Moroccan Charity’s Anti-Child Begging Campaign Sparks Online Backlash

"We are convinced that the only way to stop the exploitation of children for begging purposes and give them a chance to go to school depends on civil society... so on all of us. Please no longer give money to begging children, nor to adults who exhibit children to move you and encourage you to give," the Jood association says on its Facebook page.

Internet users did not appreciate this action by the association and did not fail to let it know. "Clumsiness!!!" tweeted one of them. "Hey @JOOD_ONG, your begging poster is shocking and above all poorly done," publishes another. "The message is clumsy yes, but we must not denigrate the excellent work of the Jood association which helps the homeless on a daily basis," relativizes a third.

For its part, the association fully assumes the "shocking" nature of the campaign. "The only way to make people aware of this reality is to shock them. Without that, this campaign would not have had such an impact," Hind Laïdi, president and founder of the Jood association, told Médias24, adding that the situation has been alarming for a long time. "Some children are rented for 150 dirhams a day. With that, the parents are guaranteed a revenue of at least 4,500 dirhams per month, and the fact of begging themselves with their children brings them a minimum of 350 dirhams per day. We can quickly reach 12,000 dirhams per month... Those who judge this campaign clumsy have probably not taken the time to click on the link to read the figures communicated by the various Moroccan and international institutions and organizations," she explains.

Hind Laïdi also mentions the issue of professional reintegration of parents and school reintegration of children. "When we offer a job to the parents or a place at school for their children, they refuse. It’s systematic: those who beg only want money," she argues, inviting citizens to change their behavior. "If they stop giving, these children will no longer go out to beg," she assured.