me it also depends on various things…including my mood at the moment and the type of begging it is. I’ve seen much of this thing where parents or adults with “pimp-like” supervisors, as Alison says, get comfortable on the side of the road and train their cute little kids to run after and harass everyone who walks by, especially rich-looking foreigners. I had also heard that these adults will deliberately mutilate or feed poorly the kids in order to get more sympathy from passers-by. So I thought that the right idea was just to buy the kids food and water, until I realized that they also take the food and water straight back to their adult supervisors or parents as well, who then eats or drinks from it first and passes the leftovers (if any) on to the kid. The other kind of begging, where it’s just a person who’s disabled or homeless or whatnot asking me for money seems like a much simpler problem — I give as well based on the questions that Nomadic Matt asks himself, more or less. But this sickening kind done by adults who are abusing their children in this way…I still don’t know how to deal with that.
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I grew up in the Philippines wherein the divide between the “rich” (middle class) and the poor is extreme. Sometimes you’ll see a giant mansion but next to it is the “squatter area” (i.e. slums). It’s a tough thing. Most people, especially those who have grown up in first world countries, don’t always get to encounter beggers or streetchildren in their everyday life. I’m not saying that there aren’t any, as obviously there are many, but in the Philippines its blatantly put out there. There is no avoiding encountering a child’s eyes looking up at you, an amputee lying on the street with an empty McDonald’s cup or a mother and child sitting in the blazing heat hoping that they look “pathetic†enough so that you could spare some change. It’s an anxiety-ridden dilemma. On one hand, you know that whatever change you do give would probably go to their “beggar masters†(like a “pimp†but for beggars instead of prostitutes), drugs such as rugby which an extremely cheap yet hazardous and addicting glue serves to stave off hunger but can also kill, or if they are children, go to their parents who spend it on all kinds of contraband. However, you also know that no matter what, you can never know what it’s like to be in their shoes. If you’re out at 3 or 4 a.m., well so are they, but they aren’t out partying–it’s because they have nowhere else to go. Also, its not just living on the streets, its constant abuse, whether sexual, physical, emotional, there is no one really out there for them. Sometimes it’s even the very agencies that were created to protect them (http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/05/27/charity.aidworkers/index.html). Even for people who live in the country, you grapple with this decision everyday. When a child knocks on your car window or approaches you on the street, you think that giving money or food or even buying them a snack will help you feel less guilty, but then you can end up being mobbed by a dozen or so kids and the guilt magnifies since you know that you’ll never have enough for everybody. Thus, so many locals and travelers have become indifferent or desensitized to this predicament. I guess to cut to the chase, what can we do when money is obviously NOT the answer?
1) Volunteer, even for just a day with a legit and local organization. Just go online or check out the community church, mosque, temple. It’s a great way to help and make a connection with the children.
2) If time is of the essence, then give something that is valuable. Not money, but something from where you’re from or that will be useful. Like a book, maybe some postcards you’ve gotten from your travels, cool maps or a shirt with a cool logo. It’s not about the “thing†but that you’re sharing something about yourself and in turn, learning about them.
I guess, the most valuable thing you can give is your time and interest. If there is one thing I’ve learned from friends who’ve visited me in Manila or during my travels through the many islands, is that streetchildren and/or beggers are also people wanting to make some kind of connection. I remember traveling through and though I had said no to giving change, they were eager to ask where I was from, to talk about the latest entertainment song from the noontime shows and make silly jokes.
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As a former social worker, I developed a personal policy to never give money to people who beg, especially in NYC, where social services abound and acute needs can often be met. While giving money may alleviate an immediate need, it almost never addresses the underlying issues that compel the person to ask for money. Instead of giving money on the street–which does force us to ask ourselves all of the questions you’ve asked, Ian–I’d rather work (and I do) to address the root issues that contribute to global poverty and the marginalization of people we’d rather overlook.
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I don’t usually give them money, at least not in the States. I think people have more opportunities here to get things pulled together, and don’t think that my money is really going to make a real difference to them. USUALLY.
There was a guy who sat outside the main building of the college I attended, just on the hem of Chicago’s South Side (not the greatest area in the world). Every day I’d drop him some change from my train ticket, but every day he was still there. I offered to take him to breakfast one day. He declined. Sometimes I’d give him a newspaper I’d finished reading, reminding him about the job ads in the back. He wouldn’t say much.
Then he stopped coming by. I asked one of the security guards if they knew why, and they said he’d died of diabetes. He wasn’t out selling Streetwise papers because his foot was so messed up he had trouble getting around. But really, he’d just given up. At that point it isn’t about money, and honestly, for him, it never really was.
