Increase in Gypsies?

[sunnyd]

I can remember, I think it was last year, that there was a crackdown on 'professional' beggars in the area as they were actually coming into Fethiye from different areas by buses. The police and council swooped on them and turned them away, with some arrests too.
As Kismetbar said, he would rather by them a meal.. there was one time that I got approached by an elderly woman that just wouldn't take no for an answer... she was asking for ekmek para (money for bread). I'd had enough so I tootled off to the nearest shop and bought her a loaf of bread, handed it to her and she called me all the names under the sun! It is difficult when they tug your heart strings by using children but alot of the time the children that are with them are not even theirs.

[Gorgeous_bird]

It's hard, a real moral dilema, in my instance a woman sat with a starving child on the edge of Fethiye market, I fought my desperate feeling of giving the woman money because I just felt that the starving child was a comodity to her. Mother did not look starving and I know as a mother myself that I would go without anything to feed my child, it just didn't look like that was the case. My biggest desire was to snatch the child from her, it absolutely broke my heart I was shocked to the core and often wonder if the child is still alive. I walked away in tears.

[heather07]

We were  in a bus stop in Albufeira and two kids were "begging"-it was more like demanding money with menace. The boy had the hardest eyes I have ever seen on a young child.  As we refused I happened to look across to a small cafe and there was the kids Mum and dad drinking beer and staring at us.  On a hill just behind the bus station was a gypsy camp. They had obviously picked a good spot.

[stuart]

the relavence to my question about the kale park area being a gypsy camp was   meant to be a reply to the original question.
the whole top area there  was a gypsy shanty town till the belidye cleared the area. so presumably more gypsies about then.
just wondered if anyone rememberd how long ago....must be about 10 years or so.

[Scunner]

I thought I'd share a little story with you  

During one of our last holidays to Calis before moving there, we went for dinner on the seafront. At some point in the evening, an extremely disabled man started making a painfully slow journey along the prom. I've never seen anyone as crippled as this poor guy. He 'walked' aided by two crutches, one had to be about half the height of the other. He was stooped forward so far that his head was only a few feet from the floor. Around his neck was a length of string attached to a tray, in which there was a selection of pens, key rings and the like. I've never seen one person take so much attention in my life. Everyone was watching him and really feeling his pain. Dozens, including us, 'bought' pens and the like, 5 and 10 lira notes were given in abundance, even quite a few 20's. This guy was horrifically disabled, it was plain to see and impossible to be a trick or anything of the like.

We always arranged for our taxi man to be at the bridge at a certain time for us and later that's where we went. I guess he wanted to fit in just one more fare because he was about 15 minutes late.

During this 15 minutes we stood and watched the disabled guy and an 'associate' of his, both sitting on the steps opposite Golden Moon Jewellers. The other guy counted the notes, and the pile was way over 1" thick, took about an eighth of it off the top and gave it to the disabled guy, put the rest in his pocket and swiftly buggered off.

[laffa]

Can quite believe that, I used to mind money for Nesim,(shoe shine)and he used to take the rest back to his uncle (Hagi), and bank what he used to make,

[karenr]

I am surprised at a few of the replies!!!! Im sure no child or adult grows up and when asked "What do you want to do when you grow up" replies " I want to beg on the streets" We do  not know how lucky we are. To give  no  money in turkey or england on grounds that they will spend it on drugs/alcohol  or parents sending them out is a poor excuse not to give. I worked with homeless begging people in Oxford for many years. I have seen sad times in Turkey as well. I sponser children in Gambia who have nothing. and I mean nothing.. Cant believe we winge so  much............there are far more people less fortunate than us...I would give money to any worthy charity. How can we all moan when there are children out there living a real hell is beyond me!!!!!!!.

[Gorgeous_bird]

I give my money to organised charity where you are sure that the cause is receiving the money. Not where the disabled man is being pimped or where the mother keeps the child starving deliberatley.

[Scunner]

That's a good point, if you want to help people locally who need it, why give it to someone who may be driving home in a flash car to his big house? Donate it direct to the carnival charity, so you can see in black and white how it was spent and who benefited.

[littlereddevil]

Laffa
Is Hagi not the nice man I think he is ?