Today I was accosted by someone begging for money. I know… big deal, right? It’s not an unusual occurrence anywhere in the world, especially here in the Philippines.

Begging is actually big business in Manila. Often small children are forced to work the streets by a ‘begging syndicate,’ and adults keep a watchful eye from a distance before confiscating the kids’ proceeds. This is one of the lowest acts of humanity I can think of.

The person who approached me today, however, was not a child. He was a perfectly able-bodied, 17 or 18 year-old youth. He chased after me shouting, “My friend! My friend! You give me coins!” If you notice the language, he wasn’t exactly asking… more demanding.

This is a mentality that I will never understand.