The city of Basel, Switzerland has had enough with beggars within its vicinity and in an attempt to ‘cleanse’ the streets of them, its immigration service is taking up quite an unconventional method. As reported by Le News, Basel’s immigration service is now offering these beggars travel vouchers to any destination in Europe in exchange for agreeing to never return back to the city.
Specifically, they are offering rail vouchers as well as RM90 cash for any beggar who agrees to the arrangement. In order to get the voucher, beggars must sign a written contract with the government of Switzerland promising to never return to the country for a certain period of time.
For illustrative purposes.
Furthermore, should they be caught returning, they will be deported immediately. As of 29 April 2021, a total of 31 people have taken up the offer who have chosen these destinations, which are actually where these people originated from:
- 14 to Romania.
- 7 to Belgium.
- 7 to Germany.
- 2 to Italy.
- 1 to France.
For those that chose to go back to Romania, the city sponsored flights back to Bucarest which costs RM270 each.
For illustrative purposes.
This latest scheme is part of the general outlook the country of Switzerland has against beggars. In 2014, a woman was fined RM2250 for begging on the street and ultimately detained for 5 days for failure to pay the fine. Meanwhile 2 years later in 2016, a region in Switzerland enacted a law banning begging across its jurisdiction.
What do you guys think of this initiative by Basel? Should something similar be enacted in Malaysia? Share your thoughts with us in the comments!
Also read: Nine Beggars In Lahad Datu Detained For Breaching SOPs & Could Face Fines Up To RM10,000
