Why do the children held by beggars always sleep?

I have no idea where to put this thread so i just put it here, so if some mod thinks it belongs in another place, he can move it.

If you've traveled to Europe, you must have surely seen beggars with children held in their hands, trying to impress people into giving them some money. But you might have never asked yourselves why does the child always sleep? Regardless of where he and his mother is and regardless of the sound around them.

Here is a blog post by a man named Ateendra Jha where he tells a story about these children and to the reason why they never seem to give a damn about whats going on around them.

Some of you might be shocked.

“”Near the metro station sits a woman of uncertain age. Women’s hair is confused and dirty, her head bowed in grief. The woman sits on the dirty floor and next to her lies a bag. In that bag people throw money. On the hands of a woman, asleep, is a two year old baby. He’s in a dirty hat and dirty clothes. “Madonna with baby” – numerous passers-by will donate money. The people of our kind- we always feel sorry for less fortunate. We are ready to give unfortunate people the last shirt, the last penny out of your pocket and never think another issue. Helping, seems like. “Good job done”… I walked past a beggar for a month. Did not give any money, as I knew that this is a gang operated scam and money collected by the beggar will be given to whoever controls beggars in the area. Those people own numerous luxury properties and cars. Oh and beggar also gets something, of course “ A bottle of vodka in the evening and a döner kebab”. A month later, walking past the beggars, as shock, it suddenly hit me…. I’m staying at a busy crossing, stared at the baby, dressed as always- dirty track suit. I realized that it seemed “wrong”, finding a child in a dirty underground station from morning to evening. The baby slept. Never sobbed or screamed, always asleep, burying his face in the knee of a woman who was his MUM. Do any of you, dear readers, have children? Remember how often they slept at the age of 1-2-3 years? Hour two, maximum three (not consecutive) afternoon nap, and again – movement. For the whole month, every day of my walking in the underground, I’ve never seen a child awake! I looked at the tiny little man, with his face buried in the knee of his mother, then at the beggar, and my suspicion was gradually formed. – Why he sleeps all the time? I asked, staring at the baby. The beggar pretended not to hear me. She lowered her eyes and hid her face in the collar of her shabby jacket. I repeated the question. The woman again looked up. She looked somewhere behind my back, tired with utter irritation. Her look was similar to the creatures from a different planet. -F **k off … her lips murmured. -Why is he asleep?! I almost cried … Behind me someone put his hand on my shoulder. I looked back. A some old man was looking at me disapprovingly: – What do you want from her? Can’t you see how hard she’s got it in her life… Eh … He gets some coins from his pocket and throws them in the beggar’s bag. Beggar made a hand wave of a cross, portraying the face of humility and universal grief. The guy removed his hand from my shoulder and strolled out of the underground station. I bet, at home, he will tell how he defended poor, distraught woman from a soulless man in a tube station. Next day I called a friend. It was a funny man with eyes like olives Romanian nationality. He only managed to complete three and a half years of education. The complete lack of education does not prevent him from moving around the City streets on very expensive foreign cars and live in a “small” house with countless number of windows and balconies. From my friend I managed to find out that this business, despite the apparent spontaneity, clearly organized. Its supervised by begging organized crime rings. The children used are in “rent” from families of alcoholics, or simply stolen. I needed to get the answer to the question – why is the baby sleeping? And I received it. My friend Gypsy said the phrase, completely ordinary with calm voice that twisted me in shock, just like he was talking about weather report: -They are on heroin, or vodka … I was dumbfounded. “Who is on heroin? Whom – under vodka?! “ He answered -The Child, so he doesn’t scream. The women will be sitting whole day with him, imagine how he might get bored? In order to make the baby slept the whole day, it pumped up with vodka or drugs. Of course, children’s bodies are not able to cope with such a shock. And children often die. The most terrible thing – sometimes children die during the “working day”. And imaginary mother must hold another dead child on her hands until the evening. These are the rules. And the by passers-by will throw some money in the bag, and believe that they are moral. Helping “mother alone” … … The next day I was walking near the same underground station. I stocked up journalistic identity, and was ready for a serious conversation. But the conversation didn’t work out. But turned out the following … A woman was sitting on the floor and in her hands she was holding a child. I asked her a question about the documents on the child, and, most importantly, where was yesterday’s kid, which she simply ignored. My questions were not ignored by passers-by. I was told that I was out of my mind screaming at poor beggar with a child. All in all, I was escorted out of the tube station in disgrace. One thing remained was to call the police. When police arrived, beggar with the baby disappeared. I stood with a full sense of – “I’m trying to fight windmills”. When you see in the subway, on the street whether women with children, begging, think before your hand climb for money. Think about that, if it wasn’t for your hundreds of thousands of handouts, the business like this would have died. The business would die and not the children-inflated with vodka or drugs. Do not look at the sleeping child with affection. See horror… Since you’re reading this article, you know now- why the child is sleeping in beggars hands."

