Milano is a city filled with beggars. 

Europe has accepted many refugees of late. And Italy is still climbing back from The Crisis, so there are not jobs enough even for the citizens, much less refugees. This leads to people who are under-employed or unemployed, and downright hungry. 

But it is interesting to contrast the manner in which begging is done throughout the world.

In the US we have "panhandlers", which I think is a different animal than "beggars"... There's much more stealth involved in panhandling. In India beggars stand in the streets in major intersections, tapping on the windows of cars and rubbing their stomachs or showing you their wounds which need care. Your driver yells at them to go away or slips them 15 rupees, the light changes, and the transaction is over.

But begging in Italy in general, and Milano beggars in particular, are much more in-your-face. 

Your average run-of-the mill beggar stands outside of the Italian "bar" (where you get your morning coffee and brioche, or your lunchtime sandwich to go) holding a limp baseball cap out. Typically they speak to you, or at least try to make eye contact... Senora... per favore. 

Sometimes they walk up and down inside the cars of the metro with a paper cup. 

The most bizarre display I've seen has been the wizened old lady in garb straight from a 1940s movie about European peasants, complete with yiayia headscarf. She stands in the center of a wide sidewalk on Corso Buenos Aires (a long boulevard totally dedicated to shopping and eating), bowing from her waist with her arm in line with her spine, holding a paper cup for donations. For hours. Sometimes she kneels on the sidewalk, with her forehead to the filthy concrete. 

This condition is heartbreaking. On Sunday I saw a guy with his baseball cap standing outside of a grocery store. A college student was rushing by, pointedly looking in the other direction so as not to make eye contact with the guy, when she stumbled and dropped the coins she'd been holding in her hand. He was looking at those coins with such longing... as if he could eat the metal itself! 

So, I've implemented a daily tax on myself. I always carry 1 Euro in my pocket. When I encounter a person on the street who is asking for money, I give this 1 Euro. 1 Euro per day.  

I hope, in some small way, this will help someone who truly needs it.