‘This is a Very General Problem in Europe’ – Journalist on Beggars in EU

Sputnik discussed this with Fulvio Scaglione, an independent Italian journalist and writer.

Fulvio Scaglione: What I know is that this is a very general problem in Europe. There are two reasons for that: the first one is the general phenomenon which sees the middle class and the poor people in Europe getting poor and poorer. This is a very widespread phenomenon. We can see demonstrations; just take a look at what is happening in France, or in Italy and so forth.

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The second reason is the number of migrants. Many of these poor people come to Europe; then they have no solid possibility go get a decent job or a decent way to earn a living. So, they very often become beggars, and very often they are, so to say, paid to be beggars. They are employed by criminal organizations for begging for money. It cannot be a spontaneous phenomenon, it's organised by someone. It's not surprising that in Sweden they have a problem, and they are trying to solve it in some way.

Sputnik: Reportedly, about 4,000 Euro-migrants make a living by begging in Sweden. What's the situation with the begging problem in Italy? You've mentioned one case before, but what is the problem in general?

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Fulvio Scaglione: Begging is very widespread in Italy too, in big cities. In Italy, we have had this idea to ban begging. Italian law forbids begging when it disturbs the so-called "public quietness". We have had many local administrations, from medium-sized or small sized cities, who [have] tried to ban begging. A couple of humanitarian organizations appealed against these bans; they appealed to the president of the republic, Mr Mattarella, and he said that no local administration can forbid begging when begging doesn't disturb the public quietness.

The border between disturbing or not disturbing is very thin; you can be disturbed by a man who asks you for your money when you get out of a café or when you get into a shop. So, it depends. I know that in Switzerland, too, they adopted some ban against begging. But, as I said before, this is a European phenomenon; and in many Western European countries, they are trying to do something. But it's not easy.

Sputnik: The mayors of Italy's Salò and Venice have also banned begging, but the law still hasn't been adopted at the state level. In your view, what could the main reason behind this be?

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Fulvio Scaglione: Italy is a very strange country. Italian people used to be very generous in principle; they are not refusing a coin to a begging man. But the problem is that we should do something at the state level for these people. I mean, either you organise them, you integrate them somehow, you find them a job or something to do, or you have to stop them. There's nothing in the middle. In the middle you have people begging in the streets; many people begging in many streets. And this is not, of course, a solution. At this very moment, we are in a no man's land; we think that this is wrong, but we are not doing anything against it.

Sputnik: How likely is it that the law could be adopted in Italy or Sweden, or in other European countries, as it has been done in Denmark and Norway, for example?

Fulvio Scaglione: Of course, we have this new government which is, so to say, very keen to stop migration, and not very keen to accept migrants or more migrants. But the public opinion is something different; and a ban against beggars could be not very well accepted by the public opinion.

So, I doubt very much that in Italy someday we'll have a law like the law they adopted in Denmark or Norway.

The views expressed in this article are solely those of Fulvio Scaglione and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik.