An English comedian, Tommy Cooper, used to carry a tea bag in his top jacket pocket. After a bit of conversation he would say, "I have to go now, here (Gives tea bag) have a drink on me"
Maybe we should also carry laminated bits of paper stating "I don't give to beggars" maybe in 4 languages.
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An English comedian, Tommy Cooper, used to carry a tea bag in his top jacket pocket. After a bit of conversation he would say, "I have to go now, here (Gives tea bag) have a drink on me"
Maybe we should also carry laminated bits of paper stating "I don't give to beggars" maybe in 4 languages.
This one time in Basel (last year I believe) some company was giving away tea bags at the trainstation...coincidentally, there was a beggar with a bowl right outside of the trainstation. Now, this person handed me a tea bag which was stappeled to a piece of paper. I read the paper..wanted to toss it away but noticed the teabag. I didn't want to waste a teabag so I simply "donated" it to the beggar.
I was getting these people knocking on my house door .... then presenting me with one of those tatty looking "letters". I only speak english in those circumstances and with shaking of head they got the message.
Since then I have learned that begging is illegal in Switzerland and to, as stated somewhere above, phone the Polizei to come calling.
Apparently, yes, some of these folk are simply checking out the neighborhoods for empty houses/unlocked doors.
Another type is the lady selling her hand-made tablecloths, from some Asian country. When she receives a "No thank you" she gets aggressive, and loses her sparkling personality.
I may not hawk goods to houses without a permit - so presumably she also requires a permit. Next time I shall ask for it.
before I start telling you a little story from my country, I just want you to know that I am from Romania, however I do hope this will not be a gap in this discussion and you will find me a friendly guy.
I just had enough of all of those stories of the beggars and as always,one of them is a romanian/ Rrom guy.(I know very well the story of my country and also I accept critics from European citizens, I got used with this, however take into account that this text is not written by one of those guys who ask for money, or from a 3rd World country)
I lived 5 years in Bucharest, during that period I finished my studies and started my career.When I first came in Bucharest I was suprised by the fact that there are lots and lots of beggars.I used to take the subway and there were literaly lots of begarrs in and I used to give them money, especially to little and dirty children.After I got hired one of my friend saw me giving money to those children and asked me the correct question: Hey, you are a self starter, how much money do you earn to give to somebody else ??? This was a great question because after that I made a little research about this ^market^ and I discovered that in average, one of these children who is a beggar- earned twice as I did...
I told you this because I am in Swiss for 3 months and I never had the courage to write something about me on this site, (I will be polite and i will make my introduction into another message) but after I read the story of the romanian guy i just got crazy,as I can not handle this anymore, and I do not accept those stupid upstart who fall in sleep poor and wake up rich after night !!!
Enjoy this, and after that you will see the answer regarding giving money...
P.S : when he answer on the phone he said that he is not able to speak because he is at work
The following 11 users would like to thank Christian B for this useful post:
Christian B you're alright heh. Whilst this forum slams your countrymen you pluck up the guts to step up and have your say. Not necessarily defending them or anything but still it's good you've added your voice into a topic that you probably know better than most here. Bravo there. Welcome to the EF
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There's a chap in Lausanne who plays the accordian really beautifully.
It's a pleasure to hear him and I always give him money, which he acknowledges with a lovely twinkly-eyed smile.
He's clean and tidy and doesn't pester anyone, but just puts down the accordian-case at his feet.
I think he makes Lausanne a happier place with his music, unlike many of the others who just sit on corners and whine at you for money.
Maybe he is the same who comes to Neuchatel from time to time. Very very talented- this is not begging in my eyes- just another kind of work. It takes years and dedication to become that good- and I love the atmosphere the music gives to town, like you.
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"My rule for beggers is generally give the old, frail and forgotten of this world a CHF or two, especially old ladies"
Please do not do this! 99.999% of the beggars are part of a "begging-mafia" organized scheme, so you are NOT actually helping the old/frail/forgotten person you're giving money to, but some fat gypsy behind it all. In fact, people in my grandparents' village back home joke even now about how all gypsies (that used to steal from them) went to western europe to beg after the borders opened (and, as a funny coincidence, most of the ones from that village went to Switzerland!). You should see now the houses they have and cars they drive.
Another sad fact: these gypsies actually go so far as to mutilate children or helpless old people so they get more money! So if you're giving such people money you're proving them their scheme works, so they might expand it!
Also, you can watch this (most excellent) movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314067/ about the phenomenon. The stuff in there, even though some might seem funny or unreal, is very real let me assure you and it's not even the worst.
some pretty racist stuff you write here. sounds like a blood libel to me. do you happen to be from east europe (lets say romania), by the way?? cuz they are not politically correct at all when displaying racism against gypsies
i give a few bucks to anybody who asks from me, beggar or not. i cant know their intentions and dont want to turn away somebody who might be in real need. this is a religious thing though, may not apply to everybody
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some pretty racist stuff you write here. sounds like a blood libel to me. do you happen to be from east europe (lets say romania), by the way?? cuz they are not politically correct at all when displaying racism against gypsies
Racism against gypsies does exists in Western Europe, too. Just not that obvious. I mean, c'mon, take the president of France, for instance. He was pretty subtle, me thinks.
