Begpackers & Penniless Ambassadors

[JJReyes]

Tourism officials in Asia are starting to sound the alarm about young Western tourists begging on the streets.  Some carry signs in public areas that read, "Help Us with Our Dream!" They have no sense of shame asking for help including free accommodations in homes, meals and pocket money.  They have a guide, "How to Pay for Your Travels by Begging and Busking." published in 2018.  These penniless tourists even visit soup kitchens setup in neighborhoods for the country's elderly and poor.  On the positive side, they seldom seek employment.  The work is too hard and too little money.

Has anyone seen any in the Philippines?  

[Old55]

We haven't seen any during our visits. This however doesn't surprise me at all.

Many young people today have a sense of entitlement that others are obligated to provide their needs. Like JJ said absolutely no shame and few boundaries.  Me, me, me.

[Mike J]

Young folks carrying big backpacks are often seen in Panagsama but I have never seen them begging.  There are a number of hotels that cater to them.  The rooms are set up with 6-8 bunk beds and lockers, common CR and kitchen, etc. for a few hundred peso per night.

[mountainside]

"American ‘begpackers’ are taking over the streets of Asia, locals aren’t happy".   https://www.newsobserver.com/detour/article276337426.html#storylink=cpy

[manofthecoldland]

"The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me" (Jesus Christ said to his apostles) [New International version]

Perhaps a simple and obvious comment re civilized humanity, and maybe not even common when we were hunters and foragers, since it was difficult to store the wealth that signified the difference. Mutual community sharing was needed to insure individual survival in the long ago.

Times have changed in some ways, for most existent societies, communities and social groups to differing degrees but I don't think this applies to globe trotting tourists.

We should do some updated rewrites to reflect today's societies.

How about, "The able-bodied & mentally sound bums, who chose not to work, even when work is available, will always be with you."

Its one thing to help the disabled or mentally ill. Not so much the self-inflicted addicts of any type. Definitely not the lazy who are looking to get a free ride in societies.  I consider people who have willfully traveled to foreign countries as 'tourists' to be undeserving of my charitable tendencies when they start begging. Ditto for the alkies and addicts I see here in my community, where there are plenty of social services and 'help wanted' signs posted everywhere. 

The Philippines has laws against public begging, and if you give them money, your are effectively breaking the law, and can be held accountable, FYI.

Now I feel better, since it really irks me to see the bums with their begging signs at the stop signs outside of businesses here that are offering jobs to anyone who applies, even if not sterling applicants. I am  currently in an arctic city where these beggars appear with the warmer weather. I consider them migratory grifters.

 

[Freebie]

Seen a few in Bangkok and Phnomh Penh.. I give my oh so empathetic look at them ( is a sneer empathetic ??? ) and suggest they might want to get a job .

If you cant afford the trip, dont expect others to fund it.

[mountainside]

Just can't see donating.  Legless Pinoy on a rolling piece of plywood?  I'm in.  Twenty-something American who looks fit enough for boot camp?  Not so much.

Edited June 13, 2023 by mountainside

[Mike J]

Philippines related article on begpackers.

https://www.wheninmanila.com/lets-talk-about-begpackers-and-why-so-many-netizens-are-angry-about-them/

Traveling is not a necessity, it’s a luxury. Let’s make that very clear. You don’t need to travel no matter how many crappy minimalist Pinterest quotes out there tell you that you “have to” travel in order to achieve the fullest human potential. Which is why begpackers thoroughly confuse me.

When I talk about begpackers in the context of this article, I’m referring specifically to people–usually caucasian–from first world countries who travel visa-free to Southeast Asia and busk/sell postcards/or just straight-up beg for money for their next ticket to their next big adventure. They rely on the generosity of locals to fund their travels and so they can #ExperienceTheWorld (praying hands emoji) and have some new life-changing sunset photo (accompanied with essay) on their Instagram accounts like geotags have become their new collection.

This entire phenomenon has sparked some great online debates. Many are angry about it as they believe that these begpackers take the hard-earned money of locals so they can propel themselves to another country. Others are more dismissive, thinking that it’s up to the person if they donate to these foreigners or not as it’s their decision to give or not.

On the side of the angry, begpackers do more than just what people see on the surface. It can be argued that, yes, it’s up to you what you do with your money. That’s me in the mall every day arguing with myself if I really need another lipstick. But what these people are doing is asking us to pay for their luxury, something they should have been prepared to pay for. 

In the Philippine context, it feels more immediate. Even thinking of traveling to another country is tiring. Many require Visa applications that can take weeks or months with how slow systems are. It’s frustrating. And these applications can be denied, too. There’s no guarantee. So we really do have to be prepared just to prove we can travel to their country.

The inordinate amount of effort it takes for us to even fathom going to their countries is insane. Visas, being checked if we have enough money to travel, all the red tape? A lot of people ask: If it were the other way around, if we were the ones begging in Western countries, what would they do to us?

They probably wouldn’t let us enter their countries in the first place, because they wouldn’t allow us to come in without enough money. But because these begpackers are more often than not white and/or Western, they’re already at an advantage. They can come here without really planning in advance (whereas we have to plan maybe a year ahead) and people will look up to them and applaud them for their #journeyofselfdiscovery because of our propensity to give foreigners a free pass.

They can already travel to our country without having to go through so many steps and requirements and they still want us to be their stepping stones so they can #CarpeDiem themselves to places to rack up life experience points in countries where, for many, the luxury of travel can’t even be dreamt of? Many of them treat begpacking like they’re owed the experience of travel, like they’re entitled to it and like they truly believe it’s a necessity and bank on locals to fork over money they work hard to earn. It’s no longer just annoying/an eyesore, it’s an ethical issue.

Which is not to say, of course, that all of these instances of foreigners resorting to begging should be points of argument. We’ve also seen foreigners who were robbed and just want to gather enough money to get back home. These are different cases altogether and they’re unfortunate situations. They’re not part of this demographic.

Others firmly believe that it’s not a big deal, just people who want to go out and see the world and were being creative about their means. They stick by the idea that the money you have is your own and you’re free to spend it or give it according to your own preferences. While that’s also true, it, according to those who argue against it, completely eliminates the bigger picture and all the meaning underpinning this phenomenon.

It ignores the fact that these begpackers can get away with it because of their white privilege and how we let these actions slide constantly because they’re foreign. We can’t deny that we as a people sometimes see foreigners and put on a bigger smile. This mentality has allowed these travelers to bend and break the rules and use our generosity to their advantage.

Travel is something we don’t need but we can do with careful planning as a luxury. Do we owe it to people to help them fill their Instagram feed?

 

[GeoffH]

2 hours ago, mountainside said:

Just can't see donating.  Legless Pinoy on a rolling piece of plywood?  I'm in.  Twenty-something American who looks fit enough for boot camp?  Not so much.

There is a legless (and mostly armless) Pino on a rolling piece of plywood with half a plastic coke bottle on a stick nailed to his rolling board who's been sitting outside Gaisano mall in Ozamis for years, I make a point every time we visit Ozamis of going to the mall and dropping some peso in his half bottle and he's always happy to see 'the white man'. 

A foreigner tourist who's under budgeted their holididay... not a snow flakes chance in hell am I donating to them.

Edited June 13, 2023 by GeoffH

[Freebie]

4 hours ago, mountainside said:

I'm in.  Twenty-something American who looks fit enough for boot camp?  Not so much

You forgot to add, with the obligatory "man bun ".