Panorama: Britain's Child Beggars

steve-h said:
Well that was quite upsetting... poor kids. It seems as though the mothers are unsurprisingly being pushed into it also :(
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To be honest, I don't think they dug deeper enough into this one. Not enough undercover footage, just filming people begging for ages. I was also annoyed when Sweeney backed down after the women was screaming in his face for ages. I think he done it to not lose his temper like he unfortunately did with the Scientology.
 
While it's certainly wrong to stereotype a whole nation because of the actions of a minority, there's no getting away from the fact that the Roma begging problem of exploiting children in order to beg aggresively is a pan-European problem and not exclusive to Britain. For these people it's a way of life and a very lucrative one for their controllers, given our lax benefits system and poor border controls.

I used to visit Russia regularly some years ago ( South Urals/Siberia regions) and it was common practice used by Gipsies to use their kids for begging, so it's certainly nothing new!

Perhaps it's time to introduce or enact laws which outlaws anything but 'passive begging'?

Whether or not the program was fair in it's portrayal of the Roma beggars, it should certainly alert the public to the plight of these kids and highlight the profitable exploitation that is evident and if the public simply stopped giving money to these beggars, then they probably wouldn't come here to take advantage of our sytem!
 
dowie said:
Selling the big issue isn't the same as begging - they're selling a product. It partly relies on guilt but in reality a big issue seller isn't doing anything more or less than the average pester you for a direct debit charity chugger does - in both instances part of the money from the sale goes directly to them.
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All of the sale of the Big Issue goes to them.
They pay for the product up front like all traders do and then hopefully get a profit.
If this is begging then all traders are beggars.
 
Orcish-Horde said:
I group of them were forced out of Belfast a few years back and the state and press fell all over themselves to help them. They returned a few months later to reclaim their begging spots.
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Is right, they are driven in to Belfast city in a black people carrier, I know as I've seen them getting dropped off out the back of Castlecourt shopping centre. 9 of them all told to go to different areas to beg by the ring leaders who stay out the back of the shopping centre and go round and pick up the "begging takings"

I once gave the woman a £2 coin and tried to take teh big issue she was selling, she started wailing at me like I was trying to rape her! Then 2 heavy looking foreign gits turned up and started threatening me, I mean if you don't get to take the mag why are they allowed to sell it?

...Joke was on them 2 heavies though as a bunch of guys came out of the bookies and threatened them back :p One of the lads said he saw me give her money and she wouldn't give the mag in exchange...the 2 heavies went back to the car.
 
That was a depressing programme. Felt sorry for the young kids, and very annoyed at the adults involved.
They seem to think begging is a perfectly acceptable way of living though, even a career. Totally immoral, and seeing the police simply taking names and letting them go off with the children was shocking.
I turned over before the end of the programme.
 
Vonhelmet said:
That wouldn't be a million miles from outlawing being poor...
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If we lived in India then I'd agree but what we saw on VT during that program wasn't passive begging by the poor in this country - it was utterly disgusting and effectively exploitation, not just of the children themselves, but also exploitation of people in the UK!

I am not a racist in any shape or form but as far as I'm concerned, those particular people have absolutely NO shame or morals and the sooner they are removed from this country the better!

Of course we could allow it to continue and then the child could grow up and continue the cycle or even move on up the ladder of criminality.

If begging was restricted to passive begging, then their incomes would be greatly slashed and it would be uneconomical for them to come here!

While we're on the question of coming here, how could they afford to travel here in the first place? Especially if they are so poor!
 
This thread really does show that our home-grown worthless scum is as bad as those abroad.

We are all equal(ly bad).

It amazes me how much emphasis people put onto nationality, you do know it's a completely fabricated artificial concept?.

England does not actually exist, it's a line on a map - as is every other nation.

Attitudes like those shown here to children of other nations shows how small & undeveloped some peoples feeble minds really are.

Pathetic.
 
