JEDDAH, 26 September 2003 — On any given afternoon, at a small shopping plaza just behind Soliman Fakeeh Hospital, stand a number of men who have been the subject of much interest in the Arabic press.

In a scene reminiscent of a Hollywood movie, these men gather on street corners and parking lots, watching for the police, much like drug dealers, as they sell their illegal products to anyone interested.

For SR50, 80, 100 or 160, these men sell decoder cards for most satellite television systems, which unlock a variety of international channels otherwise unavailable with a regular Showtime or Orbit subscription.

For the purpose of this article, Arab News purchased one of these cards yesterday for SR80.

On entering the parking lot, Arab News was approached by six vendors, one of them opening the passenger side door and climbing in uninvited. “What do you need?” he asked.

When asked what was available, the vendor, of Eritrean descent, explained: “There are different kinds of cards. The more expensive the card, the more channels it unlocks. The SR80 card opens all the Arabic educational, movie and news channels, as well as many European channels normally unavailable in Saudi Arabia. There are also pornographic channels that come on after midnight.”

Once installed and programmed into the decoder, the card decoded over 100 channels that were previously unavailable. The majority of the decoded channels were Arabic educational channels, but there were also movie and news channels. There were no pornographic channels, despite the assurances of the vendor that they were included, on the particular card Arab News bought.

However, Arab News has confirmed that there are cards which allow the viewing of pornography.

Another card vendor told Arab News: “It’s a profitable business and I have many customers. Ninety percent of my customers are young men between 17 and 28 years of age. I am not doing anything wrong: They come to me for services. If they do not like it they should not come here, or their family should not give them satellite dishes. The authorities come here from time to time, but we receive early warning from our lookouts before they arrive.”

While Arab News was investigating this story, a policeman arrived in his car and entered one of the legal and licensed satellite stores, walking past the card dealers gathered in the parking lot without challenging their activity.

The availability of the pornographic channels in particular has caused an uproar in the Arabic press.

Abdulwahab Ali, a father, said: “This is a big problem that is starting to affect our young people. Nearly all families own satellite dishes. What most families do not realize is that if you have European channels, these cards can open some pornographic channels. It has very negative impact on our children, especially since many parents are not monitoring them”.

Saleh Muneer, another concerned parent, told Arab News: “Unfortunately, the police are not cracking down on people in this business. We have to put an end to this. It goes against our religion and customs.”

Arab News met with a young man who had just recharged his card from one of the vendors.

The customer, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “I came here to recharge my card, for the sixth time. It is easy, all I have to do is to meet someone who will do it for me in a place we both know. It only takes 10 to 20 minutes for my card to be recharged. As for police or the municipality, I hardly ever hear about them coming here.”

Another man, Mohammed Mazen, a travel agent, told Arab News: “I buy these cards because they are cheaper than the normal service you get through the legal channels, and there is a greater variety of normally unavailable channels. As far as the porn is concerned, I have deprogrammed those channels from my receiver, and my children would have to enter a secret code, which they don’t know, to unlock the filth.”