Pandapassport Blog - Life in China
From Dalian, China --- "What are those wacky Dongbei-ren up to today?"
So what's the real deal with beggars in China?
My Chinese friends will often warn me, never give money to beggars - because they're often richer than you are. One friend told me he watched a begger at Victory Square pack up his things at the end of his work day and hop into a cab to go home. Hardly the cheapest mode of Chinese transportation...
Some Chinese friends tell me that some beggars are part of an organized gang who - rather than keep the money for themselves - have to report back to their boss and hand it over to them. There are the crippled beggars with a deformed leg wrapped twice around their head who shuffle along on their hands. I've been told that some people do this to them intentionally so they look more pitiful, and thus earn more cash. There are the small child beggars, who I'm told are often kidnapped from the countryside so they can work the streets in the city.
And then there are the mothers with a child in their arms. I was approached by one such mother-child combo today as I was standing waiting for a friend at an intersection. I couldn't really walk away, because as I said, I was waiting for someone.
So, I talked with her a bit:
Her: Please, please, money, please! (This part was in English, and was accompanied by assorted finger-pointing-to-mouth gestures --- read "hungry").
Me: Sorry. I don't have much. I'm a student.
Her: Please, my baby is sick. (He was far from a baby, but actually looked like he'll be ready for kindergarden next year)
Me: My Chinese friends tell me I should not give money to beggars, because they only hand it over to their boss. How do I know you will buy medicine?
Her: No. My baby is sick. Really. We need to buy medicine. (She showed me a medicine box as well)
Me: If your baby is sick, why did you bring him out with you at night. Shouldn't you bring him somewhere to rest?
Her: I have to bring him out with me. He needs to eat. (At this point she opened her shirt to show that the kid needed breast-feeding.)
Me: **staring at sky for a few seconds, to avoid making eye contact with afore-mentioned boob**
Her: We're from Anhui Province. We want to go home. We need to buy a train ticket, can you help us?
Me: How much is your train ticket? A few hundred kuai? I'm from Canada. I also want to go home.
In the end I did give her a few kuai. She did after all, flash a boob... (My god, I'm going straight to hell for that one, aren't I?) She stuck around and asked for even more money, but when my friend arrived we made a speedy getaway. Anyway, even though I've been told that I shouldn't give to beggars, there's still the possibility that she was telling the truth, and that always weighs heavy on me.
Any thoughts on this one? I'd like to hear some feedback. Was I stupid to give cash to them? Was I an asshole for not giving more? Are my Chinese friends right in their assessment of beggars? It's tough to just ignore them. Especially ones like this lady.
What do you think?
Tags: China, Chinese, beggars, Dalian, Newfoundland, Chinese beggars, newfie, homeless, pandapassport
My Chinese friends will often warn me, never give money to beggars - because they're often richer than you are. One friend told me he watched a begger at Victory Square pack up his things at the end of his work day and hop into a cab to go home. Hardly the cheapest mode of Chinese transportation...
Some Chinese friends tell me that some beggars are part of an organized gang who - rather than keep the money for themselves - have to report back to their boss and hand it over to them. There are the crippled beggars with a deformed leg wrapped twice around their head who shuffle along on their hands. I've been told that some people do this to them intentionally so they look more pitiful, and thus earn more cash. There are the small child beggars, who I'm told are often kidnapped from the countryside so they can work the streets in the city.
And then there are the mothers with a child in their arms. I was approached by one such mother-child combo today as I was standing waiting for a friend at an intersection. I couldn't really walk away, because as I said, I was waiting for someone.
So, I talked with her a bit:
Her: Please, please, money, please! (This part was in English, and was accompanied by assorted finger-pointing-to-mouth gestures --- read "hungry").
Me: Sorry. I don't have much. I'm a student.
Her: Please, my baby is sick. (He was far from a baby, but actually looked like he'll be ready for kindergarden next year)
Me: My Chinese friends tell me I should not give money to beggars, because they only hand it over to their boss. How do I know you will buy medicine?
Her: No. My baby is sick. Really. We need to buy medicine. (She showed me a medicine box as well)
Me: If your baby is sick, why did you bring him out with you at night. Shouldn't you bring him somewhere to rest?
Her: I have to bring him out with me. He needs to eat. (At this point she opened her shirt to show that the kid needed breast-feeding.)
Me: **staring at sky for a few seconds, to avoid making eye contact with afore-mentioned boob**
Her: We're from Anhui Province. We want to go home. We need to buy a train ticket, can you help us?
Me: How much is your train ticket? A few hundred kuai? I'm from Canada. I also want to go home.
In the end I did give her a few kuai. She did after all, flash a boob... (My god, I'm going straight to hell for that one, aren't I?) She stuck around and asked for even more money, but when my friend arrived we made a speedy getaway. Anyway, even though I've been told that I shouldn't give to beggars, there's still the possibility that she was telling the truth, and that always weighs heavy on me.
Any thoughts on this one? I'd like to hear some feedback. Was I stupid to give cash to them? Was I an asshole for not giving more? Are my Chinese friends right in their assessment of beggars? It's tough to just ignore them. Especially ones like this lady.
What do you think?
Tags: China, Chinese, beggars, Dalian, Newfoundland, Chinese beggars, newfie, homeless, pandapassport
3 Comments:
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Now, I knew the score in those countries. Or at least I had a better idea of what was going on. But as for China, I have no idea. I tend to believe, and I have no evidence to back this up, that there is some kind of mafia structure protecting the homeless on the streets from being kicked out of the city boarders. Now I'm not talking a small band of fat beer gutted Chinese ass holes in a dark whore house wearing pin stripped suits packing semi-automatic weapons, no, nothing that sexy...I'm just talking about a small group that pays the police a bribe to allow that annoying old man that pisses me off incessantly when I'm sipping my latte at the Starbucks at Victory Square. Common sense tells me that, yes, I'm in China, and, no, the Chinese police aren't ones to fuck with, and yes, they would remove this person to some other province if they had the power to. But, I don’t believe they have that power, becasue he'll be there tomorrow.
Now, does it matter if the mafia controls these people? Who gives a shit if the mafia controls them? Lets just assume that they are. Great. If you give them a couple Yuan, they then pass that day’s earnings onto the mafia, they then give the homeless person 10%, then pay 50% to the police for not doing anything, and 10% goes toward overhead, and then the mafia guys are left with a cool 30% for wages. Not a bad gig if you ask me. If you don't give the homeless person cash, and no one else does, then that homeless person looses his / her job. Full stop.
Now, here comes the argument that every idealistic Greenpeace tree-hugging fuck is just itching to scream out. "But they're being exploited!" Hey, buddy, do you have a job? Oh, you do? I can guarantee that you are getting paid well under 10% of both Gross and Net Profit of whatever school / company / organization / etc that you work for. So, are you being exploited? Guess what, life exploited these people that live on the streets. Life. That's it. They are just trying to get through this little adventure with as much dignity as possible.
Here's my closing remark that goes out to everyone who reads this. Throw them a fucking Yuan! Just one. That's it. It helps, even if they have to give 90% of it to their boss. And, as you’re giving the homeless person the Yuan, say hello.
That was a rather long way of saying it, but you're right "dignity" is the key.
A giver's principles really shouldn't get in the way of the reality of the situation. More often than not our principles are idealistic and ignorant.
Well said automynous...