New tactic tests people’s generosity

Opinion

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/05/2018 (2697 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s both encouraging and disturbing if some panhandlers in Winnipeg are trying to dupe charitable givers by wearing hijab-style head scarves.

It’s encouraging that Winnipeg is a city where it’s apparently safe to stand on street corners in clothing that is usually associated with women who adhere to the religion of Islam. There are many countries, including Canada’s southern neighbour, where people in such attire are more likely to be subjected to racial taunts and violence than financial donations.

It’s disturbing, though, if Winnipeg’s renowned generosity and hospitality to immigrants is being abused by people who ask for help under false pretences.

It’s the fourth year in a row Winnipeg has been targeted by the women, who claim to be from Ontario and Quebec and who identify as ethnic Roma or Romani.

They hold cardboard signs that say they are single mothers who need help.

They time their panhandling outside the Grand Mosque on Waverley Street for early May to coincide with Ramadan, a holy observance when Muslims are encouraged to give more to charity. But they have also been spotted on city medians away from the mosque, seeking money from ­drivers stopped at intersection traffic lights.

The Manitoba Islamic Association posted a warning on social media: “Please be aware that this might be a case of people taking advantage of Winnipeggers’ generosity.”

The association issued this warning after representatives of the Grand Mosque approached the panhandlers several times and offered to help by inviting them inside to fill out a social assistance form to get financial aid. They refused.

It was the same situation when Laila Chebib, who is originally from Syria, approached a hijab-clad panhandler on a median in St. Vital. Chebib, who has helped many newcomers to Winnipeg, offered to take the panhandler to an agency for help, but her offer was declined.

“To have people begging in the street who seem to be Muslim really upsets me,” Chebib told the Free Press.

Without knowing more about the panhandling women, it would be going too far to suggest they are misrepresenting themselves and are undeserving of donations.

We don’t know if they dress as though they’re Muslim only for the purposes of panhandling. We can’t judge the accuracy of their claims of not having enough money to care for their children. We also don’t know whether, as Islamic Social Services Association president Shahina Siddiqui wondered, the women are being exploited or trafficked.

What’s known for sure is that concerns about the accuracy of panhandlers’ backstories are nothing new. Winnipeggers are often approached by panhandlers who say they need money to buy a meal, a room for the night or bus fare back to their home community.

Even when backstories smell like fiction, some people give anyway, for a variety of personal reasons. Perhaps they feel anyone who undergoes the humiliation of begging must really need the money. Perhaps they feel panhandlers can spend donated money however they wish because a donation is a gift and compassionate people don’t put conditions on the use of gifts.

But other people are less likely to be moved by a stranger’s account of desperation. They prefer verifiable proof their donations are being used to fight poverty and hunger and direct their donations to reputable charity organizations.

When police receive reports of business frauds trying to scam people, they customarily issue a public warning of “buyer beware.”

Similar advice holds true for people approached by panhandlers who have a story that invites sympathy: donor beware.