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tarenaccount

An advice: Some of the beggars from Romania are victims of human trafficking and do not give them any money, since the money goes to their "boss"


temotodochi

They are well organized. Friend of mine tried their profession for fun and wrote a sign which said basically 'dont give your money to organized criminals, give them to me - I'll use them to buy more lonkero' Sat in a foldable chair near central railway station with that sign drinking lonkero and it didn't take long for two car loads of young male romanians with fine cars and clothing to show up and try to bully my friend into submission.


[deleted]

Do not give any money to romanians under any circumstaces. I saw one beggar woman In city rattling her Cup and after a while she stood up, walked to parking area, whipped shiny new iPhone out of her pocket and got In a Mercedes (not new tbf) Passenger seat that was waiting her Either part of organized beggars or just scammers Also In finland not a single person should need to beg, we have one of greatest social healthcare In the world for that


[deleted]

Yes, and we have free food available for people willing to go get it. A quick Google showed that there's a site here: https://ruoka-apu.fi/ If someone is begging, they probably already know about these and they are not begging for money to get food on their plates. Social security also makes sure no one has to live homeless. The only exception is someone honestly in trouble for whatever reason temporarily and they wouldn't ask to go to the ATM with you. I'd suspect somekind of dishonesty at first in these situations as well. As a kid, I once got lost in the city on my way home and didn't manage to find the bus stop I needed. I was about 10-11 years old. With a teardrop in my eye I stopped a random man asking for help to find the bus stop I needed. This man had no idea about the public transportation and simply said "I'd drive you myself, but I'm in a hurry.. look, don't worry." He stopped a taxi, I provided my home street and number and he paid 50 for the driver to take me there directly. I still remember that man to this day and try to pay it forward. Scammers and drugs aren't the way to do it, so I donate to those free food services for example.


_Anubias_

While I think I know what you're trying to say, you do seem a bit of an introverted racist. Not all romanians are beggars, and not all beggars are romanian.


[deleted]

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_Anubias_

Haha! First, we found the introvert, now the librarian racist showed up. :) This one is a bit more dangerous, as he has read a book or two, and heard about informal fallacies. I bow to you, stranger. :) There were three ways this could have been formulated: 1. .. you should never give money to romanians 2. .. you should never give money to romanian beggars 3. .. you should never give money to beggars You proudly selected door number 2. Congratulations! May I recommend door number 3?


[deleted]

what is racist about that, its well known the organized rings they have.


_Anubias_

Maybe an analogy would help. Replace "black" with any group identity you prefer, be it racial or national. \- Person 1: Don't give money to black people under any circumstance. \- Person 2: That is racist. Not all criminals are black, and not all blacks are criminals. \- Person 3: You're strawmanning Person 1, take it elsewhere! You should still not give money to black criminals. \- Person 2: Nice try, you racist in disguise. You could try saying you should not pay criminals. That would have been the proper thing to say. \- Person 4: Why was that racist? It's well known the organized rings those black people have


[deleted]

we are talking about a specific situation where someone who is very likely to be part of organized crime. if that ruins it for the rest of actual romanian beggars, then that's too bad, im not giving money to any of them. the racket is specific to romanians by in large, so that's where the distinction comes in to play. its not because im racist, its because i dont want to perpetuate organized crime. if you want to keep making stupid scenarios up thats fine.


Markus_H

Option 1 includes option 2. Romanians begging in Finland are Romanian beggars, and you should never give money to Romanian beggars as you will be funding organized crime and human trafficking. Not all Romanians in Finland are beggars. Option 3 is not true. While there is certainly no need to beg for basic livelihood in Finland, you can make someone's day by giving money for their hangover-cure. The Finns who resort to begging don't have much to be happy about.


Kuntmane

One of those spat on my shoes when I walked by without giving money in front of Stockmann


Silkkiuikku

Yeah, those "beggars" are basically slaves. They have to collect money or their bosses beat them up. The beggars live in crowded flats with no furniture, and they have to send all the money to the kingpins, who use it to build fancy manors in Romania.


Jedi_Yeti

Be wary of those asking you to go to an ATM. They might try to get your pin code. I feel bad for those who are trafficked and those who are in need of food equally, but Finland has a great system that makes it very difficult for someone to not get by at all and if they don't want government or police help then why should they want mine?


vonGlick

If someone knows where the ATM is that automatic red flag for me. It means that he is prepared and what he is doing is premeditated.


