steviedeluxe

I do tend to give some spare change to people I see begging, especially if they are older and obviously have no chance of getting back into gainful employment. But I do wonder if I'm just wasting money, when I read reports like this:

"Romanian gangs make up to €100 a day for each person they force out on to Spain's streets"

http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/04/10/...95_505435.html

cricketman

Yes. Two observations

1. Wherever I have gone in Spain, the vast majority of beggers are Romanian/Eastern European in origin - they are professional beggers. They have come to Spain to beg
2. If you do give money in the place you live, then you will get harrased even more. I have seen old ladies chased down the street by beggers shouting "Give me 10 euros like you did the other day". From what I see, most people who give money to beggers are elderly and look like they havent got much money themselves. The professional beggers are preying on the vulnerable

I once gave 50 euros to an old guy in Oviedo who wanted a lift to a job interview and then explained how he had been sleeping in churches and the park while he is waiting for his pension to mature next month. I have no idea whether that was true, but if not, then he was incredibly convincing

jimenato

I've stopped giving anything to the beggars in the supermarket car parks. Initially it was because of the risks involved so I would only do so as I drove out i.e. there was no risk of getting robbed but latterly I've stopped that as well as it only encourages them. They are all foreign.

jackytoo

Begging is an old tradition in Spain if you read the history of it. Then they were genuine beggars unlike now. It was also tradition to donate as they wanted to please god and they would congregate on the church steps.

They are all over Europe like rats, bad in Paris too. I never saw anyone give them anything where I lived.

stuboy

In London many years ago I was approached by a young beggar outside pret where I was waiting for a lift. He really did look down on his uppers. I refused him money but offered to buy him a coffee and sandwich.

The reply would get me banned from here for life, he clearly wasn't interested in my type of charity.

andyrich666

The people that play music outside supermarkets or come along when your in city bars, do you class them as beggars to ?

The asians with there DVD's the Moroccans with there cheap chinese watches, socks and so on and the looky looky men, I class them all in the same boat, they are player in a gang, the only ones I can't be sure of is the singers, I cant work them out, if they are individuals, part of a gang or just a classier beggar.

I believe that some of those are better off than some of us.

cricketman

You can't buy drugs with a sandwich

cricketman

Yes it is, which is why the beggers all turn up on a Sunday morning

Why aren't there more Spanish beggers though? Why are 90% foreigners? That's what confuses me

steviedeluxe

The people who are excluded from the jobs market tend to be either foreign, old and/or with substance abuse problems. Also, if you're without work but have a mother or grandfather with a generous pension, then you can possibly get your family to help you out. Often not the case if you're foreign.

cricketman

I have thought about that, but it isnt really true

The foreigners are professional beggers. They were here before the crisis happened. In Oviedo half the beggers are Romanians/Bulgarians with a pre-programmed electric keyboard annoying everybody

Barcelona was full of limbless Eastern European beggers pre-2008 at the height of the boom. It gave the city an awful image

andyrich666

Yep I saw them before you get to the Ramblas, I think I remember round by the El Corte de ingles, indeed it did give the image of Barcelona a kick for me.

Madridboy

Madrid is full of them, even in the Salamanca area. I never have nor will I ever give money to them. You see the same ones asking for money every day.....dressed in clean new clothes, perfectly cut hair and claim they have no money. They prey upon tourists and the good nature of the Spanish people.

Maybe1day

During WW2 the Nuns used to place deformed and crippled kids on the streets to beg and pick them up in the evening.
Today the beggars outside Aldi and Lidl have the goods they receive picked up by someone every few hours. One with a very colourful bike and trailer.
I always remember a guy on the Brussels Metro with a badly burned face. He asked for money for surgery, almost everyone gave him money, myself included. 3 yrs later when I was there he was still doing the same he must be a multi millionaire by now.
In Cairo in the early 90s the beggars paid the local mafia up to 5k US$ for prime pitches in the city. One died while I was there, he left his 4 grieving wives cash and over 200 appartments.
I used to give money to down and outs that weren't asking. Back in the UK for 6 months ten years ago, I ended up with Kilos of small change. On my last night there as I was going to a restaurant, I saw the little old lady on her usual bench and I gave her the bag of change. Later on my way home she was still sorting it out
M

Domino

oh dear, such a problem when one has an "awful image",
if all that people are worrying about is the "image" then they really have a problem with themselves rather than a problem with the beggars.

beggars will go to where the money is, you don't see beggars competing for the odd 5c donation in down and out areas. But as they aren't accepted as being part of the city then it won't really effect The Image will it

Domino

in a number of countries TODAY parents purposefully have children's legs and arms broken and allowed to set in a deformed position to "give them a better chance in life"