FINN DRIVES OFF ROMA MUSICIAN PANHANDLERS FROM CORNER OF HELSINKI RAILWAY STATION WITH ‘FINNISH ALTERNATIVE’ SIGN

 

Eh, I think that they chose to leave in order to avert a major PR problem if they ganged up on the man.

finnish beggar drives off roma beggars at Helsinki railway station 13.9.2013

Strange beggar episode in the center of Helsinki: “Domestic option” threw musicians

IltaSanomat: HELSINKI, FINLAND on Friday afternoon, at 3:00 pm, a special beggars turf battle took place at the corner of the Helsinki Railway station. The opponents were one Finnish man and ten from eastern Europe.

Roma from Eastern Europe frequently come to play music near a taxi stand at the train station.

On Friday, their place was taken by a young Finnish man, who was accompanied by a large dog. He sat on the ground, and the cup was outstretched.

The man was carrying a cardboard sign that read ‘The domestic option’. He declared at the same time his own social message about task force effectiveness.

The Roma musicians wondered about the man behind the issue. In the end there were a dozen in the consultation. The accordions, however, remained under their arms.

The Roma marveled and laughed a little over the Finnish man’s taking over the block. After some consultation, they chose to leave the place. There was no fight over the turf.

The Finnish man was left begging in the sunny autumn weather.

3 Replies to “FINN DRIVES OFF ROMA MUSICIAN PANHANDLERS FROM CORNER OF HELSINKI RAILWAY STATION WITH ‘FINNISH ALTERNATIVE’ SIGN”

  1. Im with the Roma on this one. I would prefer a group of excellent Gypsy muscicians over some stuff begging with a cup and I don’t give a damn where he is from. So long as the Roma aren’t stealing or committing other crimes, having great street music actually IS cultural enrichment whereas sitting around begging for money is not.

    The one thing Gypsies really do have going for them is a culture rich in the performing arts. People should be grateful when its free or on a pay-as-you-like basis.

  2. I might add that one of the things that made America great when indeed it was, is the notion that people who were good at things went there to do those things they were good at. As a consequence, gifted people from all over the world enriched America with talents and skills that created invention and industries that made it the most significant geopolitical entity in the history of the world.

    Being anti-Islam and for that matter, anti-irrational immigration, as I most certainly am, does not mean being anti-everyone or every culture. Where people can contribute, then we should be out begging for them to come live here.

  3. Personally, having walked past the same troupe many times in the past, i would rather not have my ears assaulted in that way. The Finn was making a point, we don’t need panhandling in the streets, it’s definitely un-Finnish-like.