I wonder if anyone is counting the beggars in the streets of Jeddah. They seem to be increasing by the minute and nobody seems to mind having them around.
It has become a normal part of an outing to see young boys selling toys and water at traffic lights, running between cars, jeopardizing their safety and that of the people in the cars around them. Then you go to a supermarket, and there you have a whole lot of them, this time selling towels, and they keep running around each person going in or out of the supermarket, insistently pushing their goods in their faces. If you say no, they become more persistent. They follow you to your car, standing between you and the door, begging you and muttering all the blessings they want God to give you.
Their prayers change according to the person in front of them. If it is a young woman, they ask God to give her a husband and beautiful children, if it is a man they wish him wealth and success and a good wife and children. Once a boy at the entrance of a supermarket was following a woman and muttering prayers that God might grant her beautiful children. The woman turned with a smile on her face and said: “But I am not married, you know; shouldn’t you wish me a husband first?” The boy automatically started asking God to give her a husband. The woman looked at him in disbelief and got into her car. Playing on the heartstrings is part of it; they try their best to touch a tender spot so that you yield up the money.
Basically we are surrounded, everywhere we go: At restaurants, supermarkets, shopping centers and traffic lights. I guess they’ll have to find a home-to-home begging system to complete the circle.
Those beggars are not all on the same level. There are the young boys and girls who are made to roam the streets to beg, and are punished by their bosses if they fail to get the daily income expected from them.
We are dealing with gangs here: Think Oliver Twist. Then there are those who show their disfigured arms or legs to make you feel sorry for them and give generously.
Away from the street the begging takes another form. Suddenly you are bombarded with e-mails from people who are asking for your help, because they lost their money, or because they are ill.
From streets to computers, these people are all around you. One wonders if there is a police campaign to get rid of the beggars. If there is, it is not doing much.
It’s always the same faces around the shopping centers and streets in Jeddah, and people recognize them now. Bending to reality, they befriend them, chat with them or just walk past them as if they are part of life. If there is a crackdown on illegal residents, should not those people be removed? Why is it then that they move around without fear?
This is not always an official mistake; sometimes we create our own problems. People like to feel charitable and give money to whoever asks for it. Granted, giving money to the needy is an essential part of our religion, but it has become hard to tell who the needy are. Are they the ones roaming the streets? Or are they rather those who live in poverty and have no opportunity to ask people for help?
I think we should prioritize our charity, especially now the holy month of Ramadan is approaching, when people like to give generously. We should look deeper into who is getting our money, and if they deserve it or not.
— Arab News Opinion 30 September 2003
