JEDDAH — Young African men can be seen all over Jeddah, busy washing cars to earn their living.

Although no statistics relating to this phenomenon are available, an investigation by Arab News indicates that the car-washing business is probably a faster growing source of employment than the legal business activities in this city — something certainly related to the fact that there are now more cars on the streets here than ever before.

This reporter decided to ask the young Africans about their lives, and their livelihoods.

They all agreed that job creation in this area has been immense over the past few years, and that no other economic sector could have created jobs as rapidly and with such low overheads.

Aged mostly between 18 and 30, all but one of those I approached were illegal overstayers.

Their personal stories are as numerous and as varied as the cars they wash every hour. Some of them are aiming to go into higher education with the money they save. Others are planning to marry. Still others work to support their families at home, while many more pool their income so that they can collectively invest in agricultural projects back in their home countries.

Yakob Atiku, a Nigerian, said that washing cars can create jobs and generate income on a massive scale. He himself makes between SR70 and SR120 a day. He travels to wherever the work by bicycle.

“What I make each month is more than the salaries of many Asians who work legally in the Kingdom. I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, and have so far managed to save SR18,000. My dream is to travel to Britain in order to pursue my higher education. I am happy with my job — I think of it as a romantic rags-to-riches story,” said Atiku.

Idriss Youssouf, a Chadian, explained that he longs for only one thing: to marry his fiancé.

“I fell inlove with a fellow Chadian maid. She lives with her mother, who sells sweets in south Jeddah. I have saved SR5,000 during the last three months. When I’m washing cars, I think with every swipe of my rag of the day I’ll finally get married,” he reflected.

African car washers usually live together in groups of about 10. They rent a single apartment in a low-income neighborhood and set up a timetable so that one of them cooks for everyone else at least one day each week. However, they do their own laundry — and, contrary to what you might think, are as fussy as you and I about their personal hygiene.

When working, one of them acts as a lookout, to warn the others whenever there is a police raid. However, they all say that the benefits of working illegally outweigh the risks of getting caught.

“There is a strong and constant demand for our service,” said Aliu from Ghana. “I would advise my fellow Africans who do not have a job to come and join us. I want to invest in one of the new agricultural projects in Ghana. Since I came here, I have transferred out of the country SR9,000 and expect to make much more than that.”

Despite repeated police crackdowns, there are illegal operations throughout the Kingdom that specialize in transferring money for those who do not have legal residence permits.

Ahmadey Eno, a Somali, said washing cars is better for young people than what they would likely end up doing if they had no job at all — namely, committing crimes or begging. “I have no money at the moment. I transfer everything I make each month to my family in Somalia. They were displaced from their farm land during the civil war in 1991,” he said.