TOURISTS on London’s Edgeware Road, particularly people from Gulf countries, are prime victims of pickpockets, robbers and traffickers in immorality who are lurking on the shady street corners. Tourists complain that there is no security on the road even in broad daylight. Criminals are drawn to the area by the large crowds of unsuspecting but ostentatious rich Arab tourists who have come because of the neighborhood’s Arab atmosphere. The criminals evidently believe that the Gulf tourists’ pockets are bulging with dollars and sterling and that their wives and daughters stagger along under the weight of vast quantities of gold and precious stones. Thieves on the lookout for Arab tourists who flood the area in the summer, make the tourists’ lives very hard even though most of the buildings, restaurants and shops in the area are Arab-owned. The local businessmen fear that Arab tourists will gradually move away to safer neighborhoods such as Queensway and Mayfair.
Local police admit that the numbers of burglaries and thefts are very high in the area compared to other parts of London. In a bid to halt the rising crime rate in the neighborhood, Scotland Yard officials met with local residents and urged their cooperation.
Basheer Saeed, a Saudi, said the place has no security. “Last year while walking down the street I was surprised by a youth who suddenly came very close to me and snatched my mobile before I could do anything.”
London’s Assistant Deputy Police Commissioner, Tariq Ghafour, appealed to the Arabs in London to join the police force to guarantee their security. He affirmed “the British government’s readiness to provide the required training and skill.” He said that only Arabs could protect the Edgeware Road because they alone were familiar with the criminal hideouts there.
The Edgeware Road Society was founded by the area’s real estate owners to rehabilitate its reputation. The society’s bid to do so has been a total failure, according to Rabie Al-Hamid, a member of the society and the owner of Beirut Cafe. He added that the area’s reputation has affected business activities. Customers like to sit on benches and at tables outside but as soon as a handbag or a mobile phone is on the table, a thief materializes, snatches it and runs off.
Saeed Muhammad, a Lebanese, agreed with Hamid. When he complained to the police about the repeated occurrence of criminal acts, they answered, “What can we do? Send a police escort to accompany every person in the road?”
However, in the summer the police do make greater efforts to maintain law and order in the area.
The owner of a shop in the area, Muhammad Al-Sherbini, attributed the problems to the countless quarrels between people of different Arab nationalities and diverse groups. He regards thefts as a lesser evil than the armed clashes between different groups. He added that thefts are committed mainly by gangs of Kurds, East Europeans, Africans or Jamaicans.
Abu Nidal Sameer Rabeea, a Syrian, said he liked to take his family to Edgeware Road because of the number of Arab restaurants and the Arab atmosphere. He said it reminded them of home but they were frightened by frequent street fights. “I don’t want any member of my family to come alone to this place.”
Gulf Arabs are the main targets of thieves and other criminals. Though these rich Arabs always complain of poor security, some of them also admitted their mistakes and the carelessness that invites the attention of thieves.
Muhammad Al-Sharhan from the United Arab Emirates said some women from Saudi Arabia and the Gulf wearing expensive jewelry and carry handbags full of cash are too great a temptation for thieves.
Nasser Al-Farj, a Kuwaiti, said he did not like to bring his wife and daughters to the area because it was full of offensive pictures of prostitutes. He did not want his family to see such degrading things. Another Arab wanted to know why Edgeware Road, which Arabs visit in large numbers and often accompanied by their families, has become a center of immoral activities.
The founders of the Edgeware Road Society plan to make radical changes to the present situation that may endanger their investments. They plan to cooperate with the police and make security officials familiar with the Arab culture and lifestyle. The members also feel that better relations between the local residents and the police would help.