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Poor and Homeless


fondue zoo

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I see a lot of men, usually older, skin and bones, sleeping on the sidewalk with a push trolley full of bags and bits next to them around town.

Are there places they can get a meal if they have no money to pay?  I assumed the temples might be involved?

 

A few Thai I know have a somewhat mercenary attitude towards them when I've asked, not your problem, they take drugs or drink etc

Edited by fondue zoo
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You have good heart if you are moved by what you see and not alone. The temple is a good excuse to ignore them.  Easy to say that the temple will take care or the temple will feed, even though that is not always the case. Sometimes their fate is well deserved and sometimes it is not.

 

Bad people who do terrible things can survive to an old age and this is what awaits them.  In a country of near 70 million, we can expect that hundreds of thousands at any given time are not very nice and have done some evil things. It is understandable that some should be on the street.

 

Other times I think these are people who are mentally ill who have no family unit to help or support. Thailand does not do good job for mental health.  And then there are those who were poor to begin with, and through the social order that is Thailand, are doomed to wander the streets homeless.  To keep my sanity, I steer clear of the hobo people.

 

 

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At a local restaurant where a number of non-Thais used to meet up, 3-4 times a week, an elderly lady used to come begging for money.

The Thai restaurant owner always chased her away, when asked about it he said, she belongs to the richest family in the area, and is worth millions in her own right.

Apparently she couldn't accept that her family had money.

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It's better to give them food instead of money for two reasons. Many have ended up in this situation due to substance abuse and money is only likelly going to sustain that habit. The second reason is there are actually organized crime rings that 'place' certain of these people in strategic locations and collect the money later, giving a small portion to the person. This is very prevalent in Kuala Lumpur especially where you will see an ancient Indian grandmother with a malnourished infant in her arms...evoking all sorts of heart strings. I was scolded by a Sikh police seargent in KL who informed me that somewhere within 100 meters is a 'handler' who hangs around and periodically collects the cash during the day. Sick...but I'm guessing it also happens in Thailand, although I suspect much of the Thai beggar population is due to druga abuse.

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9 hours ago, swm59nj said:

    I live in Asoke area and saw also people begging in Onut when I lived there.  I did see many that either had hands missing or feet. I always wondered how these people get around or live on the street.

A Thai person told me that these people are dropped off by gangs to beg.  That the gangs use them to get money, and give these people a very small amount in return.

I always wondered if that was true or not.

 

True, they often use babies for added beggability or faked up injuries. Thais believe giving is somehow 'making a merit' adding up brownie points with the man in the sky. Not all are fakes, some of the blind actually are!

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10 hours ago, fondue zoo said:

A few Thai I know have a somewhat mercenary attitude towards them when I've asked, not your problem, they take drugs or drink etc

Mostly all Thai people in our village even the poor do not have a good thing to say about drunks and druggies.

We don't get many sad people lying on sidewalks our police will take them away if we did.

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9 hours ago, swm59nj said:

    I live in Asoke area and saw also people begging in Onut when I lived there.  I did see many that either had hands missing or feet. I always wondered how these people get around or live on the street.

A Thai person told me that these people are dropped off by gangs to beg.  That the gangs use them to get money, and give these people a very small amount in return.

I always wondered if that was true or not.

Apparently so, they round them up in a truck at the end of the day. How does a man with no legs walk home? How does a man with no arms eat or spend his money, who puts the cup between his teeth? Surprise, surprise the RTP are in on it too, how does a person sit on Sukhumvit day in day out without being moved on by the tessakit.

 

They are reported to be Cambodians, the same mothers have perpetual babies, what happens to the kids when they get older? Prolly a pretty dark story. 

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I’ve seen some terrible things all over Thailand. I mostly always give something, a meal at least a drink.  yogurts  for kids. I think how awful it is to live like that, no matter why you’re there.

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There was an old crippled guy came to sell lottery tickets at a restaurant that we used until this virus struck, he was never a problem, it is a big old open air place & the guy would sit outside the main walk in part, when we had finished eating & drinking as I paid the bill I told the staff to prepare a takeaway for the guy ( whatever they thought appropriate ) and give it to him once we had left, I did that a few times, and when this krap has gone I will do it again.

 

I have also donated cash to various places/companies/restaurants that have been providing essentials to the local populace, no skin off my nose & I believe those that receive it are grateful.

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Once, I got up early in McCleod Ganj, India and saw large expensive tour buses coming to town as it was a Buddha day. Out came all the beggars.

In Calcutta tourist area, I got up at 5 to meditate and saw the beggars arriving by taxi. 

Doesn't matter, I give as it helps me, nothing to do with them, they are providing a service to help my soul.

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On 6/12/2021 at 10:53 AM, Neeranam said:

Once, I got up early in McCleod Ganj, India and saw large expensive tour buses coming to town as it was a Buddha day. Out came all the beggars.

In Calcutta tourist area, I got up at 5 to meditate and saw the beggars arriving by taxi. 

Doesn't matter, I give as it helps me, nothing to do with them, they are providing a service to help my soul.

I  have a wooden  leg.???? if  this  helps  your soul let me know via  cash donations.

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4 hours ago, thvima said:

I cannot stand those people complaining about homeless !

I never met an aggressive one and all they need is help !

 

I  have a  vacancy for two people who arent lazy including accommodation food  water electric and transport.

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