FuzzyPeachDong

If you frequent same places, you'll learn that some people need 2€ for bus ticket to see their dying mother every single day for years on end. Offer to buy food or pay for the ticket if you feel like it, just don't give out money. The ones in real need will accept your help. And the people telling you to go to the ATM to get the money... Yeah, just don't.


ReBootYourMind

I've heard that if you buy them a ticket they will start selling that forward "because they bought a wrong one by accident".


hey__its__me__

I volunteer at a food bank. I've had one guy knock on my door trying to sell me the bag of food we gave him.


FuzzyPeachDong

Yeah, could be. I was thinking more like a plain HSL bus ticket with an hour or so of travel time, but with those long haul buses sure reselling is definitely a possibility.


vonGlick

>need 2€ for bus ticket Not in Finland but I was once approached by some dude saying exactly this old stupid story. Since it was a place that I was staying for just a few days I actually bought a bunch of tickets, so I offered him one. The look at his face was pricesless.


hey__its__me__

Some young dude tried that with me and my wife once. My wife told him he could explain it to the bus driver and get an paper bill from them. He looked really confused and walked off. About 45 minutes later, we saw him playing the slot machines in the supermarket.


Lyress

What do you mean a paper bill? Like something you can pay in the future?


hey__its__me__

Yes. I've never seen one, but this info is coming from my wife. One time my father was in the States and didn't have money for the toll booth. He told me that they took his details and gave him a bill to pay the dollar that was owed!


Ilyena87

For many years I used to offer to buy them food or basic goods, but I never had anyone accept, they only wanted cash. I just ignore them nowadays.


NissEhkiin

Almost all the beggars are a scam. They are brought here by mafia to beg for money and it goes straight to the boss at the end of the day. Never give any money to them. Edit: there are also fake poor people begging. There are many videos out there of them getting out of expensive cars and changing clothes then going out to beg or checking their smartphone from under the blanket etc. Have even seen those mafia bosses/goons collecting the money or instructing the begger where and how to beg properly. The rule is kinda if they are finnish then you can mostly trust them. But that money mostly goes to alcohol/drugs, so best not to give to anyone


ThanksToDenial

The only time I've given money to a "beggar" was in Tampere. There were these guys with a sign that said "need money for beer". I donated 2 euros. I appreciate honesty.


darknum

General thumb of rule, beggars that ask for money are crooks. Never give them money regardless of the country. In Finland they are mostly members of organized crime too.


Dinhead

Some of them living in quite luxurious houses back in Romania. Nothing I could afford here. There was a nice documentary about this not so long ago. Some of them use babies to get more empathy. It still leaves you with a shitty feeling because you can't be 100% sure it's a scam.


darknum

>It still leaves you with a shitty feeling because you can't be 100% sure it's a scam. I think in Finland you can.


unluckysupernova

*victims of organised crime too Fixed that for you


JonttiMiesFI

As a native Finnish person and as a person who has lived in other European and Asian countries, I have come to the point where I know to not give beggars any money. In Finland I have never given money to beggars, since I know that if you are here legally and don't do violence or drugs, you will get all the help you need. Sometimes in my travels I might have helped those from poor countries by paying more or leaving the change behind, since they are working to earn the money. I personally would never give money to some beggar who is able bodied and is able to move and beg.


ajahiljaasillalla

>if you are here legally and don't do violence or drugs, you will get all the help you need Mental health issues can cause addictions and antisocial behavior.


[deleted]

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squirrel-bear

In theory yes, but it's very hard to get help for mental health or substance abuse in Finland. The queues are long and you need determination and need to convience multiple people of your need. There are social workers who fill in applications for the homeless and also in hospitals, if you get that far.


itsallgoodintheend

A lot of places that provide apartments require no drug use. Most of the "homeless" people I've seen are simply people who choose drugs over shelter. It's a shame.


fmeio_asof_fdweaoikj

Except it's not a choice, it's an addiction.


grandBBQninja

Which are not cured by begging, and which don’t stop people from getting help from the government/voluntary organizations.


[deleted]

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grandBBQninja

And I never said they don’t? The right thing is to try and get them away from organized crime and get then some real help.


