The question of whether travellers should give to beggars often crops up on travel blogs but it often amounts to little more than a bunch of reasons why you shouldn’t give money, or anything even, to beggars. In fact, I’m surprised that some of them even manage to raise some basic notions of charity in their writing. What many of the discussions fail to do is take into account is an understanding of the specific contexts of different locations, implying that everywhere is like the few, generally popular destinations they cite to back up their arguments.
This is not to say that they are necessarily full of poor reasoning or fail to make some very legitimate points. Particularly I’d tend to endorse much of the standard view on giving to children, which can be problematic for a number of reasons, but even here I would say to declare that it is always wrong fails to take into account the enormous range of possible circumstances. What in one time and place could promote a culture of dependence, could at another be a vital step towards turning around a life previously on a downward spiral.
I don’t believe it’s appropriate to take pictures of beggars. Instead consider this street scene from Benin where many people in the picture are hard-working street traders, doing their best to get by in one of the world’s poorest countries. Can you spot the petrol station?
Before I deal with the practical aspects of the reasoning that so many discussions on the subject concentrate on I think its important to consider our mindset for dealing with the issue.
The bottom line is that without some meaningful interaction with someone you never know their story, no matter how self-evident the circumstances may appear to you. Too many of the arguments for not giving to beggars revolve around assumptions that are entirely subjective and rely on a rather dim view of humanity. Some have a default view that there will tend to be negative explanations for a beggar’s predicament:- they’re part of an organised gang exploiting tourists; they’ll spend the money on drugs; they’re just too lazy to get a job etc. Of course these things can all be true, but why not ask yourself, “how bad would things have to get before I resorted to begging, what other options would I have had to explore before sitting on a dirty pavement with my hand out”? Whatever the circumstances of the beggar before you, even the most annoying, exploitative example, has had something go wrong with their life to have led them down that path, to think that it is a better life choice than something with a bit more dignity. None of that is a reason in itself for handing over some money but I would rather start from a mindset of a positive view of humanity and be occasionally disappointed than assuming the worst in people.
Dignity is an important value for many and something that stops people resorting to begging, except in the most desperate of situations. To think that most people would make that decision lightly is a rather cynical view on life, regardless of the examples you can provide to the contrary. Maybe that man you think is too well dressed or clean to be deserving of your charity is trying his best to maintain a shred of dignity, when he has nothing else to save. I have found Africans, for instance to be very mindful of appearance and some may make sacrifices to maintain that until they are forced to give in. Maybe he’s doing his utmost to have a measure of respectability so as to have some hope of a job when he knocks on doors. So, maybe he has robbed an old lady to pay for the clean clothes after spending the rest on heroin but whatever it is, you don’t know their story, so don’t pretend otherwise. Once you start differentiating between the deserving and undeserving poor you are imposing your own values onto cultures that may not recognise them and are moving away from the true concept of charity.
This man in a Pakistani mosque is feeding the poor who come to pray, demonstrating the important values at the heart of most religions.
Equally I find the view that us westerners only give money to make us feel good just as cynical. If that’s why you give money, you don’t understand the nature of charity, we help people out who are less fortunate than ourselves because it’s the right thing to do, not to display our generosity or satisfy our own emotional needs. It’s no surprise that religions embrace the concept of charity because humans have always recognised the need for it. Jesus, Mohammed and Buddha focused on the value of compassion rather than nitpicking over the possible failings of the recipients of charity, because that should be where we are coming from, before finding excuses not to give.
Thankfully even the less charitable discussions on begging recommend giving money to charitable causes rather than directly to people and if that’s what you actually do then you are to be commended. But, be honest how many of you have actually come home and done that? Once you are back home and away from the environment that generated so much compassion in you its easy for those good intentions to melt away. Additionally there are real practical considerations, starting with the fact that typically only around 60-70% of any donation will end up being spent on actual aid, after expenses and some are worse. Check out the charity before you give, their accounts should tell you what proportion of donations goes directly to aid, or use sites like Charity Navigator. Do any charities actually work in the place you care about? Will your donation go specifically to the place or need you wish to address? Few could doubt the motivations of many of the people involved in aid work but that doesn’t stop your money being misspent or wasted. Look at the example of the aid to Haiti after the earthquake in 2010, where billions were pissed up the wall in mismanagement, duplication of services and corruption. Also the idea that there is always an NGO waiting around the corner to help the unfortunate is, in many places, just wishful thinking. Giving to a charity will certainly do some good but it’s unlikely to make much difference to a specific situation that motivated you on your travels. Like much else I wish to say on the subject the point is to get informed, otherwise a coin in the hand of a beggar may well be a far better use of your money than a far larger sum going to an organisation.
At least with money going directly into someone’s hand it is staying in the local economy, so a portion of its benefits are handed on to someone else, such as a food seller who is probably not particularly well off themselves. This is why some aid agencies give direct handouts to people in certain situations to stimulate the local economy and there is no reason why you should not consider this example. If you have concerns over what a beggar might do with cash or its effect on others then why not buy something to donate from a poor street seller and you help two people while minimizing potential negative consequences? It’s also easy to forget about those on the very lowest rung of the commercial ladder, trying to sell a handful of meagre essentials like tissues or peanuts on the streets. These people are only a small step away from begging themselves and doing their best not to drop that bit further and retain at least some dignity in the process. Why not give them a bit extra?
If you don’t understand for instance why Venezuelans are begging on the streets of Columbia, Ecuador or Peru or why Syrians are begging on the streets of Turkey, Jordan and Lebanon then you probably ought to pay a bit more attention to current affairs. The sheer scale of these refugee movements has overwhelmed local services and charities, international donors have not provided sufficient funding and it has created social stresses in communities receiving them. Beggars such as these don’t have another option, at least in the short-term and even if they can find jobs it’s often at exploitative wages that bring down local wage rates and deny local people jobs in places where the economy is already struggling. Of course situations like these require complex, international, political solutions to solve in the longer term but in the shorter term these people need to be kept alive. In no way can situations like this be compared to long-established begging practices in tourist areas. Refugees aren’t making a career move by going begging in a foreign country.
Kids in Uganda expressing their gratitude at the writing materials I donated. It shouldn’t be forgotten however, that sometimes people have needs that can only be met by cash, such as paying for school fees
I’ve been to many exceedingly poor places that have a relatively low incidence of begging because strong family and community ties provide a level of support that has evaporated in so much of the West. Consequently, begging can be seen as a severe sign of family breakdown or mental health problems that locals find totally acceptable as reasons for giving money. If local people are giving to beggars then a few foreigners handing over some coins is not creating a culture of begging. It is only larger scale tourism that creates this risk.
You don’t have to give away all your money or give to anyone and everyone but the poor are no less human than the rest of us and begging will always be a fact of life. Don’t deny their existence as some inconvenience in your path: make eye contact, say, “hi” or,”sorry I don’t have any change”. At least acknowledge their existence as a fellow human, it still has value even if it’s not financial.
The decision to give or not is usually taken in an instant and will inevitably require some subjective analysis but the more you inform yourself about specific local circumstances and culture the better you can make that decision. Naturally we’re not going to solve poverty by giving to beggars, its only ever going to be a short-term solution but at some point for some people it is the only solution on offer. By all means learn why it’s not always good to give to beggars and if you don’t want to give directly, support a charity, volunteer, just don’t do nothing.
