⌛ Beggng On The Streets Of Dumaguete

This a somewhat sensative subject which will have lots of comments ...
Since we have start living here , that is now more then 6 months ago.,I have notice that the "usual " amount of beggers in the centre of the city has likely doubled or perhaps even tripled. This bad new for tourism , for those that live here , but also puts a blamish on the o so well respected profile others have about our City of the gentle people.....
Before you start writing your reply....
In all big cities of the Phils and many other countries it is a given thing.. For sure .
However we must not forget that the centre of the city is some 4 streets big and all come together in front of Mc Do , Lee Plaza and Unitop .. This morning I walked from Uymatiao to Lee which takes less then two minutes followed in pursuit by 5 or 6 children and 2 lola,s . SIIR ( it seems they cannot pronounce SIR ...) Bread . or what ever they claim they want..
If you ignore them they don,t stop and jump in front of you SIIR... Lateron the make the infamous two finger movement towards you or stick their tongue out. Then cross the street and yes.. ask Mama waiting there for the money to bring.. to give their BRAND NEW NOKIA that we even dream of...

They are always dress in filty clothes and dirty oily hair , to get more sympthaty from the fresh arrived tourists that have pitty on them.
Money in the bank.. off they go to the kareoke or buy icecreme or spend it on gambling...
Most of them are "shipped in "from Mindanao , whole families at one time .
Ofcouse the "disabled " ones make better chances.. One guy I know can run LIKE A ROADRUNNER , but always ACT like he is an foam on his mouth imbecil by birth . lack of oxygen and mumbles something in a waki taki dialect SIIR !! blablabla.. having his "disabled " legs in an for even a gold medal winning Atlete impossible position. When the sun start to move toward his site of the sidewalk.. well he just moves to the other side. Guess those that live here know him aswell , and need no further introduction !

Shameless are the abused children that are TRUELY disabled . One family have two sons , both some 3 and 4 years.. Spina Biifida ,without a t-shirt or other body covering piece of clothes to gain more symphaty and hardly any limbs to carry them . thus Mama moves them about , from one place to the other.. Mana stays "within reach " when son calls or texts to do "the move ".

Talking to the mother tells me that she sees it all as a BLESSING... BECAUZZZZZ Money in the bank ......And Papa and Mama need not to find a paid job ,as heir kids that care of the income.By the way..Mommy is pregnant .. again...
The ones I truly have pitty for are the REAL blind ones.. I always give them atleast a 100 peso for they are the ones that stand alone.........
Untill the one time the husband moved in and reached for the 100 peso I gave her and tells her.. IT IS 100 PISO LANG !! Guess he was expecting me to give a 500 peso bank note...

The Major ,a very kind person indeed ,tells me there is nothing they can do. Sending them back ,makes them return the other day.

This topic is not to insault those who realy need attention , and i don,t meen the attention of the abusive mother or father ,but the regular autorities to help them and calm their pains and make them have a more dignifying life to sustain within .May the Lord have pitty on them and shelter them.. for nobody is seems to care..
The rest. O well , just wait to see your reaction.
I wonder why nobody every brought up this subject.. Or is this a subject to ostrichize ??

 

I think the people you are referring to are the badjaos. Yes they come from Mindanao and somehow decide to stay in Dumaguete. I remember a few years ago staying in Bethel's, going for a walk by the boulevard in front and being approached by the badjaos. I don't mind giving them something but when one they start poking you albeit gently it's irritating.

 