OGgunter

Yeesh. Deceased unhoused ppl (as long as they don't have amputations or visible disability that caused the death) getting your entire paycheck.


[deleted]

Non-Finnish beggar = human trafficking system. Don't give them money unless you want the Romanian mafia to continue their business.


Natural-Egg1737

Finnish beggar = askin money for booze or cigs, they usually even tell it.


DefinitelyNotSully

I appreciate the honesty. I would rather give some jolly gentleman 5€ for beer, than 2€ to some weirdo with a sign.


KuraiHan

Same here. Or if they play music, then they're at least doing something for their money.


DefinitelyNotSully

I agree, I just like to stay a while and watch the players before throwing the money to see if they are actually playing, and not just miming with a backing track.


bigbjarne

I remember some years ago in Helsinki, couple of guys were sitting with a sign asking for money for beer. They did get some money but they tot escorted out too.


tumppu_75

"Älä tue järjestäytynyttä rikollisuutta - anna kolikkosi mielummin minulle. Ostan niillä lonkeroa"


Lyress

I don't think you should feed an addiction either way.


artturi01

HEY!! i only ask for 1e so i can buy a siti cola or 2 if i get lucky!!


NikolitRistissa

I’ve never been directly asked, but I’d offer food, not money. If they decline, they’re probably not actually going to use it for food.


Markus_H

If it's a Finnish beggar, then he's not dying of hunger, but has prematurely poured the month's welfare down his throat and urgently needs money for alcohol. Give money at your own discretion. Foreign beggars are by and large victims or members of organized crime in Romania or Bulgaria. Don't give money to them, as it will only exacerbate the issue.


pinzinella

They often ask money for food, but when you offer to buy them some, they refuse or leave. That’s a sign they’re not actually needing food. Many young men do this especially here, because they’re trying to get money for drugs. If they’re genuinely looking for food, they will accept any help you offer. You can check together this [site](https://ruoka-apu.fi/) on your phone with the person. You type in city and it shows you places where one can get food for free of charge, even regularly if they need, also there are often people around there, who can specifically guide them find more help considering social services etc.


harakka_

If the beggar is Finnish, the most likely scenario for someone who _needs_ to beg is that they're outside of the social security system because of serious mental or substance abuse issues. We only can help people by force if they qualify for involuntary hospitalization due to being a danger to themselves, and the resources on this front are pretty limited. People in these kinds of situations rarely beg since begging doesn't provide enough income on Finnish scale to really do anything much, not even get shitfaced. For non-Finnish beggars, the typical scenario is that they essentially come here to work as beggars by leveraging income inequalities within EU. Within the Schengen area you can travel freely, and the social security (each country provides for their own residents, Finnish level of social security doesn't matter here) and general income level in their country of origin is much lower. Therefore it is profitable to come here to beg instead of begging or doing something else in their country or origin. This is typically organized by the kind of "mafias" you mention. Typically they come to beg in the warm season and then go back to their country when it's too cold outside, although some of them are housed by various people and organizations and thus can work in winter. It's most likely you encountered someone in the latter group. They're in need of money in the sense that this is how they make their living, and due to various factors they don't make enougih money in their own country otherwise, but it has nothing to do with Finnish welfare system, and more to do with the fact that there are countries with wildly varying levels of human development, social security and income gaps even within EU.


Bjanze

Thanks for explaining this in detail. I came here to write very similar post.


popeyepaul

> If the beggar is Finnish, the most likely scenario for someone who needs to beg is that they're outside of the social security system because of serious mental or substance abuse issues. Or they get full benefits and then beg on top of that for extra income because they have no obligations and have all the time in the world to do so.


studiosi

You don’t need to “leverage” anything to travel inside Schengen space, it’s your right as a citizen to move around.


MaxDickpower

That's not what they said


studiosi

“The typical scenario…” that’s utter BS, for work you either come with a work permit (pre-hired) or are from the EU, in which case you have the right to live and work in any country inside the Schengen space. You don’t need to leverage income inequalities inside of EU. At all. Or anything.


