Dallanoce told her story to RTL’s Céline Spithoven, who has been writing a series of articles on begging in the capital.
One summer evening in 2019, Dallanoce was enjoying a meal on a terrace on the Place d’Armes, when she noticed a group of young people gathered around two pitbulls. Suddenly, she heard a series of yelps and saw two of the youngsters attacking one of the dogs, kicking it and hitting it with the leash. Without thinking, Myriam leapt up to intervene.
The youths stopped immediately as all eyes were on them; however, they then began to verbally abuse Myriam and threatened to come after her.
She returned to her table but struggled to regain her composure, as the youngsters positioned themselves around her at a distance and continued to watch her. At a loss for what to do next, Myriam suddenly noticed a couple of beggars at the nearby newsagents. Recognising them from previous encounters, as she would often offer them fruit, Myriam approached the men and explained the situation. She told them she was frightened about walking back to her car parked near the Hotel Royal without attracting the attention of the group of youngsters.
The beggars reacted quickly. One of them told the others to put down their beers, and all seven agreed they would accompany Myriam back to her car. Once she had safely arrived at her vehicle, she offered the group a 50 euro note - however, the group, who were all homeless and regularly begged outside of supermarkets, all declined. “Madam, it was a pleasure, but we don’t work in the evenings.”
Four years on, Myriam still looks back on this moment, she told RTL. But although she has had many good experiences with Luxembourg’s homeless population, there are some situations she considers serious. She said she has often observed organised begging in the capital, as well as fights, and she sometimes feels harassed by women who approach her and will not let up. The problem should be dealt with at the root and not relocated to other districts.
Other passersby in the city centre and at the capital’s train station agreed with Myriam’s assessment, while others felt so harassed by the issue, that they support the Luxembourg City municipal council’s plans to ban begging.
Report in Luxembourgish below:
RTL Today: Street vendors in Luxembourg City report increase in aggressive begging behaviour
