“if you read news regarding beggar in the UAE a lot, you'll find that 90% of the beggars caught in the UAE entered the country on tourism visa and take advantage from moslem's generosity during holy month of ramadhan. Some of this beggar are WELL ORGANIZED and some of them are used as a COVER TO DO CRIMES. I suggest you STOP giving them money as this act protect them from being abused by their gang leader. You dont wanna waste your money to the wrong person, do you?
And dont worry about people in difficult situation you mentioned above, those who face difficult situations in the UAE can contact any of the authorised charity and humanitarian organisations, who will study their individual cases and offer them help in a legal and safe manner...”

“Ashley@: Please provide a source stating 90% of beggars in the UAE are hidden criminals?”

“ashley were did you find your statistics from? Begging doesnt just happen in ramadan and i wont quote %'s but a huge number of people in this country are not muslims...so i dont see ramadan being overly significant on this issue

for 6 years i have lived here and all months of the year i have encountred beggers.....

Of course there are illegal immigrants here as there are in many other countries....if those are caught then the authorities need to act accordingly....what about the 1000's who have been shafted by their employers and i am sure there has been more news paper articles to support this unfortunate occurence than there are articles debating the statiistics of beggers...Panorama UK did a documentary on it 2-3 years back...

Circumstances can be different...

I donate to charities who support such people here in the UAE and their biggest issues is there isnt enough to go around.....”

“I totally agree that gang leaders orchestrating such crimes should be punished accordingly....but my view is if giving a poor soul 20 dirhams prevents him from getting a severe beating for returing empty handed then i hope it is at least some level of comfort”

“Wow, this is a very nice discussion. First and foremost, the UAE authorities has the right to clean up streets for beggars roaming around. Don't you know that 'other' beggars also visit offices - men and women? Shocking isn't it? Beggars, whether honest or gang-related activities, must be removed from UAE streets as this pose great danger and disturbance to society. Let authorities clean up UAE streets, including littering and illegal car washers. A dedicated UAE agency can handle this matter for investigation, psychological help, or even repatriation to their home countries. UAE must soon resemble a Singapore-like environment, where littering is punishable by law. PEACE brothers!”