In Reply to: Between a rock and a hard place.. posted by Mic on Wednesday, 12. September 2007 at 18:58 Bali Time:
I donated to a severely physically disabled guy who had been plonked on a busy corner in Jogja. He looked like he wasn't long for this world. His remaining leg was bloated and fly-blown. I couldn't help myself.
I later donated to a seemingly poor old lady. She hung around my hotel for days and harassed me mercilessly for more every time I entered the street.
I have also donated to a poor looking old lady walking in Garlic Lane and she gave me a grateful response. She wasn't even begging at the time.
I watched an Aussie tourist call a kid selling wallets over to him while he perused the wares. He finally tried ultimately to bargain the price down to a ridiculous figure and then abused the kid for being a ripoff merchant. I had great pleasure in inviting the kid to display his wares to me and then to hand over the asking price in front of the ignorant and arrogant f##t tourist.
I have seen expensive cars sent to collect the 'beggars' at the end of their shift.
It's a dilemma we are all confronted with when we travel to a third world country. Some of the beggars are going to be more legitimate than others but where are you going to draw the line. It isn't always obvious either who is legit and who isn't. Donating to a legitimate organisation- the Helen Flavel Foundation- eases my mind on the matter. There are others of course.
In one sense begging could be seen as a reasonable tourist industry in that the tourist is given the opportunity to donate selflessly and ultimately feel good about themselves.
I think that Mic and Clovis have made the most sense in this discussion.