Luxembourg: “The problem of organized begging is growing”
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Luxemburg “The problem of organized begging is growing”
LUXEMBOURG – The mayor of the capital Lydie Polfer ranted against organized begging and asked the police to intervene.
“One of them threw a whole box of popcorn at me,” sighs the DP deputy mayor of the capital, Lydie Polfer. The elected official deplores a phenomenon of “organized begging which has grown and which results in taking it if we do not stop it”. The number of beggars present in the city, if it is difficult to quantify, seems indeed more and more important, in particular around Hamilius or in the sector of the station.
“There are various issues”, nuances the mayor. “There are homeless people, drug addicts and these organized people”. While different aid structures exist for the first two categories, the third is more difficult to achieve. “These people are the victims of trafficking, but it is very difficult to help them. They refuse any help, do not want contact with street workers”. “The problem has grown unacceptably,” fumed the mayor.
“They target people of a certain age”
She claims to have met the Minister of Homeland Security on Monday to ask him to act. “We, as a municipality, cannot do anything. It is up to the police to find out, and up to the courts to sanction,” says Lydie Polfer. She asked the police “to apply the new law passed recently” which allows the police to dislodge the remaining people in the building entrances. “They dislodge them every morning, but it’s a sanitation problem, too. They would have to dislodge them in the evening”.
The mayor also notes that the members of these begging networks are sometimes aggressive. “They target people of a certain age, and when they refuse, they harass them, pursue them,” laments the elected official.
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(jw)