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There is no need for beggars in Switzerland. Many cities ban begging as it is not necessary, not because they are hard harted! There are charities operating here for homeless and stateless people. Please do not give any money, you will be feeding a rich criminal gang, who bully the beggars and make them beg.
I saw a documentary about children begging in Milan, Italy. The massive proceeds from the beggars resulted in a few criminals living in unbelievable luxury, in palaces.
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I'm not wishing to attack you personally, but this argument is all to often used simply as a sop to the conscience. If you don't want to give, don't. No reason to feel guilty or anything about that. It's a free choice. But there are plenty of organisations who are responsible that you can give to, and they're not hard to find.
Then they are still illegal immigrants as they are "working" as defined by their major source of income.
The problem with the observation about Non Profits is that it is true. Sop or no sop. If one wishes to help the poor then one needs to very carefully vet the agencies/organisations that one donates to/through. Very few of these so called charities actually get even 50 percent of the monies given to the end projects. Trust me, as a Stagehand, I can tell you that the "benefits" are lavish and cost fortunes and the people running the show often show up in nicer cars than I drive and have jets at their beck and call.
The problematic truth of this whole issue is that no matter how one donates or gives charitably there is a fairly large high risk of getting scammed. The question is are you being scammed first hand, second hand or third hand.
As NAT observes it is best to use your conscience along with your gut instincts, and try not to worry about it too much after you have done the deed.
__________________ Many men, of course, became extremely rich, but this was perfectly natural, and nothing to be ashamed of, because no one was really poor -- at least no one worth speaking of. - Douglas Adams
Possibily correct. But her reaction to my initial rebuff, and the conversation we had later, (I went back out of curiousity a few minutes later) made me decide to believe her.
Over the years, I have certainly seen a lot of street beggers, have been aware of at least one attempt of someone trying to steal my wallet, have stopped two attempts of others' bags being interferred with and reported a couple of cases of shoplifting.
However, there have been other times, when I have been impressed by street folk - especially during winters in one eastern European country, where elderly women, wearing humble, darned clothes, would find a spot to sing in return for money - these women were ex opera professionals with beautiful voices, still proud, trying to make enough oney to stay alive despite the state no longer allocating money to support their past profession.
Yes, there are definitely cases when I am willing to support people who are begging.
Thats called Busking not begging. I give money to these people too. They do make my life a bit better by being there. I have no problem with this form of public exhortation.
some pretty racist stuff you write here. sounds like a blood libel to me. do you happen to be from east europe (lets say romania), by the way?? cuz they are not politically correct at all when displaying racism against gypsies
I am, as can be seen in my public profile. As for racism, if you consider racism as having a grudge against parasites of society who never pay taxes, are always filthy, never work and only beg and steal then yea, I am racist (though, if you read carefully, this "definition" will likely include the English chavs as well).
And I'll tell you another thing: I (and most Romanians) are freaking tired of all this political-correctness around gypsies. It's funny though, as long as they stayed inside Romania (doing their thing), western countries and organizations were screaming "discrimination" at the top of their lungs. Once they were "let out in the wild" and countries like France or Italy realized what they're capable of (see the brutal murders in Italy for example), this attitude turned 180 degrees. But, imho, they still don't completely get it: for example France sent back gypsies to Romania, giving them 300e each to go back. Despite that the number of gypsies in France is constant, cause they just go back. Ah, and you should see them laughing their arses off when they got back to Romania with 300e in their pocket and a free flight: ALL of the ones interviewed on public TV said "thanks, we'll just go back".
<end rand, let loose the dogs of groan>
This user would like to thank jmf for this useful post:
I am, as can be seen in my public profile. As for racism, if you consider racism as having a grudge against parasites of society who never pay taxes, are always filthy, never work and only beg and steal then yea, I am racist (though, if you read carefully, this "definition" will likely include the English chavs as well).
And I'll tell you another thing: I (and most Romanians) are freaking tired of all this political-correctness around gypsies. It's funny though, as long as they stayed inside Romania (doing their thing), western countries and organizations were screaming "discrimination" at the top of their lungs. Once they were "let out in the wild" and countries like France or Italy realized what they're capable of (see the brutal murders in Italy for example), this attitude turned 180 degrees. But, imho, they still don't completely get it: for example France sent back gypsies to Romania, giving them 300e each to go back. Despite that the number of gypsies in France is constant, cause they just go back. Ah, and you should see them laughing their arses off when they got back to Romania with 300e in their pocket and a free flight: ALL of the ones interviewed on public TV said "thanks, we'll just go back".
"My rule for beggers is generally give the old, frail and forgotten of this world a CHF or two, especially old ladies"
Please do not do this! 99.999% of the beggars are part of a "begging-mafia" organized scheme, so you are NOT actually helping the old/frail/forgotten person you're giving money to, but some fat gypsy behind it all. In fact, people in my grandparents' village back home joke even now about how all gypsies (that used to steal from them) went to western europe to beg after the borders opened (and, as a funny coincidence, most of the ones from that village went to Switzerland!). You should see now the houses they have and cars they drive.
Another sad fact: these gypsies actually go so far as to mutilate children or helpless old people so they get more money! So if you're giving such people money you're proving them their scheme works, so they might expand it!
Also, you can watch this (most excellent) movie http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314067/ about the phenomenon. The stuff in there, even though some might seem funny or unreal, is very real let me assure you and it's not even the worst.
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