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K commented about Streets of Manila Photos, On Wednesday May 30th, 2007 08:56:00 PM
i'm with you, andy -- enabling beggars with cash is not the way forward. you are right that drugs are a problem in manila too. and it's true, begging children very often don't want food! i live in manila. i keep healthy snacks in the car to give to begging kids. they lean on the window, point at their mouth and whine that they're very hungry, but when i offer a granola bar or other snack (individually wrapped, NOT half eaten as anonymous claims) they often say no. they want money. so it's clear the money won't go to food. at one intersection i drive past every day, a mother sits in the median strip and sends her tiny boy to beg at car windows, naked. that he is naked is quite shocking even for manila. you feel horrible, but you know giving cash isn't the right thing. i donate to a few non-government organizations that have scholarship programs to keep poor kids in school. i also work for an organization that ultimately aims to reduce poverty. but i can't give cash to kids and encourage begging, as sad as they often are (and as much as i am sometimes tempted to give $20, never mind 10 pesos). they can get a healthy snack from me, i only wish they would accept it more often.
but p.s. i have to take issue with john the atheist who mentions these "begging syndicates." i really don't buy it, but filipinos say this all the time. they also seem to have no sympathy for the urban poor in informal settlements, claiming there are "squatter syndicates" -- is this perhaps one way that filipinos rationalize it all away and don't feel guilty enough to be compelled to force their government to actually DO something?
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K commented about Travel Insurance Fine Print, On Thursday December 11th, 2008 12:54:00 PM
It's definitely important to make sure that you look into your insurance carrier and policy to make sure you're making a good choice.
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