PBH / colombia (travelguide, pictures) / post

Responsible travel

How I learned to stop worrying and be nice to the selling people.

Travelling responsibly isn't easy - it's often hard to know what the right thing is... Should you give money to that beggar, or is that just encouraging him to beg? Should you haggle more so you pay the same as the locals, or should you be content with paying a little bit more.

It all depends, and it is your decision. But there are a few simple things that people commonly do wrong.

Be nice to people selling stuff on the streets and in buses!

They're just doing their jobs. If you don't want any, just say no gracias with a smile and they'll leave you alone. (unlike in, say, India) This is not the same as being nice to people that are hassling you (you shouldn't), but that rarely happens in Colombia. If someone sells sweets in buses, I alwasy buy from them. You don't have to, you can buy sometimes.

Don't give money to kids begging!

This is another big mistake some tourists make. You do not give money to begging kids. They will always have to give the money to a bigger guy that they work for.

But buy them some food. Snacks, a meal, whatever. That, they can eat themselves. Also, if you're in a restaurant and have leftovers, say some chicken with a bit of rice maybe,take them outside and give them to some streetperson begging. It's a bit funny at first, but it's a good thing to do!

And I'll leave it at that for now. If your conscience is till bugging you, look for a good organization to donate money to (5% of your travel budget would make a difference!)

By Peter (Moderator) on Jul 17, 1999, 11:02 in Friendly Talkzone.

Peter (Moderator) says on Nov 11, 2003, 11:03:

2003-01-22
One problem with not giving money to the kids who are begging. They do usually "work" for someone who they have to turn the money over to, and this other person is often someone who the parents have basically "sold" the kid to. In fact, the kids are often required to turn over a certain amount each day to this person, whether they actually successfully beg that amount or not. Which means if they fall short on a given day, they have to pay out of the surpluses (what little there is) they've raised previously. If they are unable to do this, they land themselves in trouble (potentially physically) with their "boss". This is, of course, all illegal, but it happens. And the kids who beg on the streets and at the intersections are often just stuck in a bad situation that they have no control over. For this reason, when I'm in Colombia, it is the kids who I will most often give money to.

Poor but snappy

0 funny, 0 helpful.