Beggars In Bangkok: Aggressive And Plentiful

[peter991]

One of the few advantages of visiting Thailand regularly, rather than living here permanently, is you notice small changes you would otherwise take for granted.

In the two months I have been away from LOS, I noticed a lot more beggars (Thai people) in Bangkok, plus they seemed to be a lot more aggressive.

I refuse to give them any money - often I will buy them street food or a drink of water - but I wonder why don't they make use of the services provided by local temples, who seem happy enough to provide a hand-out.

Peter

[dekka007]

9/10 are a scam. Watch them get dropped off by the Pimps in volvo cars and picked up later in the day - after a hard days begging....

[Capantha]

9/10 are a scam. Watch them get dropped off by the Pimps in volvo cars and picked up later in the day - after a hard days begging....

Yep. Sad but true.

[ashacat]

Pimps in volvo cars

D@mn pimps and their Volvos!

[dekka007]

their Volvos!

The BKK pimps choice for some reason....u can pack more staff in on the morning drop offs I guess

Edited January 24, 2008 by dekka007

[TheDon]

Yeap i never give them money, I always get them food

[PhilHarries]

Volvos? VOLVOS? Bluddy Bangkok beggars don't know they're born! Pattaya beggars are lucky to get turfed out the back of a battered old pick up truck and on a good day it might slow down a little.

Anyhow, you are right not to give money. It's a scam plain and simple and the poor bu66ers are lucky to get a bowl of rice at the end of the day. The last time I was in Pattaya I was surprised at how few beggars I was bothered by, just lucky I guess.

[blizzard]

according to the reasoning here giving food is just as bad as giving baht. pimp dont have to pay for beggars food out of days receipts.

[LivinLOS]

In Patong the guy with useless legs thats begging is dropped out of a fortuna..

[samran]

thais? Some, but a fair few a Cambodians as well. No doubt however, that their bosses are Thai's and the coppers taking a cut are Thai's also.

[GuestHouse]

thais? Some, but a fair few a Cambodians as well. No doubt however, that their bosses are Thai's and the coppers taking a cut are Thai's also.

Not just Cambodians, but also people who are stateless and large numbers of people who are trafficked by gangs.

All in all a very sorry state of affairs.

But at least it gives the dregs of western society that are increasingly washing up on Thailand's shores someone to look down upon.

[samran]

thais? Some, but a fair few a Cambodians as well. No doubt however, that their bosses are Thai's and the coppers taking a cut are Thai's also.

Not just Cambodians, but also people who are stateless and large numbers of people who are trafficked by gangs.

All in all a very sorry state of affairs.

But at least it gives the dregs of western society that are increasingly washing up on Thailand's shores someone to look down upon.

I don't think it is a matter of feeliing superior. It is more a matter of feeling absolutely powerless. No doubt they are not exactly doing it easy - and wanting to help them is one thing. But when you walk past the same group of beggars day in, day out, for two years, seeing them being expolited, who are you supposed to call, what are you supposed to do?

[TheDon]

according to the reasoning here giving food is just as bad as giving baht. pimp dont have to pay for beggars food out of days receipts.

atleast im giving them good food, even though it may be left overs from pizza hut or food from a resturant, i bet its better then what there bosses give them.

Álso I wonder how much they even get fed from there boss? Also me giving them food they can eat it when they want not when there bosses feel like feeding them

Also they are doing it tough, some have no life to live and are being trafficed all around the place, im sure they enjoy the food and clean water they get from givers as thats pretty much all they can look forward to in life.

I feel sorry for the buggers

[dekka007]

Sometime ago I saw a tourist go into 7 and buy a bottle of water and some taro gave it the mum and child scamming outside the bts - who quickly threw it back at the tourist with a mouthful of what I can only imagine was Khmer version F. Off.

[GuestHouse]

I don't think it is a matter of feeliing superior.

Perhaps, not for yourself Samran, but read the frequent posts from guys laying it on beggers.

The truth of it all is self evident.

Hey, but who knows, if the £ keeps going the same way, perhaps the next real estate issue at the forefront of many an expat mind will be good spots for begging themselves.

The difference between a guy begging and a guy with money in his pocket is afterall not so large, and often fickle.

[TheDon]

Sometime ago I saw a tourist go into 7 and buy a bottle of water and some taro gave it the mum and child scamming outside the bts - who quickly threw it back at the tourist with a mouthful of what I can only imagine was Khmer version F. Off.

Maybe she wanted a coke instead

[thaihome]

Actually I think the OP was trolling for another thread on how bad off Thailand is these days and how more people are reduced to begging and would rather do that then go the a temple where he seems to think social services are readily available.

TH

[howtoescape]

thais? Some, but a fair few a Cambodians as well. No doubt however, that their bosses are Thai's and the coppers taking a cut are Thai's also.

I saw the Cambodian beggar that walks like a dog possibly due to Agent Orange at a guess, get his earnings taken off him by the police in the middle of Walking Street at about 10pm a few days before xmas, i thought if your going to take your bribe at least be a little subtle about it.

I really do hope Karma exists for some of these people.

[agudbuk]

Watched crippled father, mother and child arrive in a side Soi (Father on crutches) . They changed into dirty torn clothes and went out begging.