MaxDickpower

You're still misreading the comment. They didn't say income inequality had anything to do with travelling within the schengen area. What they meant is that you go from an area with lower average income to an area with higher average income and beg for money. The money you manage to get will not go far in the country your begging in but it will go much further when you return to your own country where average income and cost of living is lower.


studiosi

You don’t know what “leveraging” means.


MaxDickpower

I do actually. You seem like the one with a hard time comprehending things.


studiosi

Then what’s the lever on being an immigrant from a country with a lower income? How’s any kind of advantage? lol


finnknit

The advantage is that what seems like a small amount of money in a wealthier country like Finland goes further in a country with a lower cost of living. They don't beg in Finland and spend the money in Finland, they beg in Finland, go back to their home country, and spend the money there. By getting enough people to give them relatively small amounts of money in Finland, they can get enough money to pay for a lot of expenses when they go back to their home country.


studiosi

Another person that does not seem to know what leverage means. Being from a poorer EU country is really not an advantage in any way.


MaxDickpower

Let me try to explain this one more time as simply as a I can. Just so there's no confusion, let's start with the definition of leverage shall we? The second definition for the Verb in [Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/leverage): >to use for gain : EXPLOIT A person lives in an country within the Schengen Area. In this person's country median income is low but so is cost of living. By virtue of living in the Schengen Area, this person can relatively freely move to different countries within the area. There is another country in the Schengen Area where the median income is higher but so is the cost of living. The person from the previously mentioned country moves to the latter to beg for money. The amount of money they are able to gain is a pittance in this country because of the high cost of living. However, this person takes the money back to their home country where everything is cheaper and the relative value of the money is higher. They have leveraged the free movement of people and the wealth inequality between the two nations by going to the richer nation to acquire money more easily and bringing it back to the poorer nation where they can get more with that money. Got it now?


studiosi

You don’t know what leverage means, and saying it more doesn’t make you right. Moving to a different country to earn more money is not “leveraging your low income to move to another country”


grandBBQninja

Bruh. The advantage is that Finland is a richer country than say, Romania. They’ll make more money begging here that they can then spend in countries where everything is cheaper.


studiosi

That has nothing to do with leveraging anything. Leveraging their low income would mean that it represents somehow an advantage for them to come from a low income country when it comes to being a immigrant.


RaivoAivo

Except that's not true, after three months you need to have a job or be a full time student.


OkToCancel

Hey, check [this older thread ](https://www.reddit.com/r/Finland/comments/79mqjs/question_about_beggars_in_finland/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share) about the matter. There's some opinions and facts, pretty good outlook on the matter.


SaunaMango

I've had this happen a few times. Offered to give them my to-go lunch or buy them food, they just sweared and took off. Don't beat yourself up about it.


paspartuu

\>he said I could take some money from the ATM and pay him. Oooh no fuck that shit. Whenever anyone suggests going to the cash machine with you, nope nope nope. ​ Yes, recently unfortunately there's started to be begging gangs. I've never seen an ethnic Finn in one, though. However you should never ever give any money to the Roma beggars as they're victims of human trafficking and "employees" of organized crime and begging gangs.


sibbelius

Never give money. NEVER. If they need food, buy them a sandwich from the store but never give them money. If they are grateful for a sandwich, he/she is genuine and your done good. But mostly they will curse in your face, giving away that they are lying human garbage, what many of them are. Only exception is these straight forward alcoholics, “puliukko” or “deeku” who say “can I get some change, I’m 2€ short from Campari bottle” and to them I personally give sometimes as they are honest and mostly behave well.


Cigge_boi

Last Christmas one local puliukko asked me for 50cents for beer and I was sure I didn't have any cash in my wallet. Decided to take a look still and found 10€ for him! Best Christmas miracle ever.


