Weather: Hi 4°C / Lo 2°C
Undercover - treated like a leper begging in Belfast
Sunday, 21 June 2009
enlarge
Print
Email
Last Thursday I decided to join the ranks of Belfast’s beggars to gauge the Northern Ireland public’s reaction to the growing problem on the city streets.
Public opinion has been divided this past week on the plight of Romanian immigrants in Belfast judging by the comments on radio talkshows.
Despite the outrage at the sickening attacks and threats on the families, there has also been anger over the growing number of Romanians begging on city streets.
Within minutes of posing as a beggar in south Belfast, close to where some of the recent racist attacks have taken place, I could see that I was not welcome.
Wearing a torn and grubby shirt, with sleeves uneven in length, plus tattered jeans and busted shoes, I certainly looked the part.
And sitting on a cardboard box on a cracked pavement with bare windowless walls and vacant shops surrounding me, I felt it too.
Close to University Street, I sat by a lamppost and shook my cup looking for donations.
One woman just glared at me, while another walked to the other side of the street to avoid me. Many passers-by shook their heads. Clinging on to the hope that someone would feel some sympathy, I continued to beg for spare change but nobody offered any.
“Cigarette?” asked one man. I shook my head.
Before long, I was being treated like a leper who had broken the rules by boldly going out in public.
Many people went out of their way to avoid me — some walking behind me rather than passing in front.
Cars and taxis would pass as folk got on with their lives.
The rejection was hard to accept, I wanted someone to take pity on me.
With the rain pelting down, I sat drenched and downtrodden and concerned that hordes of people were hurrying past without acknowledging me once.
Different classes, different races, different ages all seemed to share a similar ignorance. It was sickening.
A little boy walking with his father studied me as the pair of them strolled past.
He quickly turned around when I smiled, clutching his dad’s hand harder.
I slumped into the corner of the pavement, trying to get shelter from the rain. My clothes were soaked through.
A bit later on I moved to a pavement along the busy Lisburn Road, close to where some of the recent racist attacks took place, hoping to find someone willing to help.
Many businesses in the area moved beggars away from the very same stretch of footpath the day before, so this was going to be interesting. Would they do it again?
I made eye contact with people as they walked past — hoping for a smile or a friendly donation, but all I got were strange looks and disgusted tuts instead.
Old women never even noticed me, men in suits continued barking down their phones with their heads held high.
Occasionally I stared at the ground, freezing and fed up, just watching all the feet shuffling past without stopping.
In a short time I counted 43 pairs of shoes and zero pence in my cup.
I was deliberately starving myself to get into the mindset of a homeless person, but by begging outside a café I hoped someone would take pity on me.
Despite eating nothing for over 12 hours and feeling faint, I had to try to keep my head up. Even just for my own safety.
Groups complete with loutish individuals marched past hurling abuse and laughing.
Even in broad delight I was terrified, so I can’t imagine what it would have been like had I been lying in a bus shelter, an alleyway, a doorway or a park bench at night.
Then it got worse when a man came out of nowhere swearing at me.
He was furious that I was begging on the street.
“What the f*** do you think you’re doing? F*** off.”
And I did.
It was time to call it a day because I could.
It was easy to feel angry at the ignorance of folk but then how could I possibly judge?
When I spot a beggar in the street I react in the same cruel way.
I, like many of the people that passed me, treat homeless people as outcasts.
But I won’t anymore.
Post a comment
Limit: 500 characters
View all comments that have been posted about this article
Offensive or abusive comments will be removed and your IP address logged and may be used to prevent further submissions. In submitting a comment to the site, you agree to be bound by BelfastTelegraph.co.uk's Terms of Use.
Posts submitted in UPPERCASE letters will be rejected.
Comments
81 Comments
`Do unto others, as you would have them do to you'
Posted by Alex | 05.07.09, 13:30 GMT
Some people make a business begging,and it has been well publisied,why should hard working people give there hard earn'd cash away,are own homeless people is bad enough,but people from a different country,is not on,would you go to Poland and beg,i don't think so so why do they come to Northern Ireland.
Posted by David | 28.06.09, 08:14 GMT
what a pathetic, contrived article this is. Begging has never happened before and ironically it is non-native people who are doing it. there are plenty of jobs around for those who want to get up early. Furthermore what you people don't mention is how begging, selling Big Issues and generally engaging in hanging around street corners is oftena way of soliciting for other things (go to other cities and towns across europea and you'll catch my drift). Hanging around is also good for mugging.
Posted by Greg | 26.06.09, 08:41 GMT
Begging should be a last resort, not a way of making a living. If you feel compelled to give, then give to an organisation that has proven itself to care for and to help those in need.
Posted by d | 25.06.09, 23:34 GMT
Jillian, Leo - your real name Rodney? LOL. This is the worst article I've read! I agree the subject nature is interesting but in the end it tells us nothing and is poorly written. Other newspapers have done this much better.