I think many people have similar opinion as you do.
In fact, in Cambodia, where there is equally challenging problem, tourists are given a free handbook on arrival (I think this is paid for by the many advertisers in the booklet). In the handbook, tourists are basically told not to give any money to the beggar children. Food, yes, but never money. They are also told not to buy anything from the street children either. The reason is that the parents are using the children to go make money while they drink and gamble. These children more likely than not do not go to school for the sake of begging. And they are frequently beaten/starved to look more pathetic, which is more effective. If the tourists give money/buy from these children, more children beggars will appear, coinciding with rise in school dropouts.
The article further elaborates on a specific case where a NGO offered free milk to women with babies in their arms (more often than not the babies are not the children of the women). The offer was vehemently refused, because the women wanted the babies to look starving and sickly. Also, the weather is HOT. So these babies are undergoing torture! Plus they are pinched on cue to cry just when a tourist is around.
Now the booklet does say that tourists should consider giving to adult beggars who look like they are in real need, as they are less likely to be in control as babies and young children.
And lastly it mentions to watch out for older beggar children, as they can gang up on you, most likely due to their drug addition.
Scary, but if Dumaguete continues to let this problem fester because it is in the Bible to care for the underprivilaged, the problem will certainly get even worse. Cambodia is a nightmare.
The booklet suggests charities for streetchildren where tourists can donate money if they feel the need to do so. I wonder if Dumaguete has such a booklet, or a charity? If not, it should, before it begins to resemble anything remotely close to Cambodia.

 

Thank you fo your comment . I am aware of the term BADJAOS , but for those that are not from here it prefered to call them just for what they are...

 

It is very frustrating really to see all these beggars around.You give them few pesos but then it encourages more to do the same thing. This should be where the elected govt officials come in with their full grip of control,but where are they.Same as the issue of crime which is proliferating , there's no viable measures put in for crime prevention . They do meetings and discussions that ends nowhere.

 

Dear Gomze ,
You have my sincer gratitute for your efforts in writing your opinion .. We should never go into deny of those things happening and yet what do we see the most.. we prefer to look the other way..
We ourself in collaboration with the school and local church here throw
" parties " for the local kids. In the middle ( browm Batik dress and big smile) my eldest daughter Christ Joy.. beeing 8 and getting 9 on January 12 th coming

 

Earl,

You brave soul! I have so wanted to mention this and get everyone's opinion. I am also surprised this has been discussed yet. It is certainly a sensitive topic but it really should be addressed.

I think that I have finally formed some SOLID opinions after years of dealing with it....hearing about it from others...trying to solve it in "small" ways myself....

1. "It is better to teach a man to fish and let him go his own way by his own means than to continue to give him fish daily and have him continue to have a beggar mentality." I don't see the point of giving money when it is not solving the problem. Plus if the person begging (especially the Badjoes) believes this is the WAY TO LIVE and teaches this to their children...then it is a NEVER ending problem. I equate it to the Welfare people in America. I have hung out with many of the welfare kids in America and they literally believe that our government should support THEIR way of life. There is NO THOUGHT in their head to work! I had sweet little girls tell me about having babies (no mention of marriage or a man in the picture) and where to get all the free gov. milk and food stamps. Sadly, this is what their mother has taught them! There was a study done that discovered there are GENERATIONS of welfare people in America. Sadly, the whole REASON for setting up Welfare to ASSIST people OUT of poverty actually KEPT them in it! Why should people work if they don't have to?
2. So what is the answer? Let people starve to death? Adults should be given opportunities to work and then if they choose not to then they have set their own fate. Unfortuneately women USE their own children to jusitify getting money and help.......the Welfare supports this by paying MORE money for each child which just encourages these women to keep producting innocent children. There are stores in Chicago that pay 10 cents on the $1 food stamp coupon so these women are able to get cash to pay for their bad vices yet their children starve. I thought I had out smarted the parents that shamelessly send their kids out to beg. I gave the child a big bag of bread to eat and not $$ to pass to the parent. I followed the child as he ran around the corner to his mother and gave her the bread. She sat and ate and sent him OUT again without any bite. Why feed him when the hungrier he looks then the more the people will give him? So aren't we just SUPPORTING what these parents do to these kids by feeding/handing $$ to them? It is a TERRIBLE CRIME against children what these parents do so why aren't the kids taken away from such parents?
3. I do know of wonderful organizations in Dgte including individuals that HELP these kids from the streets (kids that are DESPERATE to get away from abusive homes and are on their own....many travel long distances by bus hoping to STOP at a big city). Do you realize that "some" NOT ALL did return to the streets? Why should they have to do chores....learn to help cook...study hard in school...why do any of the HARD things in this life ...when they can live a carefree life on the streets of Dgte since THE PEOPLE support them with $$ & food. Yes, it is true. Talk to many of the volunteers that have spent years working with these kids! Many of these organizations need funding to keep their programs going and to support the kids WILLING to agree to stay in them and follow rules and actually grow up to be good working citizens.

