Begging

Begging
When traveling, you will without a doubt come across people asking for money. After all, poor people everywhere will reason that anyone who can afford to travel – by definition – has money to spare. Even a "budget" traveler may be much richer than most local people in some places; according to UN statistics more than a billion people live on less than a euro a day.


Consider giving generously if you want to, but remember a few points.

Give only when it is your choice; don't encourage the obnoxious or intimidating beggars by buying them off.

Keep the amounts in proportion; in a country where many people work long hours for a few euros a day, giving a beggar a euro is wildly excessive. In China, for example, giving one yuan (about 15 cents) is generous; many Chinese would give half that and a beggar who collects 30 yuan a day is making more than most waitresses, even in "five-star" hotels.

If you do give, be discrete. Otherwise, you may mark yourself as an easy target and attract all the other beggars to see what they can get out of you; this can quickly ruin your trip.


Some people who beg are doing so out of desperation. Most, however, are not desperate at all; begging is their chosen profession and they make very good money at it by local standards. The truly desperate will not be found begging in most cases. Instead beggars will have their schtick which they have honed over the years (or through adult training for the children) and will have key choke points marked out for themselves where they can make good money.


A truly desperate person simply won't have the skills (or the taste for violence) necessary to compete in the begging marketplace that surround the tourist hot-spots and begging out in the bush is a waste of time. Also note that very often, these beggars may be part of a large begging syndicate.