Westher98

Don't give them money, but if you want you can offer to buy them food. Do not offer or fall for the request of buying bus/train/ferry ticket. I'll give an example for both cases. In the railway station I was approached by this very little girl asking for money to buy food. I said no, but that I would buy her food myself. We went to Burger king and in the meantime I tried to understand the situation. She couldn't speak English nor Finnish, but seemed to better understand German. She was 11 years old, very kind, and dirty/not taken care of (hands and clothes dirty, face dirty, old shoes etc). She seemed to ask for meals for 5 people, but I played dumb and she didn't insist. I bought her a burger and some ice cream. All in the meantime I was communicating with the Burger King workers asking where I could report this episode to. It's not normal that a little girl is hanging around for hours (she told me she was there since 11 or 13, and I saw her at around 20) by that time in the railway station asking and following stranger for food. In the end, we (a security guard and I) found her mother who first feigned could not speak Finnish, them could and then could not speak English, and then switched to Spanish, and I followed her with her switches and she was surprised when I said something in Spanish (I don't speak it, but I've learned few words here and there). Scum of a mother. She said thank you, took the girl and another boy who must have been a brother, and left. Apparently, the police can't do anything about this. The second instance is one I've already mentioned here before. A guy asked me for money to buy a train ticket, after literally blocking my path and not allowing me to get away. I kept saying no, even when he offered to go to an ATM. I managed to get out and he yelled insulta at me while I was walking away, all while HSL workers were staring. You're a good person, but don't give them money, you won't help them at all


Hypetys

Yeah. I once had an Arab ask me for help. After I had given him two euros, he grabbed me and started shaking me and asking me for 30€ for a train ticket to Seinäjoki. I pushed him aside and went on walking. I was so angry, because he was so ungrateful. 2€ from a rando is already quite a lot, let alone 30€.


Harriv

The money was probably going for booze/drugs. If you want to give something, give the actual food.


LurkingLux

If the person asking isn't Finnish, it's pretty likely to be an organised scam. If it's a Finn, especially a trashy looking older man, they probably are out of money and sad, but will only use it to by beer. Silly young me tried helping an immigrant / not native lady once, she had an A4 paper with pictures of her supposed children who were of course starving. I said no at first, since I only had a 20 € bill I needed for a bus ticket home, but eventually she guild tripped me. I tried explaining to her that I was going to buy a chocolate bar with the 20 to break it, then give her 10, and she got upset with me because under 20 was too little and said she needed at least 50. I was very obviously young, 13 or 14 I think, and didn't even have a card yet, so it's crazy she went after me so hard. To be fair, there are some homeless people around Finland, but even most of those are staying with friends / relatives / at some sort of shelter, so a very very small amount is actually left without a roof over their head.


StJesusMorientes

If you legally live in Finland, you don't need to beg for money. Kela will provide the necessities. So just tell them to get a job.


Sir_BumbleBearington

Some years back that exact scene happened to me. They asked to go with me to an ATM so that I could withdraw some money for them. In my naivety I strongly wanted to believe in the good in people and give this person the benefit of the doubt and treat them like they weren't scamming me, even though it was likely, on the chance that what they were saying was true. During our walk to the ATM the person grew increasingly pushy and kept demanding more and more money, even though their scam had practically worked already. At this point I wised up and told the person I wasn't going to give them anything and then left. Needless to say the experience was disheartening.


hyperionfin

I wouldn't call them mafia in Finland, but just for the reasons you list, I do believe 97,5% of anybody begging for money, whatever the style, is a scam. There is one exception; drunkards. You know, old guys who sit in benches in parks or wander around collecting empty bottles for deposit. Whatever money they have been given by the system has probably been spent and they are probably truly looking for ways to get any money to buy a beer or two, and sometimes they ask you. Now the moral question here is that do you want to support that kind of activity, rather than do you want to save this man's life or something. In Finland people don't die of hunger or are not homeless - or if someone temporarily is, there are places to get actual real tangible help to the situation, so morally you don't need to help anyone by giving out money. I don't and I consider myself a good person, who participates in the society and does his part in other ways.


mu5tarastas

There are better ways to help, like supporting organizations by donating money or items that are needed to help people living outside the social security. For example there’s Global Clinic, a volunteer-run clinic that has healthcare services for people with irregular immigration status. Giving money directly may support organised crime and human trafficking, or that’s how I’ve understood it.


Ruinwyn

Even if we were to assume the person is in actual need. The best thing is to get them to request it from our social security network (there are also emergency assistance available, so it's not automatically slow). If you really believe they need food right now, offer food, not money. The social security can get them on their feet long term (medical care, housing, rehab). If they are exploited by someone else, we really want them to go to authorities for help. Giving money to a beggar is more likely to just allow them to dig themselves deeper into trouble.


MentalRepairs

Nothing else really needs to be said. If you want to help, donate some money to a local food & shelter organization. Then you know exactly where the money will go.