Personally, I realized that there is NO POINT in helping someone who WON"T help themself! I WASTED enough money making THAT mistake too many times in the PHL and U.S.. I pay enough of my hard earned $$ in the states with a gov. that gives it out to lazy Americans that won't work and abuse the system.

 

oh and by the way. New York City got so bad that they FINALLY made a law AGAINST begging and did ENFORCE it! A news report did come out that many of the so called beggars would VACATION in Florida during the winters since they made so much $$ from the SUCKERS in NY and outside tourists that would give to them.

 

Have to post also my experiences here in northern california. Beggars here are also bad. They tend to psych you by having a dog or a kitten with them (But usually my sympathy goes to the dog or cat.). They make an assumption that animal lovers will spare them some dollars or more for their dog or cat food, but I don't give them the money, I go into the store and purchase the dog or cat food myself. In that way, he can't use the money to buy hard liquor. Sometimes, they ask money to buy food for their empty stomach. I go into Mcdo, 'cause they usually hang around near a fast food restaurant, and buy a sandwich or hamburger. They can't do anything but accept what I offer. I know some of this people are "winos". So no wine for them if I am the one they approached. Most of the time I don't even give anything as long as there's no animal with them. I don't call myself a SUCKER because I don't give cash, it's just out of my kindness that I buy the food because they're hungry or buy food for their animals myself. Sometimes I threaten to report them to humane society to pick up their animal if they don't take good care of them.

 

Dear Cyndi . Thanks for your kind word but even more your input on this topic. It is remarkable to read your vision as we share it all. I am also convinced that all here are having the same thoughts.

For Swany , Yes I do give something when they have a "pet "with them ,but just like you I buy the food myself. We know of one man living in Tanjay ( NOT A BEGGER) that takes great care of stray dogs during their last moments while suffering on Scabies and feed them well. We donate moeny inmorder to buy the food and will give him a nice Christmas present though he will not know from whom.

Anyway getting back to begging in the street and how things start.
Families are broken apart , this manily due to ill housing and no jobs. Why should one bother about the future if not even a roof over their head ?
Thus the United Nation Habitat Task waswritten to eradicate the problem , or atleast to TRY it.

Our Governement ( Netherlands) believes that to reach that goal you need only ONE THING TO DO... Namely

GIVE PEOPLE HOPE !!!

But where does hope starts ? Like said before your own PERMANENT roof over your and your families head.
Then , and then only !! one can start thinking about a certain future and perhaps even a job.
So lets start building on the Philippine dream.. a house you can call your own..
It is a given fact , that per ANNUM there is a backlock of 5 MILLION !!!! Units ( houses) in the Phils to keep up with the expension .
Since ther was untill now no way anybody could do something within reason and FAST,CHEAP SUSTAINABLE and thus ever lasting.. all hope was gone..

We can train people to build their own house in oone week camps. and them build a 50M2 house in TWO DAYS. And what about the job.
TRAIN THE TRAINERS . It is a simple as that.
The whole system is already put to work in Etiopia , South Africa , Bolivia and many more countries.Vietnam is also now on the list.
Next summer ( Deo Volente) we will start for the Phils ,right here in Negros..

I have attached a picture of a house slightly biger then 50M2 that was build in Central America. The materials are Unique in the kind , though as result of rainfall ( as you can see the Picture is made from inside a car) temporarly the roof is of stell sheet..
The materials are exactly the same that are in use with the Villa that was a pilot project build in Southern France ( the other picture)..
Beside these "shelters "as confirm the U N Global Shelter Task , we will build hopefully many villas aswell as the profit of those will fall fully to the benifit of the shelter program resulting in more and more houses to come.

Somewhat later I will make a link to our still " off the record " website and trust me even those that are non believers will have their eyes wide open for the upcoming project(s)