Posted by Kev Johnston | 25.06.09, 01:49 GMT
Enjoyed the article , brings to light some significant issues. Very harsh comments on a interesting piece of journalism.
Posted by Jillian | 24.06.09, 18:51 GMT
A good article, well written. What's with all the negative comments, eh? Was it a wee bit too close to the bone for some of you?
Posted by Leo Traynor | 23.06.09, 22:37 GMT
Whats your point mate,would you ever get a life and write a proper story
Posted by william cameron | 23.06.09, 13:31 GMT
How pompous are you Mr Edwards? Every article you write becomes an exercise in self promotion - leave that to Paul 'Exclusive' Martin.
I sincerely hope the Belfast Telegraph did not pay you for this
Posted by Fenster | 23.06.09, 09:50 GMT
Overly ambitious and poorly written. Good idea but other newspapers have already done it and done so much better. Fail.
Posted by Derek Whithy | 23.06.09, 07:19 GMT
"Wearing a torn and grubby shirt, with sleeves uneven in length, plus tattered jeans and busted shoes, I certainly looked the part" man, next time try to live all your life without a home, aliterate, dirty, with no jobs in your family for generation. Living with your whole community stealing food or grabbing. Then you will understand why irish wealth is like a magnet fot those people. By the way: one of the most comprehensive books about that is written by an irish historian - Angus Frasier.
Posted by mihai costache | 23.06.09, 03:49 GMT
You are not the first reporter to try this. It is not my place to criticise your jouralism. A reporter from The Toronto Star tried it quite a few years back and stated at the end of her day she had been propositioned 5 times told to go get a job 10 times but all and all was making about ten quid an hour ($20 Canadian actually) Yes we do have professional beggers from some where but they arrive by plane (air fare from London 750 pounds. only forty two character left bye.
Posted by fred needham | 23.06.09, 02:53 GMT
I used to give money to beggars. Until I met the woman who stole cash out of my purse when I opened it, the man begging on the streets who had his own house but still begged to supplement his income, the beggar who swore at me when I didn't hear him ask for money, and another man who asked my low paid charity worker friend how much her clothes cost. I don't like to judge all by the few, but now don't take any beggar at face value. I don't give to beggars direct but to SVP/Salvation Army
Posted by BH | 23.06.09, 00:02 GMT
"Wearing a torn and grubby shirt, with sleeves uneven in length, plus tattered jeans and busted shoes, I certainly looked the part.
And sitting on a cardboard box on a cracked pavement with bare windowless walls and vacant shops surrounding me, I felt it too."
Could you be any more self righteous? Absolutely pointless article from yet more talentless Telegraph 'journalism'. Very very frustrating read which smacks of the pompous let alone false and phony side.
Posted by Gina Buckley | 22.06.09, 23:30 GMT
What does this story actually prove? As Del Boy would say - Rodney, you really are a plonker.
Posted by Dec | 22.06.09, 22:50 GMT
Typical, rodders tries out a very important bit of journalism and to see how the homless are treated on the streets of belfast and the keyboard terrorists who would never know what these homeless people go through try to make the guy out to be a villian.
Fair Play for exposing reality.
Posted by Hooper | 22.06.09, 22:44 GMT
Ok, I do give money to some homeless and down and outs, but I would not give the steam off my porridge to a strapping young fella like yourself well capable of picking up a shovel or washing a dish (like I did in London when I had nothing). My first thought would be "lazy junkie sponger, get a job"
Charlie O'Brien
Posted by Charlie | 22.06.09, 22:20 GMT
I'm not sure who to blame for this sorry state of affairs, poor misguided Rodney who even early in his career has to scrape the barrel or the over paid under worked News Editor who either commissioned this or give the final copy the thumbs up.
Either way, its the Ordinary Telegraph workers I feel sorry for, their futures rely on these people.
Posted by Thompo | 22.06.09, 21:54 GMT
No one has a reason to beg on the streets of Belfast or any other N Ireland town, there is a whole welfare system in place to prevent and save people from having to beg. Now if you were homeless and were asking for help am sure many people would have helped you. "The salvation Army or homeless hostle is just down that road over there, second on the left son". The only help people here need is pointing in the right direction.
Posted by Rob | 22.06.09, 17:56 GMT
fail! ouch dude your article is getting serious criticism here. I'm sorry but anyone with half a brain can see this issue is not so Disney black and white. Personally if I'd passed you I'd quickly assess you as an able young man and wondering a) why can't he get a job (they are there believe it or not) or b) is he a career beggar. I know we have a generous wefare system that is ripped off already. Its in place, we should'nt have genuine people on the streets.
Posted by JH | 22.06.09, 17:45 GMT
81 Comments