Friday, February 14, 2003
Beach City Offers $13 Beggar Bounty
FROM Oddly Enough - Reuters
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's China Beach, which gained fame as the playground for U.S. servicemen during the Vietnam War, is offering $13 to anyone who turns in a beggar.
"This is our latest effort to clean up the cultural environment of the city," an official from the Danang People's Committee, or the local government, told Reuters on Friday.
He said the beggars would be sent back to their home towns or put in vocational centers. The drive was launched on Wednesday, he added.
China Beach is located in the city of Danang, which is 700 km (435 miles) south of Hanoi.
The beach city received nearly 660,000 visitors last year, up 16 percent from 2001.
The beggar bounty of 200,000 dong is a considerable sum of money for the residents. A third of Vietnam's 80 million people live in poverty, and the country's average annual per capita income is around $400.
What if the beggars took turns handing each other in? They could rotate and get $13 each time. This would have a lot of perks for the beggars. Beggar Joe hands in his buddy Beggar Larry. Joe gets $13 that he will split with Larry. Larry gets vocational training or an all expense trip back home to visit his family and friends. When Larry returns he can hand in Joe. Repeat cycle as neccessary.
FROM Oddly Enough - Reuters
HANOI (Reuters) - Vietnam's China Beach, which gained fame as the playground for U.S. servicemen during the Vietnam War, is offering $13 to anyone who turns in a beggar.
"This is our latest effort to clean up the cultural environment of the city," an official from the Danang People's Committee, or the local government, told Reuters on Friday.
He said the beggars would be sent back to their home towns or put in vocational centers. The drive was launched on Wednesday, he added.
China Beach is located in the city of Danang, which is 700 km (435 miles) south of Hanoi.
The beach city received nearly 660,000 visitors last year, up 16 percent from 2001.
The beggar bounty of 200,000 dong is a considerable sum of money for the residents. A third of Vietnam's 80 million people live in poverty, and the country's average annual per capita income is around $400.
What if the beggars took turns handing each other in? They could rotate and get $13 each time. This would have a lot of perks for the beggars. Beggar Joe hands in his buddy Beggar Larry. Joe gets $13 that he will split with Larry. Larry gets vocational training or an all expense trip back home to visit his family and friends. When Larry returns he can hand in Joe. Repeat cycle as neccessary.