Link

This is totally inhumane and disgusting.

reply to post by AlexIR


Greetings OP!

Thanks for sharing this very important information.

In most of the UK begging with children is not allowed and would be "dealt with". May be in some areas of London, though I have never seen it in our country?

Yes, it is a disgusting trade! I would agree that begging FOR MONEY should not be encouraged.

I will only give money to buskers and then only to those who demonstrate some skill at least in what they are performing.

I will give food to anyone. I would even give clothing. I would give emotional help, but money is a bad idea and will only encourage these kind of scams and all the abuse associated with it.

Yes, I have been down on my luck before. Once I was down and out in Paris and all I asked for was water and sometimes food. I made it on other peoples' kindness and charity. I did not sit down looking miserable and bringing the tone of any place down; I just walked up very politely, explained my situation and was very honest. People were very kind in France that way and I did not go without!

I could never beg. I am too proud. I would rather die of hunger than actually "beg".

For survival we need water, food, shelter and yes emotional support, too. These are basic needs and in the name of humanity these are the levels on which we should help those who approach us in real need. If an individual is in REAL NEED they will not be asking for money; they will ask about food, water, clothing, shelter and their emotional needs.

I do agree whole heartedly with you that by giving money to these people we are more often than not doing more harm than good. Sometimes we are encouraging abuse by encouraging this begging for money.

reply to post by AlexIR


Not that many years ago when I got off a freeway ramp, I found an entire family asking for hands outs.. three kids all preteens and mom and dad.

Now I maybe HardCorps but it broke my heart seeing them... I mean how disparate would you have to be to take your kids begging???

Well traffic and my needing to get back to the office precluded my helping out with a few dollars right then... But when I came back at lunch time I found that family was having Pizza delivered!

Okay everyone needs to eat right.... Only thing is they took that pizza into the back of one those high dollar camper vans... the type that cost upwards of 80 grand...

Turned out they didn't need help, it was what they did for a living, a kind of sick business and they made one hell of a lot of money... with the help of their kids

reply to post by HardCorps


We had the same problem here. Beggars on the corners during the day and because this is a resort area with lots of hotels and restaurants we would see them at night eating out at the restaurants and staying at the hotels with indoor pools and saunas. What a racket. Wish I could eat out every day. Must be nice.

That happens in downtown Chicago to I used to live downtown on a small sailboat that I worked for years to earn and I would see the same beggars everyday. The two that disgusted me the most was the one guy wearing baggy knee length shorts asking you for some change so that he could go get a sandwich, while he had one of his hands in his other pocket , shaking what looked and sounded like about fifty dollars in change, the other one that disgusted me was the guy in the wheelchair, who would come out during the lunch hours, sit in the wheelchair, looking all pathetic then when you went near him he would struggle to lift his head to look at you as though he were weak , and smile as you put change in his cup, then after the lunch hour was over he would stand up and push the wheelchair, to a busier party of the downtown area. The other guy who disgust me was the one who used to walk up and ask for a dollar so he could go get something to eat, now we used to get a dozen doughnuts and some coffee regularly before work, but when we offered him food instead of money he would get pissed off and walk away. Never ever offer money to someone on the street like that, the role we went by is that they are like stay cats and if you give them money once they will always come back the next day expecting more. Then there was the guy that I used to see everyday begging for money, then I moved out of the downtown area , didn't go three for like three years then I happened to be passing through downtown going from cta to Metra and the same guy was standing at the same spot, this jerk actually smiled and waved at me cause he remembered me for calling him out before I moved out of downtown area , this scumbag actually smiled and shrugged his shoulders as to say to me what can I say I am the scumbag that you called me out to be. Never give money to panhandlers offer food, if they don't take it amid eat it then they are scamartists period.

Human trafficking is a problem in most parts of the world. Where i live, we have specially one group of people begging in the streets, Roma people.
Thou I have never seen them with a child at places they beg for money, i have seen those that collects the money the beggars got. We have one that sits at the entrance to the subway in front of the building i work, and it looks like they come twice the day to collect the money.
When i read that article about the child that supposed to be given herion/alkohol, it doesnt surprise me...

Myself, i never give them money...

As all of you said, never give money to the beggars but the worst part is that if you called child services to check their kid, they just don't care, and as the blog post mentioned, they might be dead because of an overdose or from alcohol poisoning.

I doubt they give the children heroin or vodka, when the adults could "enjoy" those substances themselves. They probably give the kid stolen cold medication or sleeping pills. Along with keeping them awake all night and only allowing them to sleep during the day while "working." When the kids are awake they are probably getting "rented out" for an even sicker crime.

