Opinion | Begpackers in Hong Kong: are they all fake or are some in need of genuine charity?
Those who rely on the kindness of strangers to fund their adventures or air ticket home might actually need a helping hand
Years ago, while travelling around the Australian Outback with my father, a beggar stopped and asked us for money, so that he might eat. My dad later spied that same man in a pub, at the bar, and tapped him on the shoulder.
“You didn’t need food, you needed a drink,” my dad complained. “I want my money back.”
We may have been smack in the middle of the country, in what has been called Australia’s “red centre”, but at that point, the reddest thing in the Outback was probably my embarrassed face.
Remembering that day, I wonder if Hong Kong’s “begpackers” – international travellers who take to the streets and declare themselves desperately in need of money for air tickets or further adventures – are as dishonest.
Some friends, having given money to such travellers for air tickets, have then been furious to see them knocking back drinks in bars soon afterwards. Is it because the panhandlers come from a generation that requires instant gratification? Can’t they work and save for trips like everyone else? Why can’t they call family and friends if they urgently need funds?
Spend time with the homeless of Hong Kong, however, and you will discover that travellers from around the world are among the growing number of people living on our streets.
