Begging is un-Finnish

A working group commissioned by the Finnish Interior Ministry recommended on Monday that begging should be banned in public places. The proposal follows months of debate over the growing number of begging Roma who have come to Finland from Eastern Europe. The daily Savon Sanomat is all for a ban: "The European Union guarantees all of its citizens the freedom of movement throughout its territory. For that reason the beggars from Romania also have a legitimate basis for persistently coming northward. The Finns also make extensive use of this right. But they don't go around begging the way these uninvited guests do. ... Begging has been uncommon in Finland for decades now, and that's what makes the sight of it so repugnant to us. ... Too much sympathy and generosity can have unexpected consequences that are entirely opposed to what the defenders of the right to freedom of movement actually want. The current election victory of the Sweden (anti-immigration) Democrats gives Finland a taste of how the wind can blow when there's too much freedom."

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