There was a man begging on the street in Slovenia. He asked me very politely for help, and I turned him down. His eyes started to tear up, and he said “please, I haven’t eaten in three days.” I still turned him down and walked away. A block later, I thought hey – I’m going to dinner, it’s no big thing to invite this guy. When I went back to look for him, he was gone. I still feel like a dick about it. I think that guy really needed help, and I refused to see it.
Like so many, many other things, money just distracts from the real issue at hand. People around the world live off of donations and charity, but the soul-sickness of not being able to get your life together and find something meaningful – all the money in the world can’t cure that. There are plenty of rich people with the same illness, and believe it or not, I feel just as bad for them. What an existence, surrounded by toys and things of outer worth, that hide the hollow empty inside of no hope, no interest, no passion. I’m not rich, but I’d rather stick to the troubles I’ve got than live that way.
If you want to talk about that emptiness and get a sense of what forms it takes, look no further than social darwinists. They not only misunderstand darwinism, but have that same kind of vacuum. They’re the same people who complain that they can’t get decent health care, but look at the poor and say, “There’s no money in you. Go die.” Ironically, they deserve the same pity, but they make it pretty difficult by being so utterly contemptable. Flip side of the same coin.
Ladies and gentlemen of the forum, I put it to you that real poverty has NOTHING to do with money. As long as we insist on counting dollar signs and nothing more, the poverty of the human spirit will always remain.
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It boils down to instinct for me. If my spirit says “give”, I give.
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I think everyone should earn money and this includes beggars; if they just stick out their empty hands and give me a sob storry I have to be critical about it and almost never ever give up any money. If on the other hand they sing or play a musical instrument or try to draw art etc. then I can see they are trying and have a talent. Someone who does nothing to get the money is less likely to spend it wisely I think. Obviously this is a huge generalisation, but that’s how I do it; I intentionally have spare change ready to give to every busker I believe deserves it. I know buskers aren’t beggars, but in some cases the line can be a little blurred….
For example when I lived in the northeast of Brazil I’d pass a street with the same beggar on it and at first I never gave him anything, but then he started asking how I was and making small talk and it made all the difference. Then I can give out of generosity instead of out of pity; it’s better for everyone that way.↵ -
I have the same philosophy for begging abroad and begging in the states: no such thing as a free lunch. If street people are in some way working (such as picking up trash, helping people find parking, entertaining in some way) I will give money if I have extra. Sometimes I even give money for people with extra creative signs. Once in San Francisco there was a guy with a sign that said “family kidnapped by ninjas, need $$$ for karate lessons.” This kind of street theater is valuable to society.
I know that most likely they will buy booze or drugs, but what a person does with money they actually earn is not my concern.
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Dont forget there are professional beggars and those people who use their own children to fund drug and alcohol dependency. Give food not money, generally this will be refused.
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I have lived in Indonesia for over 4 years now and beggars are something you have to deal with everyday – at every stoplight, wile eating on the streets, ect…
Do I give them money – yes, every time
Why?
A buck isn’t anything to me – but for someone that is living in poverty (by no fault of their own) it’s a meal for their family. I am rich compared to these good people, I don’t mind it one bit if they ask me for .30 cents after they see me drive up in my brand new car
If I am going to take advantage of the economy prices and cheap travel in the 3rd and developing world (because of the poverty) then I can spare a few bucks for the locals, its no big deal
If poverty annoys you – then go on vacation in London rich man
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Michaela Lola had a very thoughtful comment above. while I can’t really add much to it, I can try to explain how I look at this problem.
I think you can make a distinction between street beggars in the US and those in other countries. I firmly believe that those in the US are not at all helped by handouts, and so I won’t give them. People in other countries, like the children in the photo above, are much more problematic.
I tithe to my church. They have people whose job it is to take that money and do good with it. Last year, they bought a portable drill rig in Africa, and started a project of putting in new water wells in remote villages.
My money contributed to that project. People I will never see will benefit from that. It doesn’t make easier to say “no” to a child who is presenting a specific plea directly to you. But in the big picture, I am helping. So I can sleep at night.
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I don’t under any circumstance give to children. Unfortunately, as a journalist I can confirm the mutilation story. I once followed an investigation in Thailand of Cambodian beggars, some of them tiny tots whose hands, feet or fingers had been mutilated by parents seeking handouts.