Hell isn't a place these people are headed. It's what they're making this place into.

reply to post by DonVoigt


My experience may be anecdotal, but regardless left such a bad taste in my mouth that I've refused to donate to charity or to beggars since:

It has been a few years ago now, but I was driving to work one late fall day. It was early morning and I was going to be early, as per my general rule of thumb (I like to be at least 15 minutes early to anything). It was pretty cold and there was a slight drizzle of rain mixed with sleet. In all a pretty crappy morning to be outside in the elements. I was stopped at a small intersection due to a red light and to my right, on the sidewalk I saw a bum panhandling. He was dressed in heavily stained cargo pants, a flannel shirt and an unzipped Army jacket that was pretty old (old because it was in BDU pattern which hasn't been issued since late 2005 when ACU was introduced).

I drove by him, but when I came to a McDonalds after about a mile I turned in without realizing it, I'm pretty sure that my last shred of human decency that survived deep in my subconsciousness was leading me at that point. So I bought two breakfast sandwiches and two coffees. I then turned around and went back to where I had last seen the transient.

He hadn't moved.

I parked in the parking lot of the office building that was nearby and walked the fast food over to him, intending to offer him the sandwiches and one coffee. So I walked over to him and handed him the bag and the coffee, and I said to him, ''It's pretty shi**y out here so I thought you could use something warm.''

I swear to god he took the bag and the coffee, looked me deadpan in the eyes and flatly stated, which I quote, ''I don't eat this shi*.'' He then dropped the bag and the coffee on the ground.

It took literally every bit of willpower I had not to add learning how to walk again to his list of shortcomings.

reply to post by Lipton


Well, it was McDonald's, at least he was watching his brittle health

I mentioned to my husband during a trip to town how I give one white-haired old man some change occasionally, and my husband was appalled.
It turns out the guy rides the bus with my husband every morning, and lives in the same town we do.
He has disability, but needs to support his alcohol and cigarette addiction....and I helped! lol
Well, at least my hubby couldn't take away the spirit I gave in!
I have a friend whose adult daughter panhandles whenever she's short of drug/party money, so I'm pretty careful about being 'charitable'....makes me feel sad.

Ms. Nugget

reply to post by AlexIR


Your OP is confronting. Terrible, terrible for both babies and women trapped in that situation. Who will help them if we harden our hearts? How different is their situation from the circumstance of persons trapped in a corporation that harms and forced to keep secrets in order to collect a paycheck?

Those at the bottom...what we consider the bottom...only imitate those at the top.

Charity, generosity, compassion toward others less fortunate is not something that needs rules. If this, then that. Each situation that we are confronted with is unique. To me, circumstances, visuals, that are thrown our way are personal - our personal experience of life.

reply to post by Lipton


That was exactly the attitude the one scumbag I used to see took when we offered him coffee and doughnuts, which is why I now look down on the panhandlers, and I'm a pretty sympathetic guy who does have concern for others, but get disgusted when I see what I know to be scamartists.

saw a bum I gave change to a couple times smoking cigarettes one day, and decided never again.

that s.o.a.b.

The author of that article is a flippin moron. He probably never starved himself to sleep. Only thing kids can do when they are starving is sleep to ease the pain.

Yeah sure, all the beggar can afford heroin and vodka. Most just collect money to buy Mcdonlads or something(if they even get served there).

What is better than to make people suffering suffer more eh? by generalizing all of them as some junkies giving kids vodka.

reply to post by luciddream


You missed the point, the beggars are not some poor people, looking for some money to feed themselves, get some cigs, get some money to party or anything like that. They are the victims of human trafficking.

The money goes to the people who "own" the beggars and in exchange the beggars get some money or some food, or drugs, or alcohol and the children are drugged mostly by the leaders of these groups.

I live in Romania, luckily in the good part of the country, but in the 'bad' parts, namely the southern and eastern parts, children, women and the disabled go missing almost every day. They are kidnapped and smuggled over the border to countries in western Europe where they become what you see there as beggars. The process takes some time because the victims are detained in basements and sometimes even beaten or tortured so that they do not have the courage to stand up for themselves.

I know how the human trafficking groups operate because i have talked to a family friend that works in the BCCO (the organized crime investigation bureau in Romania)

So if the business doesn't work, the forced beggars won't be needed so the entire group collapses. Sure, some sacrifices must be made in order to do this but the few that will get killed will spare the countless others that will be taken by the groups.

We get beggars in Scotland and I've seen them in Norway too. Same pattern each time:

In Scotland, you get these guys who go out onto the high street with their large dogs (for companionship and protection) and beg for money. Yet, when they were followed by investigative journalists, you'd see them walk over to a large transit van, open the back door, let the dog in, and then go into the drivers seat and go away.
It was well known that if you offered to pay them for a meal, they'd refuse since it would mean leaving their "patch" and they made more money from begging than the meal would cost.

Then you've got the Roma beggars who sit on all the prime locations in downtown, next to banks, clothing stores, supermarkets, anywhere where there are ATM machines. Sometimes they'll have little laminated plastic cards in the national language saying "Please help me. I am homeless refugee from [wherever]. Please help me feed and cloth my family so they can go back home." Sometimes they'd give out an loud wail if you walked past them and didn't give them any money.