Norway to enforce `anti-begging law`

Norway, one of the most affluent countries in Europe, is drawing up a bill that would imprison a person who gives money to a beggar. The British newspaper Daily Mail reported on Wednesday that the government of Norway submitted a bill that would punish not just beggars but also people who offer them money, food or accommodation. The newspaper added that the bill appears to be passed on February 15.

The bill, dubbed as “anti-begging law,” has actually been enforced by some of the local governments since the end of 2014. When passed, the act of begging will be prohibited on a national scale.

Norway is the 6th richest country in the world (sourced by World Bank in 2013) with its per-capita-GDP at 65,000 U.S. dollars. The country is also highly recognized with its renowned model of social welfare system in the world.

The reason that such an affluent country is about to prevent the act of begging is because the nation is suffering a social headache as more and more foreign beggars have come into the country. The anti-begging law had actually been enforced in the past but was repealed in 2005. Since then, complaints about a growing number of beggars have continuously made.

Under the circumstances, the center-right government who seized the power in September 2013 introduced a strengthened law that sentences a person who helps beggars for a minimum of one year. In Norway, the maximum legal sentence is just 21 years. Given that Anders Behring Breivik who shot 77 people to death in 2011 was sentenced 21 years of imprisonment, anti-begging law is said to be too stringent.

The government of Norway argues that an average number of 500-1,000 homeless people from other countries are collecting money in the street and they are becoming a potential source of organizational crime. Most of beggars in Norway are gypsies who are travelling here and there with an itinerant lifestyle.

Some people, however, voice out their strong opposition to the law. They contend that when we look closer the life of beggars, they are not organized and have no other way but begging to feed their family. Another important reason, they insist, is that the law would tarnish the national image of Norway and goes against the spirit of European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights.

The anti-begging law is the most controversial issue that sharply polarizes liberals and conservatives in Norway. One public survey shows that 60 percent of Norwegian people are in favor of the law.