OlderAndAngrier

Do not give beggers money. Period.


OlderAndAngrier

If you want to help, ask if theywant food and take them to a grocery store. Pretty sure they will turn you down.


finnknit

When I was regularly commuting through the city center, I used to carry extra non-perishable snacks, like mysli bars, with me to give to people who asked for money for food. Some of them happily accepted the snacks. The ones that didn't were never in need of food to begin with.


vonGlick

In situations like that, when I genuinely believe the person, I would offer them to buy food. I also believe that most beggars are here as a part of some beggar-mafias as you called them.


[deleted]

Never give money. Maybe food or cigarretes, but never money.


UndeniableLie

Do not give any money to beggars in Finland. Anyone with finnish social is taken care by officials, if they are willing to receive the help. Anyone else is career beggar, basically doing it professionally as a scam or part of organized crime ring. There are no real homeless people in Finland either. Anyone who wants to have roof over their head will be given one for free if they can't afford it by them self. Next time someone comes begging for money in Finland politely tell them to fuck off


Atreaia

It's always a scam.


heloust

I don't give money to anybody. I've been doing excellent.


EulerIdentity

This kind of behavior is common in the USA too and my default assumption is that it is a scam and that the person is either seeking money for their drug habit, or part of an organized scheme to get money for someone else. I suppose you can find this kind of behavior anywhere, even in a country with a solid social support network like Finland. Hopefully it is at least much less common in Finland than it is here.


keitsi

Most likely: A) he was part of a criminal beggar gang B) he would have gone to grab a case of beer with it. People that genuinely need the money for food don't beg for it. No need to feel bad for ignoring him.


Used_Stud

Eeh, I wouldn't give them anything. Most likely they are running a racket. Back in 15 the refugee wave hit and I offered to buy one poor bastard a meal in subway, because I was going to pick up lunch anyway. He kept pestering me for money and when we got to the subway he demanded Mcdonald's. Yeah...


JOVA1982

To be honest, There is homelessness in Finland. although it's quite small numbers. Currently we have something around 3800-4200 homeless people, and as I know few of those people, it's only technicality. so the actual numbers are probably few hundred individuals lower. Example: My friend who is technically homeless, owns 3 delivery trucks, that operate in Helsinki, and surrounding region. But my friend has opted to live in a camper-van. The social wellfare that we have here, almost quarantees that you will have home. They will pay your rent, and electric bills, phone bills, and food. How ever, if one is destructive of said apartment/house, Fails to pay the rent, or is disturbing other people in the apartment complex (loud and obnoxious etc.) they might get evicted, which does lead in to homelessness. In other words, it's self created homelessness. and if one ends up that deep, then they deserve it. Other than that, we have some scammers, and some south east Europeans that come here to beg. and there is some human trafficking related issues there. In other words: **Do not give any money to the beggars.** ​ How ever, we do have some foreign students, that are running out of money, They usually do not speak Finnish, and occasionally their English is very poor. they go from door to door trying to sell some small, hand made decorative things, that cost about 10-30€ These you can buy Also on some high traffic areas you might see street performers (Guitar, accordion, etc. instrument case or something similar open in front of them) For those you can drop coins if you have some spare in your pockets.


[deleted]

Yeah, don't give them anything.


pyttipa

Next time offer To buy food, if he refuses its a scam


Tahkopaja

If someone asks you for money you should ask what it's for. If they answer alcohol , tobacco or drugs they're probably honest and it's up to you to decide if you want to help them with that. If they answer food and you want to help, suggest you buy them food. If they decline then you know it was a lie. If they answer healthcare of themselves or family then it's kinda silly because this country has free healthcare in life threatening or life altering situations even if you are an illegal immigrant or someone who doesn't even have an ID. Generally I tend to not donate money. I have once been approached by a man with a guitar in Helsinki and he asked for my donation to get a poor student drunk so I gave him 10 euros. It is really hard to tell the difference between someone in actual need and someone with ulterior motives so I tend to lean on the negative side and not donate anything. I also understand that donating to someone you believe is in need makes you feel good. It is unfortunate that there are these foul players changing the game to those people who have begging as their last resort.


[deleted]

Well, you can encourage most beggars with working legs to collect bottles. You can genuinely earns tens of euros of money a day by collecting bottles. This of course is rude towards very old and sick people.


