CHINA, NATIONAL, SOCIETY, COMMENTARY: Beggar Man or Thief?
By Liu Yieqing
Southern Street is the most prosperous business street in Nantong, a middle-sized city in eastern China. However, when you take a walk there, you cannot avoid seeing multifarious beggars on both sides of the street, apart from the large crowds and numerous shops. This special group is comprised of children, women, elders, handicapped, as well as young people with sound conditions.
Some stay on their knees making bows to the passers-by with hands cupped in front. Some reach out dirty hands to passers-by for money. In most cases, they arouse the pity of the public with their poor appearance or unfortunate life experiences or both. The truly impoverished makes up only a small proportion of the large number of beggars, many of whom are really just slobs in sound health.
Beggars come in all different types
One old lady in her middle fifties sits on the ground outside of Wenfeng Big World--the largest shopping mall in Nantong. She is busy painting with her handicapped hands. Two fingers are missing from her right hand and the other ones are attached together; so is it with her other palm. In spite of her handicap, her paintings are so excellent that many people stop and offer to buy her works. In no time, coins pile up in front of her.
A middle-aged man sits only a few meters away, with a big basket in front of him. Inside are three kids with ragged clothes. There are other elders holding bowls with several coins rattling inside.
Most are from other provinces. Some are truly disabled; however, many are in good health. Some are middle-aged men. However, most are elders and children. More beggars flood into the city in spring and summer. Usually, they "work" from 9 a.m. until 6 or 7 o'clock. Some are newcomers, but a number have been here for more than five years. Some roam around the city and some beg at the same spot. Some disabled beggars are brought to their "working place" in the morning and picked up and taken home in the evening. In a word, begging has become a profession.
Many beggars do not choose the profession because of economic conditions. Some of them live a decent life and are even well off. As soon as they accumulate a certain sum of money, they will send it home. Some will deposit the money into a bank and carry the bank note with them.
I put three coins in the bowl in front of the old lady painter and had a little chat with her. As it was getting dark and few people stopped to buy her paintings, she was quite willing to talk with me. She was from Anhui Province but refused to give a further detailed address. (Most beggars are unwilling to refer to their hometowns.) She came two years ago and was sent to the street by her husband everyday.
"What kinds of people buy your paintings?" I asked.
"Most of the old folks are only looking, unwilling to give any money. Seldom will they give me even a few mao. As time goes by, they no longer pay any attention to us. The givers are middle aged women and girls in love."
To the right of her was a small old man also from Anhui Province. His dirty appearance would never give you the idea that he has more than 10,000 Yuan. Or rather, he used to. He gave his banknote to a fellow beggar for safe keeping and now that beggar is missing. The old man is very upset.
The attitudes of people towards beggars
1) When I see a grandma or a little child, even a baby, I will give some money to them unconsciously even though I already know they are cheating, or they are not actually as poor as they appear to be. It may be to my detriment, but I just cannot control it.
2) I was cheated once and now I will just walk past them without stopping. If they badger me, I will chide them.
3) It depends on the circumstance. If the beggar is deformed or very old, I will give them some money.
The deep root of the phenomena
One of the reasons for this behavior is that many people think it is not disgraceful to be a beggar. In some regions, there still remains the consuetude that people go far away to cadge. And some villagers even regard cadging as a proper method to enhance the quality of life.
Such customs are a terrible influence on others--some villagers buy expensive appliances like a TV set, fridge, and so on, with the money they begged and everyone sees and knows. Many beggars go out to beg instead of learning skills to improve their life in their leisure time.
The problem of repatriation
More and more beggars hustle into downtown Nantong to seek big fortunes before major holidays, especially the Spring Festival, which badly tarnishes the reputation of the city. The police try to persuade the beggars to return home. However the measure of 'neatening' is hard to deploy.
I joined the urban police to investigate the measure and when we came to the east of Huanxi square to persuade the beggars to leave, we met a beggar who we had just told to go home in the west of the square. And some beggars are crafty. In the square, a little child was begging, but when he saw the police, he returned to an elder man and pretended to be his son. Then the adult told the police that they were father and son who were going to buy something.
Then how do we end the phenomena of begging? As we know, the professional beggars snatch their fortune by imposing on people's sympathy. In such cases we should not hand out anything to the professional beggars; if they get nothing, surely they will get out of the horrible circle of begging.
Never enable indolent people.
Proverbially, we should show our charity to people who are really in poverty like old people who have no relatives to support them; people who lost their ability to work or to own anything. But now, most beggars are those people full of energy and some are little children goaded by cruel-hearted adults. We are indeed giving our money to the cruel-hearted adults! How can we remain our benignity? But if we lose our remorse one day, what would the world be?
So it is important to make a new project of repatriation. Many professional beggars go back to the city immediately after they are sent home. To the real beggars, like the handicapped, we should introduce them to jobs they can do to help them stand on their own feet rather than begging in the streets.
When the real beggars are no longer begging in the streets, there will be no circumstance for people who are actually not beggars to stretch out their hands to the passers by.
Southern Street is the most prosperous business street in Nantong, a middle-sized city in eastern China. However, when you take a walk there, you cannot avoid seeing multifarious beggars on both sides of the street, apart from the large crowds and numerous shops. This special group is comprised of children, women, elders, handicapped, as well as young people with sound conditions.
