How Bali is cracking down on 'begpackers' pleading for money
Throughout Asia the sight of tourists from wealthy nations – including Australia –begging for money to fund their travels has become so common, one country has had enough.
Balinese authorities have announced a crack-down on tourists from first-world countries loitering in streets asking for passersby to pay for their holidays.
An immigration official from the Indonesian island that’s a popular holiday destination for Australians said Bali will start reporting the stranded tourists, dubbed ‘begpackers’, to their embassies.
오늘 또!종로3가에서 가짜 백인 #베그패커 거지가 가난한 노인들에게 구걸했다.어르신들이 베그패커가 불쌍하다고 천원이천원씩 호주머니에서 현금을 꺼내주는데 결국 참을 수 없어서 경찰을 불렀다.경찰이 다가왔는데 베그패커는 영어 한마디도 못알아듣는척 낄낄거리며 무시하고 뻔뻔하게 앉아있었다 pic.twitter.com/ysduDBkf4o
— Raphael Rashid (@koryodynasty) June 26, 2019
“We have seen many cases of problematic tourists, lately they are either Australian, British or Russian,” the Bali officer told Detik News.
“We tend to report these cases to the relevant embassies, so that they can oversee their citizens who are on holiday.”
He added that while Bali had previously looked after these travellers, the cost of living must now be borne by their respective embassies.
The practice of young Western tourists taking to the street in Asian countries with signs asking for help to 'travel around the world' has become common in recent years.
Yet, despite the backlash many face after their antics are posted to social media, many individuals continue to beg for others to pay for their holidays.
“[It’s] white privilege at its finest,” one angry social media user said in response to a photo of two travellers begging for holiday money.
“Imagine the reverse, if an Asian travelling to a western country tried this and how they'd be treated.”
In 2017, a young Singaporean woman was shocked to come across two white tourist begging for travel money in her city and posted photos of them to Twitter.
“We find it extremely strange to ask other people for money to help you travel,” she told France 24.
“Selling things in the street or begging isn't considered respectable. People who do so are really in need: they beg in order to buy food, pay their children's school fees or pay off debts. But not in order to do something seen as a luxury.”
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