JEDDAH, 30 October 2004 — Hamad Al-Thaqeb, director of the department for combating beggary in Riyadh, has urged the public not to pay money to beggars in order to end the negative phenomenon.
“The best way to end beggary is to stop paying money to beggars,” Al-Jazirah Arabic daily quoted Thaqeb as saying. “By helping beggars and giving them money, we are inviting them to practice beggary in public places,” he added.
He said expatriates accounted for 60 percent of some 5,100 beggars arrested in Riyadh last year. “These beggars including children, handicapped persons and the elderly were smuggled into the Kingdom by certain gangs,” he said, adding that some of them were wearing Saudi dress.
He said the society can play a big role in wiping out beggary. “It is not possible for anti-beggary squad to be at every mosque or traffic point, especially in a densely populated city like Riyadh,” he pointed out. He said the department’s capabilities could not match the enormity of the problem. He emphasized the need to further enhance public awareness on the dangers posed by beggars.