Some stay on their knees making bows to the passers-by with hands cupped in front. Some reach out dirty hands to passers-by for money. In most cases, they arouse the pity of the public with their poor appearance or unfortunate life experiences or both. The truly impoverished makes up only a small proportion of the large number of beggars, many of whom are really just slobs in sound health.
Beggars come in all different types
One old lady in her middle fifties sits on the ground outside of Wenfeng Big World--the largest shopping mall in Nantong. She is busy painting with her handicapped hands. Two fingers are missing from her right hand and the other ones are attached together; so is it with her other palm. In spite of her handicap, her paintings are so excellent that many people stop and offer to buy her works. In no time, coins pile up in front of her.
A middle-aged man sits only a few meters away, with a big basket in front of him. Inside are three kids with ragged clothes. There are other elders holding bowls with several coins rattling inside.
Most are from other provinces. Some are truly disabled; however, many are in good health. Some are middle-aged men. However, most are elders and children. More beggars flood into the city in spring and summer. Usually, they "work" from 9 a.m. until 6 or 7 o'clock. Some are newcomers, but a number have been here for more than five years. Some roam around the city and some beg at the same spot. Some disabled beggars are brought to their "working place" in the morning and picked up and taken home in the evening. In a word, begging has become a profession.
Many beggars do not choose the profession because of economic conditions. Some of them live a decent life and are even well off. As soon as they accumulate a certain sum of money, they will send it home. Some will deposit the money into a bank and carry the bank note with them.
I put three coins in the bowl in front of the old lady painter and had a little chat with her. As it was getting dark and few people stopped to buy her paintings, she was quite willing to talk with me. She was from Anhui Province but refused to give a further detailed address. (Most beggars are unwilling to refer to their hometowns.) She came two years ago and was sent to the street by her husband everyday.
"What kinds of people buy your paintings?" I asked.
"Most of the old folks are only looking, unwilling to give any money. Seldom will they give me even a few mao. As time goes by, they no longer pay any attention to us. The givers are middle aged women and girls in love."
To the right of her was a small old man also from Anhui Province. His dirty appearance would never give you the idea that he has more than 10,000 Yuan. Or rather, he used to. He gave his banknote to a fellow beggar for safe keeping and now that beggar is missing. The old man is very upset.
The attitudes of people towards beggars
1) When I see a grandma or a little child, even a baby, I will give some money to them unconsciously even though I already know they are cheating, or they are not actually as poor as they appear to be. It may be to my detriment, but I just cannot control it.
2) I was cheated once and now I will just walk past them without stopping. If they badger me, I will chide them.
3) It depends on the circumstance. If the beggar is deformed or very old, I will give them some money.
The deep root of the phenomena
One of the reasons for this behavior is that many people think it is not disgraceful to be a beggar. In some regions, there still remains the consuetude that people go far away to cadge. And some villagers even regard cadging as a proper method to enhance the quality of life.
Such customs are a terrible influence on others--some villagers buy expensive appliances like a TV set, fridge, and so on, with the money they begged and everyone sees and knows. Many beggars go out to beg instead of learning skills to improve their life in their leisure time.
The problem of repatriation
More and more beggars hustle into downtown Nantong to seek big fortunes before major holidays, especially the Spring Festival, which badly tarnishes the reputation of the city. The police try to persuade the beggars to return home. However the measure of 'neatening' is hard to deploy.
I joined the urban police to investigate the measure and when we came to the east of Huanxi square to persuade the beggars to leave, we met a beggar who we had just told to go home in the west of the square. And some beggars are crafty. In the square, a little child was begging, but when he saw the police, he returned to an elder man and pretended to be his son. Then the adult told the police that they were father and son who were going to buy something.
Then how do we end the phenomena of begging? As we know, the professional beggars snatch their fortune by imposing on people's sympathy. In such cases we should not hand out anything to the professional beggars; if they get nothing, surely they will get out of the horrible circle of begging.
Never enable indolent people.
Proverbially, we should show our charity to people who are really in poverty like old people who have no relatives to support them; people who lost their ability to work or to own anything. But now, most beggars are those people full of energy and some are little children goaded by cruel-hearted adults. We are indeed giving our money to the cruel-hearted adults! How can we remain our benignity? But if we lose our remorse one day, what would the world be?
So it is important to make a new project of repatriation. Many professional beggars go back to the city immediately after they are sent home. To the real beggars, like the handicapped, we should introduce them to jobs they can do to help them stand on their own feet rather than begging in the streets.
When the real beggars are no longer begging in the streets, there will be no circumstance for people who are actually not beggars to stretch out their hands to the passers by.
2 Comments:
At 3:54 AM , ChinaLawBlog said...
Interesting post. Thanks.
At 9:18 PM , Anonymous said...
The situation is indeed more complicated, most of these beggars are enslaved by the triads to beg, if they do not "earn" enough money at the end of the day, they will get beaten up or be starved. They are liars, but a lot of them, not only children, but adults, are begging involuntarily. Some of these people are being sold/smuggled to the city, just like the Eastern Europe women being smuggled to other parts of the world to do prostitution, they are like slaves.
Post a Comment
<< Home