There are several reasons I won’t give to children:
- it provides them with an incentive to continue to beg rather than doing something else, like going to school
- parents may see that using their children as beggars is lucrative – again, incentive
- some parents may indeed be trying to keep their children from begging but by giving to children you may be undermining their parents’ authority
- it encourages the image of Westerners as people who give out money
- whatever you give won’t have any lasting value
- you’ll be giving the example to the next generation of beggars: if they see it works, why shouldn’t they beg too?
- you could be supporting criminal activity
- you could be helping support gangs, who are often involved in trafficking of women and childrenIf I feel children in a particular village are destitute enough, I will do something. I can volunteer locally – I’ve taught an English or geography class to more students than I can count. A single class can make a difference by exposing children to a new kind of teaching, or a new kind of person. Or I’ll give the children something of value – a song, or a postcard, but no money.
I apply the same rules to adult beggars, with one notable exception. If the person appears unable to work – very old, disabled – then I will gladly part with some money if it can make a difference. In some countries though, giving to one beggar will attract hundreds. So I’ve imposed a rule on myself, arbitrary but useful: I only give to one beggar a day. Otherwise I may not know where to draw the line.
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I travel a lot for pleasure and for business. As a Canadian we are supposed to be the quiet giving types and this works for me – for the most part.
What really works for me is taking my local giving and volunteering activities “on the road”. I am a passionate volunteer at our local women’s shelter – which I’m sad to say is often way overfull – my thinking is that if this is true in a fully “civilized” country – then the issue is likely monstrous in countries I visit so this is what I search out.
My goal is to help those women and children who are in trouble because of the abuse they have endured. If my time and support (not always $$) helps keep one young girl in school then I have made a small difference. This small difference comes back home with me and keeps my commitment up in tough times.
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When in India, in one remote village, we hired a camel cart to take us the couple of miles to a good viewing spot for the sunset (the walk there wouldn’t have been a problem for us, but navigating the way back after dark was too daunting). A number of the village boys came running after us. Two of them ran after us for quite a distance, so after a while we made room for them and pulled them aboard. I had a pocket full of bubblegum, so distributed it around. Everyone seemed happy with that, until we got to our destination. The kids spread the word that I had treats, and soon I was surrounded by a swarm of 50 kids. The little boys were asking for chocolates, but the tweeny girls were bolding, demanding money. The teen who had driven the camel cart saw I was in trouble and shoo’ed them all away. I had no issues giving away travel-sized toiletries later in my trip, but avoided giving sweets or money, regardless of how pitiful the plea.
Locally (Canada), I won’t give money to panhandlers. Full stop. Buskers yes, but beggars, no. But it’s happened a few times now that I’ve been approached after leaving a restaurant… the first request is for money (which gets turned down) and the second is for my leftovers/doggy bag. I don’t have a doggy, so am happy to share what would have been the next day’s lunch. As one much-tattoed and pierced requestor put it as I handed her what was left of my south Indian meal: “Score! I’m never sure what I’m going to get, but I like food and I like surprises. Every meal is different.”
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The organization Childsafe which works with street children in Cambodia has this to say:
Refrain from giving money to children/parents with young children; it maintains them on the street and places them at risk.In markets and other tourist destinations, you might be confronted by beggars, many of them children or adults with infants. By giving these beggars money, you encourage them to stay on the streets and prevent local social workers from promoting alternatives to street life. Giving them food/milk has the same results as it maintains children on the streets, where they are exposed to various dangerous situations.
Additionally many of the begging children you see in poor countries have been trafficked from elsewhere and held as virtual slaves. Any money you give them goes straight into the pocket of the child’s owner.
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If you r from India, begging children won’t affect you much. This may sound really heart-less but its true to some extent. Here, if we give some coins to the beggers we may be snubbed or told to keep the change for ourselves. The same goes for giving them clothes that would then be found sold.
Its even worst for the tourist who visit india, but you haven’t really experienced india if u have not been chased by a begger or cheated, as in India we believe that white skin equates being rich.
But all is not so bad as the few good people you meet make you foget all the other experiences u had here.
There are many agencies like the Big Bus, CRY, AKANSHA , that are genuine and always need people to volunteer.
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yups i wanna to say that it’s good to give money to beggar. but think that where they using the money? what they purchase ? what they eat and drink? many more questions are there “BUT” is still there…………………………………………………………..
“God said us to help others if they need help” help is good to do but in a right way.
in my opinion we shouldn’t give money to them because they more and more no. of people taking to begging as a profession , many more children are exploitated for begging purposes etc…..
DO U KNOW WHAT OUR HELP MAKES A PERSON A BEGGAR FOR LIFE.↵
