Guilt

The ideal: child begging must be stopped! Parents caught forcing their children to beg should be flogged! Children caught begging should be taken into care.

The reality: children will beg and it's better to give, within reason (not always to all), because it is better for their immediate wellbeing, i.e. they are less likely to be beaten by their drunken parents.

I tend to give, and I prepare myself by minimising the hassle (I always keep change in my car or in a pocket). But I am more likely to give in exchange for something (a windscreen wash, a sign-language dictionary, etc.).

However, Lucy, I think your first step should be to form a team and register to compete in the CorD Charity Masters race to take place during the marathon, then do some begging of your own (for sponsorship) and raise a wad of cash for your suggested Roma Children’s Center (Deciji Romski Centar).

Mostly, the child beggars are a part of an organised business and the money they make is not their own but their "employer's".
They are being trained to beg, even mutilated in order to evoke sympathy from people. It is appalling how these children are exploited.
Something needs to be done, surely, but it takes a well-planned action from persons and organisations in authority to successfully eradicate this form of crime.

We all know that those children are exploited by the adults.

I can tell you what I do: I never give them any money, I take them for a proper meal, or give them something to dress, or some toy, anything but money because that money will not help them.

In the meantime, our social service should find some solution that will make the change. I hope...

I am surprised and somewhat disappointed that you did not spend much time on the race aspect of this issue. Most of those children are Gypsies, or Roma, as is the politically correct term these days. I suspect that the tone of their skin has something to do with why it is easier to ignore them.

As someone who grew up in Serbia, I am accustomed scenes of child beggars. I, too, have always been taught to ignore them for a variety of reasons, including:

- They are part of an organized network (often true, sadly)
- The parents/pimps take all their money anyway
- It's all an act (also often true, sadly)
- They're Gypsies, hence thieves, cheats, beggars, etc (rarely stated explicitly)

Despite being desensitized in this manner, I was completely overwhelmed by sadness last year in Belgrade at the sight of kids begging right on the highway on-ramp, in rush hour traffic! The fact is they live right there in cardboard boxes right under the "Gazela" bridge.

I am not sure what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure it's got to be systemic, not individual.

P.S. Oh, and regarding your comment about not seeing child poverty in the States, I suspect you did not grow up in an urban setting? I suggest you visit one of our major cities and take a stroll thru one of its less desirable neighborhoods such as the South Side of Chicago, for example, not to mention parts of Detroit, LA, Washington DC, Atlanta, Cleveland, ... you'll be surprised.

Just a brief comment on Lucy's thoughts on architecture:

I've never been to Skopje, but I live in Belgrade, in one of those buildings. Living here is my choice, I very much appreciate that kind of aesthetics. I suppose it's like Picasso: not everyone can appreciate it.

otvorili ste temu koja i mene muci. I ako ste to videli u Skoplju ja to svaki dan vidjam u Novom Sadu. Kad mi zatrazi pare umazano i polugolo dete zauzmem stav “Ignore him” a kad ode pocne da me grize savest.
Ali ono sto me najvise nervira i rastuzuje je to sto u mojoj drzavi postoji neka Socijalna sluzba koja takodje zauzima stav“Ignore him” i sto dozvoljava da deca budu brutalno iskoristavana od strane svojih staratelja.
Policija koja to svakodnevno posmatra na raskrsnicama verovatno krsi zakon sto takve slucajeve neprijavljuje, sigurna sam da i Socijalna sluzba krsi zakon zauzimajuci stav“Ignore him”, a ostarateljima te dece da ne govorim.

I've been reading posts here for quite some time, and this is my first time writing.

Being born in the better half of North America (hehehe - see Canada for more information), I was shocked the first time I saw children begging in Yugoslavia (I do believe it was 1988). After regular repeat trips to the lands of my ancestors, I found that I used a typical Canadian form of communication when these children would ask me to lend them my wallet. I apologized. Yes I apologized for not being able to help them, and sent them off with a farewell and good-luck.

This is far from a morally "right" or "wrong" thing to do, but I rarely try to tackle issues of morality myself since I'm a firm believer in the old saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions."

Now, let me be clear that most Canucks would've dished out some serious cash for this kind of thing, or called Social Services to have the child taken into custody. But I have the luxury of a Balkan upbringing. I, like many other people, was taught that parent's have a god given right to make of their offspring as they wish, with some exclusions (..naturally). When it comes to the illegal treatment of children (torture, sexual abuse), I'm all for protecting children from the more extreme faces of abuse, but a line must be drawn below what society deems extreme and illegal. A beggar teaching his child to beg is no different than a Doctor pressuring and disciplining his child from birth to continue the family business, often against the will of the child. (I could go into a detailed defence of this position with the Dr. and Beggar, but I'm sure everyone here is creative enough to formulate the argument for me).

In Canada, it is illegal for a parent to spank their children "too hard". Have fun disciplining your own flesh and blood, because you're always a phone call away from having child services take you kids away.

Trust me; giving other people (yes, child services is made of human beings, with all the crappy judgement that goes with that) power over the definition of the rights and wrongs of child rearing is definitely the road to hell. If the parents of these children are doing something illegal, then the police should deal with it.
If the police don't/can't/won't, then let's talk about reform of the justice system - this is not one about racism and human rights.