Later watched them come back, wash the grime off and change back into "normal" clothing.

Seemed to be making good money. Not just from naive falangs but also a lot of it from Thais.

[Jimjim]

Aggressive Thai/Cambodian beggars? Hmm, I think they usually just sit there and wai and put their hands out for money. Sounds like the aggressive ones are the farang scammers that yell at you.

[Captain Chaos]

Aggressive Thai/Cambodian beggars? Hmm, I think they usually just sit there and wai and put their hands out for money. Sounds like the aggressive ones are the farang scammers that yell at you.

I agree - see plenty of Thai (or Khmer?) beggars, usually on the BTS steps at Phrom Phong - but aggressive they are not ... I'm afraid I don't give them anything, it just perpetuates the situation. Give your money to a relevant charity would be a better bet imho.

Only seen a farang beggar once, in Suk 33/1 at about 5.00pm on a Sunday, who was obviously p*ssed up and smelled like it - and yes, he did get bolshy when I refused to give him anything, but, frankly, behaving like he was, I couldn't give a sh*t...

CC

[PadThaiGuy]

If you give them money, you are not helping the poor but actually helping the punks that control the sidewalks buy another gold chain, new car, house etc.

It turns the Bangkok sidewalks into a road of horrors.

It's also disgusting and it exploits the kids and disabled.

The people that are placed out there are a collection of the most disfigured, maimed, sick, accident/burn victims I have ever seen.

It's a money maker for the ones that control the begging.

I'll bet on an average day, a begger can take in 1,000thb or more.

Put 100 beggers around town and that is some very good money at the end of the day for the managers.

[torrenova]

I don't give and neither do I buy off the kids out at all time of night when they should be in bed.

[burman]

thais? Some, but a fair few a Cambodians as well. No doubt however, that their bosses are Thai's and the coppers taking a cut are Thai's also.

Not just Cambodians, but also people who are stateless and large numbers of people who are trafficked by gangs.

All in all a very sorry state of affairs.

But at least it gives the dregs of western society that are increasingly washing up on Thailand's shores someone to look down upon.

They look down and comment on the dregs, as you look down and comment on them, as I look down and comment on you, as someone looks down and comments on me, and so on and so forth. Time to change the record Guesthouse?

[PhilHarries]

thais? Some, but a fair few a Cambodians as well. No doubt however, that their bosses are Thai's and the coppers taking a cut are Thai's also.

Not just Cambodians, but also people who are stateless and large numbers of people who are trafficked by gangs.

All in all a very sorry state of affairs.

But at least it gives the dregs of western society that are increasingly washing up on Thailand's shores someone to look down upon.

Sorry GH I have to take issue with that statement given its broad gneralisation. I have known, and associated with, all manner of expats in Pattaya from the tattood, head shaven, beer swilling "dregs" (as you refer to them) to the seemingly well heeled professionals. What I will say is that the "dregs" are far more likely to sympathise with the poor, abused low lifes and are likely to be far more generous without looking for the adulation and press coverage the glitterati classes crave. Just because a person has a lower standard of education and a different set of social rules does not necesarily mean they do not feel human emotions.

[Doza]

Panadda Changmanee, Thailand's national project coordinator for UNIAP, tells the Straight by phone that voluntary migration is also linked to child beggars. A soon-to-be published UNIAP study on Cambodian child beggars in Bangkok found that the majority had not been trafficked, but had rather been forced to beg by their own parents looking for a better life.

“A lot of [Cambodian] parents who bring their own children to beg in Thailand are looking for an alternative for income-generating,” Changmanee said. “People come for a job and find that begging is good business. In one day, they can earn quite a lot of money.”

Changmanee said these parents might earn 20 baht a day (60 cents Canadian) carrying goods from Poi Pet across the Thai-Cambodian border to the market. If they put their kids to work begging on the street in Bangkok, they can make between 300 and 1,000 baht a day ($8.50 to $29). “It depends on the condition of the child,” Changmanee adds. “If they are handicapped, they make more. A mother with a baby might earn more.”

Coming from a very poor country, it's a tempting proposition. “They [Cambodian parents] would earn five or 10 baht to carry many kilos on their head. That's hard work. Comparing this business [begging], they just sit there. That's why it's a very attractive business for the adults.”

Tourists who see these children on the street and give them money unwittingly reinforce the situation. “There is no supply if there is no demand,” Changmanee says. “If you give money, there will be beggars.” She suggests giving food or water instead of money.

UNIAP doesn't have an official opinion on whether or not tourists should give money to individual beggars. According to Stewart, “We don't take a stand on what people should or should not do, because it's such an incredibly personal decision, you can never be sure. But there are alternatives.”

http://www.straight.com/article/western-tr...es-of-poverty-0

More info on the study was also published in the BKK Post last year but can't find it.

[Maigo6]

Another thread where Farangs can vent a little hot air over the sufferings of poor people.

Many Farangs are in Thailand to take advantage of that very same thing!

You think hundreds of thousands of western men would come to Thailand if they could not take advantage of the people ?

You think hoardes of sex tourists fly to Tokyo, why not ?