令人震驚：西方揹包客一路乞討旅行

“揹包客”這個詞現在已經不新鮮了，而近來來自歐美的一些揹包客卻引發爭議，因爲他們本身並不差錢，卻在東南亞一些國家街頭乞討，只爲了資助自己的旅行。這種做法遭到了當地很多人的譴責，批評他們拿走了好心人原本應捐助給真正有需要的人的善款。

Poverty, sickness and pure survival - just a few reasons why genuinely needy people beg on the streets for money.
貧窮，疾病或僅僅是爲了求生——真正生活艱難的人來到大街上乞討錢幣的原因不過就這麼幾個。

But as these images show, the poor in southeast Asia are increasingly being joined by wealthy Western backpackers who are begging simply to fund their trips.
但正如這些照片所展示的那樣，越來越多來自西方的有錢揹包客加入了東南亞窮人乞討的行列。這些西方人之所以乞討，僅僅是爲了賺錢旅行。

The trend has caused outrage among locals, who say the tourists are taking money from the truly needy in order to finance lifestyle choices many consider a luxury.
這種趨勢引起了當地人的不滿。他們認爲，這些遊客拿走了那些真正生活艱難的人的錢，並且把這些錢花在了被很多人認爲是奢侈的生活方式上。

Travellers also appear to be openly flouting strict laws on street begging in many of the countries they visit. For example, in Singapore, only visitors with a work visa are allowed to busk.
在很多國家，許多旅行者似乎公然藐視該國關於街頭乞討的嚴格法律。比如，在新加坡，只允許有工作簽證的外國人進行街頭賣藝。

Maisarah Abu Samah, who is from Singapore, posted two images of people begging on Twitter - one couple selling postcards and another playing music.
來自新加坡的麥莎拉•阿布•沙瑪在推特上發佈了兩張“乞丐”的圖片——他們是一對情侶，其中一個人在賣明信片，另一個人在演奏音樂。

Expressing her fury, she wrote: 'It was the first time I've seen something like that and it stopped me in my tracks.
爲了表達她的憤怒，她這樣寫道：“我第一次見到這樣的事，驚訝得把車都停了下來。”

'First of all, you don't see many people selling knick-knacks or playing music in the street in Singapore because there are strict rules governing these activities.
“首先，大街上有人賣飾品或演奏音樂在新加坡並不常見，因爲政府對此有嚴格規定。”

'And, if you do happen to see street vendors or street performers, they are usually in the town centre and not near a bus stop in a relatively middle class neighbourbood like this. I've also never seen white people doing that.
“而且，如果你碰巧看到了街上小販或街頭藝人，一般也只會在市中心見到。他們絕不會來這種相對富裕的社區裏面的車站附近。還有，我從沒見過白人做這些事。”

'We find it extremely strange to ask other people for money to help you travel. Selling things in the street or begging isn't considered respectable.
“我們會覺得向其他人要錢去旅遊是一件極其奇怪的事。在街上販賣東西或是乞討並不令人尊敬。”

'People who do so are really in need: they beg in order to buy food, pay their children's school fees or pay off debts.
“這樣做的人都是被逼無奈：他們用乞討得來的錢買食物，付孩子的學費或還債。”

'But not in order to do something seen as a luxury.'
“而不是來做什麼看上去很奢侈的事。”

Part of the outrage comes from a perceived unfairness between locals and tourists.
一些人之所以憤怒，部分是因爲感覺到當地人與遊客間的不平等。

Louisa, a Malaysian woman who studied political economics, told France 24 that tourists are often feel they can behave however they want while travelling in an 'exotic' place.
路易莎是一位學習政治經濟學的馬來西亞女士。她告訴法國24小時電視臺說，遊客身處異國他鄉時，總是認爲他們可以隨心所欲。

She said: 'I want to ask these tourists: what makes you think that this kind of behaviour is normal in Asia? Why don't you do the same thing at home?'
她說：“我想問一問這些遊客，你們到底憑什麼認爲這種行爲在亞洲是正常的？你們在自己的國家怎麼不這樣做？”

The same trend has also taken hold online, where people use crowdfunding or charitable giving websites to ask for donations for them to go on voyages.
這種趨勢也蔓延到了網上。人們利用衆籌網站或慈善網站謀求捐款來支付自己的旅行費用。

There is even a dedicated website, fundmytravel, which allows people to appeal for donations to 'fund meaningful travel experiences.'
有人甚至還成立了一個專門的網站，名叫“資助我的旅行”，幫助人們籌集捐款來“資助有意義的旅行”。

While many projects on the site seem to be linked to worthy causes - such as humanitarian work in impoverished countries - others seem to be less deserving.
儘管該網站上的很多資助項目看起來非常有意義有價值，比如在貧困國家進行人道主義幫助，但還有很多項目似乎沒什麼值得稱道的。

One recent appeal, entitled 'David and Bash extreme budget backpackers take on SE Asia!', seeks funding for David and partner Sebastian to enjoy 'outrageous adventure, eating bugs, cliff diving, scuba and jungle trekking.'
最近有一個富有吸引力的項目，標題爲“十分拮据的揹包客大衛和巴什來東南亞旅行了！尋求資金支持二人享受非凡的冒險，試吃昆蟲，嘗試懸崖跳水、水肺潛水、和叢林探險。”

Created two days ago, the pair are asking for $2,850 - $1,000 for airfare, $850 for accommodation, and another $1,000 to spend. So far they have received $20.
這個項目創建於兩天前。他們二人希望獲得1000美元（約合6886元人民幣）至2850美元的機票費，850美元的住宿費，還有1000美元的其他開銷。目前爲止，他們已經拿到了20美元的資助。