There is a guy in Cambridge that sells the big issue outside the Sainsburys in town on Green street (for anyone that knows it). He's rude, abrasive, and I genuinely don't know how he sells any big issues.

He's also not homeless - this might be a rehoming scheme but he lives on Victoria road. Or at the very least frequents a house there as I pass him most mornings on my commute.
 
In Belfast they have formed a cartel that cover such areas as selling the big issue (at every traffic light and shopping centre entrance in a large area), begging and 'busking'. At home time they are all collected by a large, new 4x4.
 
nikeair94 said:
They sell the big issue at traffic lights here and fully press their face at the window of the car. I always face the other way as if I can't see them, then when they are fully touching the window with their face I turn round quickly, scream and bang the windows with my hand. Scares the **** out of them everytime. :D
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:D
 
lttlejoe said:
If we lived in India then I'd agree but what we saw on VT during that program wasn't passive begging by the poor in this country - it was utterly disgusting and effectively exploitation, not just of the children themselves, but also exploitation of people in the UK!

I am not a racist in any shape or form but as far as I'm concerned, those particular people have absolutely NO shame or morals and the sooner they are removed from this country the better!

Of course we could allow it to continue and then the child could grow up and continue the cycle or even move on up the ladder of criminality.

If begging was restricted to passive begging, then their incomes would be greatly slashed and it would be uneconomical for them to come here!

While we're on the question of coming here, how could they afford to travel here in the first place? Especially if they are so poor!
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My point is that it could be difficult to distinguish between "active begging" and, say, loud market stall traders asking for your money, charity collectors, etc, unless your sole discriminant is that these people are begging i.e. they are poor.
 
Yes, selling the big issue is now the only only career choice for the upwardly mobile young professional.
 
Uther said:
That was a depressing programme. Felt sorry for the young kids, and very annoyed at the adults involved.
They seem to think begging is a perfectly acceptable way of living though, even a career. Totally immoral, and seeing the police simply taking names and letting them go off with the children was shocking.
I turned over before the end of the programme.
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Yup, country is hopeless when it comes to foreign criminals, I mean would it be a bad thing to put them on a plane and fly them back to Romania?

No doubt you would get people saying you are "Nazi scum" etc.

Does not bode well for you if you come from a country with the word "mania" in it.

elmarko1234 said:
This thread really does show that our home-grown worthless scum is as bad as those abroad.

We are all equal(ly bad).

It amazes me how much emphasis people put onto nationality, you do know it's a completely fabricated artificial concept?.

England does not actually exist, it's a line on a map - as is every other nation.

Attitudes like those shown here to children of other nations shows how small & undeveloped some peoples feeble minds really are.

Pathetic.
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Oh god, liberal poster boy
 
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I cannot stand beggars!

Wether they are foreigners/Brits/men/women/kids/Charity workers etc etc

I myself have had what some may call a bit of a hard life but armed with a bit of dignity and a healthy work ethic I have managed to make a success of myself. The best thing abut living in Britain is opportuniy. We all have it regardless of skin colour, ethnicisty or wealth.

But.....

When your life revolves around drink or drugs you have nobody to blame but yourself.

Feed the poor, eat the feckless!
 
Vonhelmet said:
My point is that it could be difficult to distinguish between "active begging" and, say, loud market stall traders asking for your money, charity collectors, etc, unless your sole discriminant is that these people are begging i.e. they are poor.
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But that is assuming that they are poor simply because they are begging, when it might not be the case! Vocal market traders on the other hand have something for sale which is clearly not the same as begging!

I believe it's now illegal for charity workers to actually shake their collection tins intimidatingly at passers by, so why not make it illegal for anyone to beg aggressively as was shown in the VT footage?

I saw nothing to indicate that these people were actually poor - I did however see children being used as a tool by morally reprehensible adults to extract money from passers by.
I've also seen the same cons used in other countries by the same peoples so it's not just a localised practice!
 
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