If Begging Is Illegal In Finland, Why The [censored] Are There Beggars On The Street?
I guess the headline really says it all. Thing is, Finland is a country of permits. You need a permit for pretty much everything. Ok, that’s a slight overstatement. You do need a permit to own a TV and actually watch Finnish channels on it (otherwise they confiscate your TV… And even with the permit you’re only paying for two government paid channels that rarely have anything worth watching on…). The permits I’m talking about with this post are for all street-related situations when you’re trying to make money, or get money from people who pass by. You sell hot dogs at a busy pedestrian corner in Helsinki? You need a permit. You planning on playing you violin to the tune of The Godfather? You need a permit. You going to sell roses to people who pass by you? You need a permit. Begging? Well, you need a permit, but you most definitely aren’t going to get one.
I don’t know what the fine for begging or getting money off pedestrians is. Nevertheless, I find it very annoying to have to deal with beggars in Helsinki. I’ve gone through that in countries such as Thailand, Greece and Hungary.
Honestly, I don’t know what more annoying, a person begging on the street or the dimwits who actually give then money. There’re also legal beggars on the street in Helsinki right now, as the Finnish Red Cross has volunteers out on the streets collecting money for “Hunger Day”. In walking around Helsinki yesterday, I saw people trying to collect money for the World Wildlife Federation (WWF), Greenpeace, Amnesty International, and UNICEF. You know the type, the ones who’ll bounce at you and ask you for a moment of you time (and 10euros a month for a year, after which EVERY SINGLE CHARITY ORGANIZATION IN YOUR COUNTRY will be calling you to got your support (read: money). Sure they’re just volunteers (possibly for a good cause), but still, I’m not going to give my money to someone who comes at me on the street, begging for money. (I might offend some people here, but fuck the whales, and fuck the panda’s.) The one and only thing that I’ve donated money for was 70euros which I have to the Red Cross Catastrophe Fund, right after the tsunami had hit south-eastern Asia. I’ve lived in Thailand for 2.5 years and I’ve spent a week or so in Phuket, so I can picture the devastation that the tsunami had on the place. Seeing your hotel under 9 feet of water kinda hits you hard…
All the foundations I just mentioned above have all the right to be asking pedestrians for monetary support. They have the permits. The 5 people I saw yesterday on the streets of Helsinki, they don’t have permits, mainly because they’re just standing or kneeling at some street corner with an outstretched, cupped hand. Only one of them had a sign, the guy in the picture above, which said, incorrectly spelled, “I’m Hungry”. The only female beggar I saw had a crutch and her right foot bent inwards. (the second time I saw her yesterday, she had her LEFT foot bent inwards…) [Thank you Michael for pointing out my typo...]
I’m always tempted to steal the coin cup from the beggars who’re “crippled”, just to see if they’ll run after me. If they do, they’re faking it and I should call the cops. If they don’t, they might be in character or really crippled, in which case I’ll return the money cup and should call the police… Never done it though, except when I’ve had to deal with beggars in my place of work. It seems the police are more willing and likely come if you’re calling from work than from the street.
Have you ever experienced begging on your city’s streets? Any obvious scams?
