Romanian beggars now spread across the country

Carloads coming into Turku from Sweden and heading inland

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The Romanian beggars who have caused consternation in Helsinki and Turku have now spread out into other parts of Finland. Panhandlers are now a common enough sight in many cities.
      According to Superintendent Teuvo Saikkonen of the Helsinki Police Department, the outward spread was only to be expected.
      “Helsinki has had a small coterie of beggars since last fall, and the situation has not changed. We have information that new beggars have made landfall elsewhere in the country. There is no livelihood to be had from begging in Helsinki if there are people on every street corner with their hand out”, says Saikkonen.
      He argues that the best way to support the Romanians is to help them in their own country, rather than to give alms here.
     
In Turku on the west coast, the police warned people about the Romanian beggars through the media, and advised against inviting them into one’s home.
      Apparently Roma groups arrived by the carload from Romania in mid-April, taking the ferries over from Sweden.
      Most of them have since moved on to other towns and cities inland, since few have been seen out and about in Turku, comments Det. Supt. Harri Savolainen from the local police.
      There were around a hundred reports to police in Loimaa about panhandlers, and some itinerant beggars had apparently attempted to stop cars on a stretch of motorway between Turku and Tampere. Small children were said to be accompanying the adults.
     
A working party set up by the Ministry of the Interior at the beginning of April is currently examining the need for unified measures by officials to do something about the matter. At the same time, the working party is looking into possible amendments to legislation.
      Begging as such is not against the law in Finland, and according to the principles of free movement enshrined in the European Union regulations, any citizen of a member-state of the EU can come to Finland.
     
Sweden and Norway have also experienced an influx of beggars. These, too, have mainly been EU citizens, predominantly from Romania.
      In Assisi in Italy, the city authorities have banned all begging within 500 metres of churches and public buildings, and French authorities have taken the drastic step of putting Romanian beggars on a plane to Timisoara with their flights paid for and EUR 300 in their pockets, on condition they do not return to France.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  OSCE´s Andrezej Mirga: Education of Roma key to everything (7.3.2008)
  Helsinki to launch campaign to discourage giving money to beggars (19.3.2008)
  Police clear out Romanian beggars´ camp in Helsinki (20.2.2008)
  Nordic Countries seek solution to itinerant beggar problem (7.4.2008)
  Helsinki sends beggar mothers back to Romania on child welfare grounds (11.2.2008)
  Police: Criminalising panhandling no solution to growing number of beggars (4.4.2008)
  Majority of residents in Helsinki region want to ban begging (7.1.2008)
  Beggars on their knees cause consternation on Helsinki streets (23.10.2007)

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