What is begging money

                   What is begging money?

Begging in Brussels makes more money than working in Bulgaria

Brussels café near Grand Place. The afternoon sun brought the Belgians out and the aroma of the coffee, chocolate, and freshly baked waffles wafted from all sides.

Suddenly, around the tables, a nimble young man jumps up and walks around, disheveled, with his pants torn, and reaches out to the people. The beggar is quite impudent and persistent. Our table is approaching, but he is surprised that we don't even look at it. In Bulgarian we are not easily impressed, we are tired and we do not even want to remove it. And he decides that he will not leave us alone and starts speaking to us in different languages ​​- French, English, Spanish, German. Nut, no reaction. Suddenly I tell him - if you speak Bulgarian, I'll give you two cigarettes.

And - oh, miracles! The man speaks in crystal Bulgarian. "Well, say that you are Bulgarians, so we can understand each other. Don't give me anything, just a good word to say to each other ", the man mutters and suddenly in our honor he takes a hat with the colors of the Bulgarian tricolor out of his pocket and puts it on, grinning idiotically.

" My name is Mladen Zhelyazkov, I am 35 years old, from Vidin. Don't think I've always been a beggar. No, but it was necessary. Life put me in order. Two years ago, I and four other Bulgarians started working for a Bulgarian in Brussels. There was a construction company, we worked and it paid us well. But for a while. He suddenly said that he was in trouble and if we wanted a job, we had to help him. He wanted to take out a loan and we wanted to be his guarantors. He made us partners, gave us 5% of the company's property. Take out a loan, we signed. And then there was no smoke, it disappeared. So we hung with debts and no money. He deceived us in one word, "Mladen said. To top it all off, his documents were stolen and he found himself on the street.

I found myself on the street, sleeping at the train station in the evening, and during the day I walk around and beg, ”says Mladen from Vidin.

I ask him if he has a profession, what he studied in Bulgaria, and he answers: I graduated in the restaurant business, I can be a cook and a waiter. But it's not worth it, they give a little money. I earn 20 euros a day from begging here on bad days, and up to 50 euros on good days. The money is good because I don't give for food. Here in Brussels, there are a lot of shelters where I eat, and so the money stays for me, for other needs. Young people are more compassionate and generous, they give me money more often, and most of all I try to stay away from Romanians. They beat and rob reveals some of the secrets of our craft Mladen. He does not hide that he liked begging and easy money and has been making a living like this for a whole year. And his sister is in Brussels, she works, has a house and he visits her from time to time. He left Vidin 15 years ago. Everyone went abroad and he ran away. He traveled to many countries - Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, before coming to Belgium. He always worked in construction, he says that he liked Switzerland the most, he was paid good money, but he couldn't handle the documents and was fired.

We say that if he wants, he can return to Bulgaria, he has a job for chefs and they pay good money, and he laughs out loud - are you crazy, so I make more money a day from begging than a normal job in Bulgaria. I will not return on my stomach. Here is the heart of Europe, a white country, we only have nerves, they hire you, you work, and then they don't pay you and shout - you will wait. Yes, but the bills are not waiting. And who protects you? Nobody. That is why there is no going back.

I give him the promised two cigarettes and he leaves shouting - to send greetings to Vidin.

And he sank into a group of protesting environmentalists on the street. Disclosed that I am a Bulgarian, and a journalist, I was stopped for a conversation by two ladies aged 60. They just want us to talk in Bulgarian because they are happy to hear our speech, but they refuse to take pictures of them. They would know them in our country, but they didn't want to. One Bulgarian woman says she came to Brussels 16 years ago.

" I worked in a factory, I was laid off, everything collapsed, in those years who would hire me. So I went here with a friend. I started working in Brussels, in a chicken factory. But I got sick, I have a problem with my legs. Now I am waiting for a document for a disabled person from Belgium to come out and give me some help. The daughter also came, she works illegally in the Royal Palace as an assistant gardener for a Turk who is on staff. He pays her a salary and that's how we manage. We bring them to 1000 euros, says our lady. And he brags that he knows all the cheap shops and promotions in Brussels.

The other was a shopkeeper in our country, but she was tired of receiving yellow pennies - the minimum wage. And so she set out for Brussels. Here she works on-call as a cleaner in pubs, homes, where she is called. It's getting better somehow.

" We do not intend to return to Bulgaria, we will stay here until we receive pensions. This is our goal because if we retire at home, we will take 200 leva and with them where - we die. And here we have the chance to receive decent pensions, at least 800 euros. Eh, with such money we will be rich, our women laugh. And they say goodbye to us - you write that we are ousted, our generation no one will we left because we had no choice. I hope at least the grandchildren are lucky to live in a more settled and normal Bulgaria. " And their tears ran down their wrinkled faces. And they left, staggering, for the stronger one supported the other with the diseased legs. A moment later, the big city swallowed them.

And before our eyes passed another pair of military patrols, armed to the teeth, in Brussels and startled us, landed us and reminded us that Europe is no longer what we knew it to be. The fear of survival, of the future, the fear of terrorism, the fear of the different has already taken root. But even this does not frighten our people, scattered around the world in search of luck and livelihood.

Ѕwоdоn, Frкnсо кnd Еuѕtrік кrо thо саuntrіоѕ wіth thо hіghоѕt numbоr аf Rаmк bоggіng аn thо ѕtrооtѕ, к 168-hаur іnѕросtіаn fаund. Ессаrdіng tа thо Nкtіаnкl Таmmіѕѕіаn fаr Таmbкtіng Хrкffісkіng іn Вumкn Ноіngѕ, thо скріtкlѕ аf Vіоnnк, Ѕtасkhаlm кnd Скrіѕ, кѕ wоll кѕ thо ѕmкllоr сіtіоѕ nокr thоm кrо thо mаѕt fкvаrкblо fаr thо dоvоlарmоnt аf аrgкnіzоd Нulgкrікn bоggіng. Іt іѕ frаm thоѕо рlксоѕ thкt thо рrоdаmіnкnt ѕіgnкlѕ tа thо саmmіѕѕіаn кrо ѕоnt bу роарlо whа hкvо bосаmо thоіr vісtіmѕ.