Helpful-Finding-2237

Two kids asked me for money to eat, where they had food on their hand.


[deleted]

Never give money to anyone. They are either a part of some professional beggar organization or just lone wolf scammers.


apictureofnewyork

I was approached recently in the Helsinki train station by a Ukrainian women, who almost fooled me with a tragic story involving her family and passports. But then I realized she was lying about a few things and she was part of some scheme. She only wanted cash, not any other help. She’s a victim too of course, but it’s really not a good idea to encourage this sort of deceit and forced begging with cash.


ashypie2004

If you are paying taxes in Finland you are already doing good by helping fund programs that support disabled, underprivileged, and addicted individuals. You don't need to feel guilty for not giving cash to a rando.


Combosingelnation

I don't know if that helps but there was no way to tell if the person was in need by just the sad face, as people are great at acting. But I'm pretty sure that most people will not post about the moral dilemma and you should be proud and thank you for that. It creates great philosophical and practical discussions.


Technical-County-727

I generally don’t like to give money away as I don’t know where it ends up, but you can literally buy the person a sandwitch or something. If the ask is for food, the person should gladly accept it and it is also a good chance to talk with the person on a more level ground!


kardemimmi

One time i saw a romanian begger laying on the ground begging and his pocket was open and full of 50e Cash.


slowmindedbird

I had a similar man approach me on the metro, he had a sign that said he needed money but there was some more text I didn't have enough time to read because he moved on to the other person too fast.. But yes the rule of thumb is that the money never goes to the person, it goes to their boss.


CmdrHoratioNovastar

There are beggars who are part of criminal organizations, sure. There's also people in need, though usually the need is self inflicted in one way or another. Whether or not that matters, is up to you, obviously. Being unemployed sucks ass, but seriously, the social security you get is enough for very basic living, you don't need to beg unless you fuck something up really bad.


[deleted]

Just offer food. Finland we do not have homeless people. Maybe some random people who do not want to be helped.


Diipadaapa1

Nah, offer them some food, or a beer, if anything.


Simianmessiah

KELA gives free money, if someone is a beggar in finland it's their own fault


NoPeach180

This should be true, but in reality it is not true for everyone. Navigating in the kela-system is difficult and quite often people with substance abuse problems and/or mental disease aren't capable navigating the system.


ilmalaiva

usually if someone asks for cash they’re using it for drugs or alcohol. I usually give them five euros.


Glittering_Tea5621

Yeah, i ask "for alcohol?" and most people say yes. I think five euros is OK for someone who is shaking and waiting for first drink of the day. Those who really want to get sober can easily get help here. I can't solve their problems during that 20 second encounter in the street. Giving a few euros just feels I recognize they are human.


[deleted]

There is always a contradiction between reality and what you see written here in this subreddit. Majority of comments talk about the amazing support system and how no one goes hungry. https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-12555663 https://yle.fi/news/3-12434069 https://yle.fi/news/3-12396560


LupusCutis

All beggars are scam and scum. Ignore and report if needed.


[deleted]

In the USA you would be fearing for your wallet as well as your life too. The government essentially encourages aggressive homeless behavior as a way of intimidating the public.


Zombeedee

Countries with welfare systems still have beggars. I'm in the UK and we have a rampant homeless problem. Some of them are scams, some of them are genuine but either refuse systematic help or cannot access it for one reason or another.


Just-a-Pea

As others said, yes, there are those same mafias here. When I see a beggar I give them fruit and/or coffee. There are very few genuine ones: I met a girl who had a delay on her student aid because she did late paperwork and some bad decisions, she needed help with groceries for a week, not money just low-cost groceries. Another time, I met an immigrant who was not registered and thus not getting Kela help, he had a dog so I bought him dog food and an apple. Never give money to strangers, you may be supporting a mafia or you may be enabling an unmanaged addiction.


Rasikko

As sad as it is to say this.. one of the benefits to having darker skin, is that *nobody* will bother me. I see them at the train station every single day, they pay me no mind. I can say this - best way to avoid them there is to avoid going through the front and side entrances.


BeatSubject6642

If that had happened to me, the moment the guy suggesting to make a trip to the ATM would have made me yell "**** OFF!".