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http:// --> Ashland, Oregon HOME Valley & State Sports Nation & World Opinion/Editorial Classifieds Business Columnists Obituaries Weather Archive Hot Topics Most Viewed Forum Photo Gallery Video Readers Polls Revels Etcetera Backpage O-Zone Special Sections Real Estate Guide Menu Guide Shakespeare Subscribe Contact Us Rate Card Place an Ad Online Games Movie Preview November 20, 2006 Should you give money to beggars? Jennifer Margulis Archives Monday October 2nd Monday October 9th Monday October 16th Wednesday October 25th Monday October 30th Monday November 6th Monday November 13th Monday November 20th Monday November 27th By Jennifer Margulis Tidings Correspondent Down a dusty street from our house in Niamey (the capital city of Niger, which has the dubious honor of being the least developed country in the world) is a bakery called "Les Delices" where you can buy a baguettes for thirty cents, a croissant for fifty cents, and a small assortment of pastries. The bakery does such a brisk business that the line sometimes spills out the door. My girls and I stopped at Les Delices this morning to grab a few croissants. "Hello Madame," I heard someone call. I looked up to see a crippled man in a wheel chair smiling broadly at us. Sometimes he sits on a piece of cardboard, his gnarled feet and legs crossed in front of him. Without his wheelchair he has to anchor his arms and drag his paralyzed body behind him. I always notice this man, with his strong arms and intelligent look. I said hello and we went inside. Even though it's overwhelming sometimes, I try to acknowledge beggars, to greet them and make eye contact. "Good luck to you," I say, or "I hope things get better for you." I want to pretend they aren't there — squint my eyes tightly enough to make disappear — but I can't walk by someone in need without noticing that they are as human as I am. At the same time, I feel deeply torn about giving beggars money. The crippled man outside the bakery is one of literally thousands of beggars who live on the streets of Niamey. Many are older blind men who are led around by young children. The blind person keeps a hand on the child's shoulder and the child does the asking, coming up to each car at the stop light, bunching his fingers together and then bringing his hand to his mouth, a gesture to show that he needs money for food. Sometimes they recite verses of the Koran, as a reminder, perhaps, that charity is God's will. When my friend Sue went to India she gave money to everyone. The poverty she saw made her feel privileged to be an American, and desperate to help. She spent two weeks traveling and emptied her pockets everywhere she went. I believe in helping people but I'm not sure money is the right way. When someone begging buys a dime bag with the money I've given (this has happened), then I'm supporting the illegal drug trade. Of course I have no right to tell someone how to spend their money, or even to tell them how to spend my money. But I do have the right to choose not to give to them. In Ashland I offer to buy a bag of groceries or a sandwich. Three-quarters of the time they refuse. In Italy one summer we were followed around by a beggar who insisted we give him Euros. I told him I'd be glad to buy lunch and he started insulting me, yelling that the food I would choose would be no good. So I suggested he come choose himself. "Give me money," he screamed. "I'm hungry. I need money!" The scale of poverty and destitution here in one of the poorest countries in the world surpasses what most of us can imagine. When I offered a bag of almonds from the Co-op to some village children recently, they swarmed me, pushing and shoving each other to get some. When you give someone food here they usually gobble it down before you've had time to say goodbye. It's true that if you give a man a fish he eats for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he eats for a lifetime. But if you don't give or teach a man anything he goes hungry. I saved a 200 CFA coin from my change for the croissants. The handicapped man pedaled his wheelchair up to us, hand outstretched. I gave him the money but forgot to smile. I want something better for this man. I want to teach him to fish. But for today 200 CFA was all I had to give. The author/editor of three books, Jennifer Margulis lives in Ashland with her husband and three children. She is spending the year teaching and doing research in Niger. Current Comments: My comment is actually directed at your last column about Halloween. You ended the column by desribing the costumes your children wore for Halloween. One child was apparently dressed as a "Chinese girl". This certainly confirms your lack of respect for the ethnic heritage of others. Would you dress your child as a "Jewish girl" or a "Negro girl"? You can learn more from the Southern Poverty Law Center "www.splcenter.org". Marguerite Schellentrager - Bellevue, WA - November 20th, 4:13 PM Being an engaged citizen does involve telling other people how to spend their money. However, the focus should not be on the money given out of pocket to a given begger, but rather the money that needs to be taken out of the pockets of the overly well-to-do...perhaps. There is a way set up for us to tell elected officials not to spend communal $ on subsidizing big thieves...and directing funds to the needy...whether or not a given beggar might rip off the public treasury a bit, cheat us little. Richard - Los Gatos, CA - November 21st, 11:23 AM I lived in Niger for three and a half years as a volunteer. The poverty there is absolutely overwhelming. Many people who beg have no other options for survival. If they don't get money, they don't eat. Literally. It is extremely uncomfortable to be in a position to 'choose' whom to give money to. However, in the end, I almost always gave something. As the author states, there is hopefully something within all of us that recognizes the humanity in others no matter what their situation. Joanna Eavey - New Orleans, LA - November 21st, 11:43 AM This posting is actually a reply to Marguerite Schellentrager's attempt at being PC. Lighten up. Language is a tool of communication, and I can picture exactly what a little Chinese girl costume looks like. My daughter was an Indian girl once. No, not a Native American, but an Indian, with a bow and arrow and everything. I picture you as an uptight white woman with too much guilt that your race has done so well on the sweat of others. ps- And no, lets not give $$ to the Ashland beggars. Mike - Talent - November 21st, 4:41 PM This is in response to todays article (Nov. 27) and to Richard. We don't need to be just giving money to the local homeless, like the author said you can give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he eats everyday. Well, if we are just giving the homeless money then aren't we just giving them the fish. Rather, why don't weset up a program to teach the local homeless a new trade so that they can get off the streets and their dependence on local citzens? Ashleigh ( [email protected] ) - Ashland - November 27th, 9:21 AM Leave a Comment: Advertisement: Advertisement: Paid Advertising Inkjet Printers Student Loans Water Filter Helzberg Diamonds Mortgage Calculator Security Systems Advertisement: Copyright © 2006 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers. All Rights Reserved.