Do you give money to beggars?

[rb 20]

I give

but it's taken directly out of my weekly checks

same same mafia and not so nice people that keep the money for themselves

cept we elect them and it doestn't matter if their dems or repubs

u better pony up or u'll not be seen for a long time

[glynbuk 29]

I have to ask why. Don't you believe me or don't you care.

 

I fully believe your right in that there will be some/many mafia controlled beggars.

 

I also believe there are some that are in dire need and it is my humble opinion

that i am a fair judge of character and old enough to make my own decision.

 

If i am harassed by a beggar then i walk on, if i see a beggar who is quiet and

respectful, does not harass people, then i give,(especially if i see poor thai's giving

to the same beggar).

 

Sorry, but i cannot and will not change.

[Montydog 135]

This subject comes up periodically and I always give the same answer. Sadly the message never seems to get through.

 

As alluded to above all beggars you see in the streets of Thailand are run by the beggar Mafia. If an independent tries to set up shop they will be closed down by the police.

 

The beggar Mafia are not nice people. They abuse their "employees", indulge in human trafficking and sometimes mutilate their employees to gain more sympathy for them.

 

Any contribution you make encourages this inhuman trade. If everybody stopped giving tomorrow many people would get their lives back and more importantly many future victims would be saved. You might be easing your conscience by dropping a few coins in a bucket but you are causing real harm to real people by doing so.

 

Don't give money to these people.

 

If you want to help the less fortunate give your money to recognised charities, or if you want to personalise it, visit one of the orphanages, the street kid centre or the Camillian centre for aids victims and give the money to these truly needy people.

 

 

This post should be pinned on every Thai forum and board on the interweb.

 

[BillWilson 10]

I usually do. I'll drop whatever coins I have in my pocket at the time in their bowl or cup. Unlike in the US, where opportunities to get ahead are more readily available and the "beggars" are often either scam artists or druggies saving for their next hit, those I see in LOS are usually the real deal.

 

I am constantly reminded of one guy I saw every time I was in Bangkok. Age was hard to gauge but I'm guessing 40-ish to maybe early 50's. He was paralyzed from the waist down, missing both legs at or below the knee, as well as all of one hand and several fingers on the other. I would see him every day, dragging himself down Sukhumvit, pushing a begging bowl ahead of him. I always gave him something, and every time I feel stressed, frustrated or depressed about events in my life I think about him and realize that by comparison I have nothing to complain about whatsoever. I haven't seen him the last couple of times I've been in Bangkok this past year, so I suspect he's no longer among us.

 

I always put whatever change I had in his bowl. Who knows? Maybe next time around he'll be putting coins in mine.

 

He was still there as of the first week of Jan '08, and YES they get my loose change or food

[Gonzo 419]

This subject comes up periodically and I always give the same answer. Sadly the message never seems to get through.

 

As alluded to above all beggars you see in the streets of Thailand are run by the beggar Mafia. If an independent tries to set up shop they will be closed down by the police.

 

The beggar Mafia are not nice people. They abuse their "employees", indulge in human trafficking and sometimes mutilate their employees to gain more sympathy for them.

 

Any contribution you make encourages this inhuman trade. If everybody stopped giving tomorrow many people would get their lives back and more importantly many future victims would be saved. You might be easing your conscience by dropping a few coins in a bucket but you are causing real harm to real people by doing so.

 

Don't give money to these people.

 

If you want to help the less fortunate give your money to recognised charities, or if you want to personalise it, visit one of the orphanages, the street kid centre or the Camillian centre for aids victims and give the money to these truly needy people.

Good on you for supporting Father Contarian and the Camillian Centre. That reminds me, I am a bit overdue to make my donation.

[Benjamin 0]

Its a very organized system. Not anyone is allowed to do this. They have to be hired. The mafia makes an agreement to take most of the money you give them. There is a route the beggar must follow and also a time line. This way, they can spread out the different beggars and have a greater chance of tourists and foreigners not getting sick of them as fast. Outsiders will see violence enacted upon them.This is well organized and controlled. Those who give money, are almost always foreign people on short term holiday. They do not have a clue to what is going on.

 

Maybe that dog is a freelancer!

[Eneukman 1]

I don't give to street beggars - for the very reasons Pete has given.

 

Alan

[jackcorbett 2]

From Pete's post, "If an independent tries to set up shop they will be closed down by the police."

 

Understand it, meditate upon it and believe it.

 

 

Two nights ago a friend and I met at a beer bar on Walking Street right where Soi Diamond starts. A man comes up to him with a little baby in his arms begging for money. My friend said, "Get out of here. Go...Go Now and do not come back." I said My Owl. Not My Owl Kop which is polite for "Do not want." I tried to be deliberately rude to him. Then my friend turned to me and said, "I've seen this same guy around here a number of times and each time he's carrying a different baby."

 

I then turned to the bargirls and said, "Mafia" and they all broke out laughing. I then turned turned one of my pockets inside out and pantomimed to the bar girls. "I have no money. Cannot pay beer." Then I went up to the nearest girl and asked, "Do you have baby?" She said "Yes." I then said, "I borrow baby you so I have money mak mak."

 

That got all the girls howling with laughter.

[golden oldie 0]

This subject comes up periodically and I always give the same answer. Sadly the message never seems to get through.

 

As alluded to above all beggars you see in the streets of Thailand are run by the beggar Mafia. If an independent tries to set up shop they will be closed down by the police.

 

The beggar Mafia are not nice people. They abuse their "employees", indulge in human trafficking and sometimes mutilate their employees to gain more sympathy for them.

 

Any contribution you make encourages this inhuman trade. If everybody stopped giving tomorrow many people would get their lives back and more importantly many future victims would be saved. You might be easing your conscience by dropping a few coins in a bucket but you are causing real harm to real people by doing so.

 

Don't give money to these people.

 

If you want to help the less fortunate give your money to recognised charities, or if you want to personalise it, visit one of the orphanages, the street kid centre or the Camillian centre for aids victims and give the money to these truly needy people.

In2006 daily this old woman bent almost double would hobble along the beach aided by this long stick begging thai and falang alike for money does she come under this catagory and is she still begging on the beach ?

[crazyfox 0]

Thats a hard one to answer.

On the one hand there is a want to help but on the other hand everyone hates feeling like they've just been hustled. I give something to one person and as I walk down the block I realize that there are about a hundred hands out looking for a hand out.

it really breaks your heart to walk past some of these people but if you really want to do some good it's probably just better to give to a charity

[soi unwise 6]

And then you brought them all a lady drink Jack ?

[fd2084 0]

It doesn't matter to me whether the beggars are truly in need or being organized by the mafia. Let the locals sort it out, they are in a better position to know and do the right thing. And if they don't care enough to take care of these people then why should I?

[Tatanka 1]

Never

 

Their country

Their beggars

Their problem

[voracious 31]

It's funny this thread was still on top...

 

I don't give money to beggers for all the reasons stated by PP and all, but today something happened that made me want to share :)

 

I was shopping in Daly City, California and outside the empanada store there was this Pinoy, and older guy, playing a guitar and just singing it up. Quite unusual here. We don't usually have musicians on the street especially not at a little tiny strip mall.

 

Anyways, it put a big smile on my face, as it got me thinking of my trips to Manila & Angeles...music and singing everywhere. Had a dollar in my pocket so I slipped in the bag he had hanging on the end of the guitar...

 

...which made him smile even more and you could "hear" the smile in his singing. After we finished shopping in the bakery, he gave me another hearty thank you and kept on singing.

 

Sometimes life is just good.

[Emil 0]

Just saw on the tube yesterday about a big round up by the police of illegals who were begging along the streets of Pattaya. Said they would be returned to their home country.

[jackcorbett 2]

And then you brought them all a lady drink Jack ?

 

Nope. That would have been unwise..... tip yes, but lady drinks had to wait until other nights when I was staying awhile. My pal and I moved on to review go-go bars.

[js007 795]

I've more or less stopped giving money to beggars, but I still sometimes feel guilty about it. Maybe some of them really do need money.

 

I used to live in NYC in the Village near the Bowery back in the days when there were bums everywhere, or so it seemed. About every 15 feet there would be some drunk guy asking for a quarter. I soon realized that if I gave all those guys money every time they asked, I'd be out of money before too long. I finally learned to ignore them.

 

More recently, in Patong Beach, I walked by the same lady every day. She would sit on Bangla Road with one of her legs all wrapped up in a bloody bandage and beg for money. She was there every day, and the way she had her leg wrapped up, you'd think she couldn't walk at all. Then one day I saw her walking home from "work." No bloody bandage and walking just fine. I looked at her and she just laughed.

 

J

[jackcorbett 2]

Yep. There we go. And we must always remember one key word--MAFIA.

[Devman 0]

yes, I give loose change to any beggars that are cripple but not to

the ones with a baby (well not any more!!).

Allways thought about the mafia involvement but just not sure i suppose!

[monacoman 0]

I f you see a beggar in a thirld-world country and you feel charitable

1. ignore the beggar

2. go to the street food vendor and buy some cheap food

3. give it to the beggar.

 

If they accept it then you have helped them out. If they refuse it then you have just bought yourself a tasty snack.

If they are mafia run then they are probably still poor, oppressed and hungry.

[sexy man 0]

very rarely to many professionals ,the ones playing pipes make more money in an hour than a bar girl gets in a day[unless she,is taken out of the bar]

[valentinoxxx 4]

Never to beggars or sellers who badger.

 

Though try to give generously to the working poor. e.g. Individuals collecting bottles on a small scale off the beaten track, sifting through rubbish etc

[youngyx 0]

After reading petes report i will not give a penny to beggers in future,, thanks pete for shedding some light on the situation

[HAPPYDAYS 0]

After reading petes report i will not give a penny to beggers in future,, thanks pete for shedding some light on the situation

don't paint every body with the same brush, there are some genuine (beggars) who really do need a few baht for a meal or a beer,,if you do give money, don't start moaning about what they buy with it,

i do give money to some, others i buy food,others i buy clothes,

but i mainly send parcels of food clothes books pencils toys to hospitals and orphanage and schools, in thai india and the uk,

[Big Daddy 0]

I admit I have a big heart, and have back on my first trips did give but havent in some time since the article in bkk paper I think,so now I donate at temples and donation boxes,the down side is im sure there are several true beggars, maybe people down on their luck,but just like here im sorry but I dont give. I just ignore like they are not there.Cheers to everyone!