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Was in the Jumeirah Spinneys carpark the other day when i man came to my window and handed me something. i thought no - It cannot be - the exchange of a flyer/sticker/memento for cash?

but is was - "please sister, I have no money" "what's this" "please sister i have no money" ok so i give him some change and his little flyer back to give to someone else.

I haven't seen this in Dubai before. is it a regular thing?

Most beggars I encounter are the supposedly mute ones that give you a keychain or something and a note saying something like "I'm def and I can't get a job, please accept this for some money". Ok not exact quotes but you get the idea. And they look European too.

Frankly I don't give change to those I come across more than once, I really think it's just a scam. Like those guys who say, "oh I came from Saudi or wherever and I don't have money for petrol!" Ughrr!

Honestly people can make a lot of money begging.

It will be a regular thing once they come to know people are ready to part ways with their loose change. Some people take begging as a full time job and it really pays well.

Hey guys...

please note the following...

Dont ever give any beggar any money... those are not beggars... they get visit visas just to do this dirty business here...

You have to understand, the locals (Emiraties) do not have poverty. there are poor families and those are taken care of by the Charity Societies. and they will never ever go out begging.

every other expat (who are us)... who can't work is simply sent back to home country.

I have my friend who works for the police and he told me many stories about those beggars... they are all came to this country for the sole purpose to beg!!!

please don't support them in any form in fact if you get annoyed often by them please call the police.

just my two fills

I used to live in Toronto and let me tell you there were a lot of homeless or beggars. If you were to give every homeless person you saw $0.25 from Yonge and Bloor down to the lake (a few km) you'd easily be out $20.00! It's an absolutely awful thing to say but you do become immune to it after a while. My best mates mom said that she never gave out money to beggars. Instead what she would do was once a year she would give a fairly large donation to something like the Salvation Army or other charities that directly worked with/for the homeless. That way she knew her money was going to good and honest things and not booze and drugs. It is really unfortunate that homelessness is truly a global problem. Same as hunger. Especially in wealthy places like Toronto or Dubai where there is a lot of money!

I have given money to people who have asked plenty of times.

I once spoke to a friend who has lived here for many years about the potential beggar scamming you. He said that the majority of people here are muslim and within the muslim faith if you are in a position to help someone you should help them. If they are lying to you then regardless of what religion they follow they will have to answer to their god.

Now I'm not deeply religious but I agreed with this.

At the end of day if you are on the way to the hairdressers (women) and going to spend 700 AED or out to buy a new flat screen LCD and someone asks you for "spare change" is it really that bad that you give them some money to help them?

what about people that fall out of the loop?
Lose their jobs - runaway from bad boss - can't get back to home country?
You cant tell me there are no genuinely destitute people here. Dubai is not a perfect place

scarlet wrote:what about people that fall out of the loop?
Lose their jobs - runaway from bad boss - can't get back to home country?
You cant tell me there are no genuinely destitute people here. Dubai is not a perfect place

Exactly!! When the visa amnesty happened last year there was an indian guy in 7 Days who had been on the streets for years because he lost his job and couldn't get back to his home country. Saddest story and a real shame. All the guy wanted to do was go home and he struggled to live.

To all of you who say that it is wrong to give money to beggars - why don't you make a donation to a charity today or this weekend. I wonder how many of you will do it. Not many?

Enjoy your luxury lives!

XPClone wrote:

scarlet wrote:what about people that fall out of the loop?
Lose their jobs - runaway from bad boss - can't get back to home country?
You cant tell me there are no genuinely destitute people here. Dubai is not a perfect place

Exactly!! When the visa amnesty happened last year there was an indian guy in 7 Days who had been on the streets for years because he lost his job and couldn't get back to his home country. Saddest story and a real shame. All the guy wanted to do was go home and he struggled to live.

To all of you who say that it is wrong to give money to beggars - why don't you make a donation to a charity today or this weekend. I wonder how many of you will do it. Not many?

Enjoy your luxury lives!

we can debate for hours on this topic

You know who are the ppl I really give out money from my pocket to?? when I find a cleaner or a worker doing those really poor jobs... I call him and give him a small donation with a smile... you should see his face how happy it gets...

let me tell you this... every single person working in this country has a sponsor... if you ever go jobless, you can always go back to the labor office and tell them your story... they *will* send you back home at the cost of your sponsor... regardless the reason...

unfortunately many don't know the rules... specially their labor rights.

charity societies *will* help anyone is in need... first, they will study your situation and if you are in position not able to make a living (eg: handicap) they will provide help. and in most cases they will send you back home.

