Beggars with disabilities in Asia and citizens' views about the disabled

Beggars with disabilities in Asia and citizens' views about the disabled

A fieldwork was carried out in Asian countries about the current situation of beggars with disabilities and citizens’ views about the disabled. The research found that there were disabled beggars in all the researched countries and areas except Hong Kong and Brunei. Most of the beggars have physical disabilities such as amputations, malformations and blindness. The other disabilities were Hydrocephalus, burns, Down syndrome etc. In any of those countries, the younger and the more severe the disability the more income the beggars received. In general, most of beggars began their begging after they became disabled. There were no disabled beggars in the countries with good social security. In the developing countries the disable people turned to be beggars in order to survive. However, begging for money provides better income to those who have severe disabilities than working hard.