A dilemma that begs for answers

Everyone knows that beggars cannot be choosers but does it necessarily follow that we cannot be choosers of beggars?

This is a problem with which I am faced on an almost daily basis. You see, I was brought up by the Christian Brothers in Pretoria to believe that anyone who comes to my door hungry or naked should be fed and clothed.

And in between ramming this point home by clipping us about the ears and belting our backsides with leather straps, the Christian Brothers insisted that we should not be judgmental of whether a cause is deserving or not. Just feed, clothe and don’t ask too many questions.

Problem is that these days it’s easier said than done. About a decade ago, having moved into a new neighbourhood, I took the conscious decision to try to help the occasional beggar who came to my gate, no matter how busy I was; to take a few minutes to help a soul in need. Unless he was stark naked, in which case I would probably call the police.

During the first few months all went well. A few beggars would ring my bell and pour out sad stories of myriad children to feed and no work. I gave them some money and sent them on their way, as kindly as possible suggesting they have faith and not give up hope.

Clearly word got around and within weeks the number of beggars ringing my doorbell had increased to at least three or four a day.

I am sure that the majority were bona fide down-and-outers, but there were some who might have looked down-and-out, but who were very adept at South Africa’s latest entrepreneurial fad: the business of begging.

There was one fellow who happily took R20 from me and then returned the next day to say that if I would lend him R100, he would be assured of getting a job. I gave him the money and within hours he was back with a friend who he said was in dire need of R500 to pay a speeding fine.

He was quite taken aback when I blew a completely un-Christian fuse and read him the riot act about beggars not supposed to be able to own cars.

I was advised by friends and family to avoid giving money. If I insisted on trying to help everyone who came to my gate, I should give food parcels.

Interestingly enough, within a month the number of beggars coming to my gate declined by about half. At least ten of them simply refused to take the food parcel, insisting on money or nothing.

For making this change I was subjected to everything from the saddest hangdog expressions to verbal abuse, and even being labelled a racist.

Eventually, on the advice of the charities committee of my parish in Johannesburg, I simply stopped giving anything to anyone, informing them all that in future I would make a donation to my parish feeding scheme, and that no more handouts would be made from chez moi.

The flow of beggars slowed to a trickle and then dissipated completely. Peace had returned to my home but not to my mind.

Every now and then a beggar comes to my gate to ask for food, clothing or a glass of water. These are beggars who are clearly outside of the begging network in my area and have not been briefed by their peers that coming to ask me for anything will result in a 10-minute diatribe on why I am not able to help beggars anymore, trying to make them feel guilty about my being taken advantage of, verbally abused and being called a racist, which really hurt to the core.

So, they get the lecture and are told that all my almsgiving is now channelled via my parish charities committee. Surprisingly, the vast majority accept this, nodding in agreement that the chancers and charlatans were giving the business of begging a bad name, and then going on their way.

The problem is I still feel guilty because I know that I am telling genuine beggars that I cannot help them which would make those Christian Brothers of yore have a blue fit.

My dilemma is that it is far too easy to simply just do everything through my parish and ignore those who come to my home. On the other hand, to start handouts again will inevitably end up openly inviting every con-artist and charlatan to beat a path to my door.

There seems to be no simple answer other than to try and determine if cases are genuine or not, which sounds very un-Christian, judgmental and morally dangerous.

So, I’m beggared if I know what the answer is. I am open to suggestions.