anyone of us... might face a disaster situation... loosing jobs getting kicked out from home... then go back to your nearest labor office to claim your rights from your sponsor... in worst cases you should be fit enough to find your self any work (what so ever) but I don't think I will ever beg. and I dont think my friends and social community will let me be in this situation... you will find help from everybody. given your situation is genuine.

as I said... we can debate for hours on this topic

quatroporte wrote:
as I said... we can debate for hours on this topic

so now you are trying to prematurely end it?

heheh man this happens all the time. sometimes they are scams sometimes they arent. Once i had a person come upto me asking for money i told him look how do i know if u r telling the truth or not. he said i m hungry havent eaten for a 2 days etc etc. instead of giving him the money i actually took him to a restaurant and got him something to eat. now still i dont know whether he was telling the truth or not but i did my part. instead of giving them money which they MIGHT spend on ciggrettes or something else (because thats what i thought he would do) give them something. like something to eat or some clothes etc.

NEVER give money to them. if u feel sorry or you think u have to give them food, water or even your own clothes.

scarlet wrote:

quatroporte wrote:
as I said... we can debate for hours on this topic

so now you are trying to prematurely end it?

ohhh no I did not mean that..

to be honest, i got into this debate few times with my friends and you should see my smile when I saw this post.

everyone got a view point to this topic and all can be valid points...

just claim that you cant read

rudeboy wrote:heheh man this happens all the time. sometimes they are scams sometimes they arent. Once i had a person come upto me asking for money i told him look how do i know if u r telling the truth or not. he said i m hungry havent eaten for a 2 days etc etc. instead of giving him the money i actually took him to a restaurant and got him something to eat. now still i dont know whether he was telling the truth or not but i did my part. instead of giving them money which they MIGHT spend on ciggrettes or something else (because thats what i thought he would do) give them something. like something to eat or some clothes etc.

NEVER give money to them. if u feel sorry or you think u have to give them food, water or even your own clothes.

strongly agree...

I also have another story to share...

I have a friend of mine where a female beggar came to his house asking for money... my friend told her that if she want some money, she will have to clean the house and then he will give her some money.

the woman at first tried to refuse, but his offer was 100 dirhams which she finally accepted... after an hour, he handed the money to her and told her "SEE, you can work... so why dont work instead of begging?!"

scarlet wrote:what about people that fall out of the loop?
Lose their jobs - runaway from bad boss - can't get back to home country?
You cant tell me there are no genuinely destitute people here. Dubai is not a perfect place

Got a detailed mail this morning on how a job less arab visitor tried to commit suicide from a bur dubai buildig and how Captain Saeed Bin Dalmook from Crisis and Disaster Management Department negotiated and saved him.. complete with photographs..


Excerpts..
Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Deputy Director of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the man, a Syrian, had been fired from his job at a company in Al Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, and that his residency had been cancelled. He said the man came to Dubai, failed to get a job, and, penniless, was forced to sleep in parks.

Captain Saeed Bin Dalmook of the Police Crises and Disasters Management Department, who negotiated with the man and brought him down safely said: "I tried to get to the root of the problem that led him to attempt suicide. He told me he was penniless and was unable to send money home to his sick mother. I negotiated with him and was able to convince him otherwise." Captain Bin Dalmook told Gulf News that the man also insisted on meeting top Dubai officials to seek help from them directly.

St.Lucifer wrote:

scarlet wrote:what about people that fall out of the loop?
Lose their jobs - runaway from bad boss - can't get back to home country?
You cant tell me there are no genuinely destitute people here. Dubai is not a perfect place

Got a detailed mail this morning on how a job less arab visitor tried to commit suicide from a bur dubai buildig and how Captain Saeed Bin Dalmook from Crisis and Disaster Management Department negotiated and saved him.. complete with photographs..


Excerpts..
Colonel Khalil Ebrahim Al Mansouri, Deputy Director of the Dubai Police Criminal Investigation Department (CID), said the man, a Syrian, had been fired from his job at a company in Al Musaffah, Abu Dhabi, and that his residency had been cancelled. He said the man came to Dubai, failed to get a job, and, penniless, was forced to sleep in parks.

Captain Saeed Bin Dalmook of the Police Crises and Disasters Management Department, who negotiated with the man and brought him down safely said: "I tried to get to the root of the problem that led him to attempt suicide. He told me he was penniless and was unable to send money home to his sick mother. I negotiated with him and was able to convince him otherwise." Captain Bin Dalmook told Gulf News that the man also insisted on meeting top Dubai officials to seek help from them directly.

wait few more days and maybe we will be updated with the rest of the story.

I am sure that guys company will be in big trouble now!

and this guy is a true example of a real ignorant person who don't know his rights.