JEDDAH, 22 November 2004 — Most people who ventured out during Ramadan noticed an increase in the number of beggars on the streets. For some reason, it seemed that beggary had become an industry with virtually triple the usual number. Beggars were suddenly outside every mall, every supermarket, at most major intersections and outside many mosques — at all hours of the day and night. As a result, both beggars and non-beggars complained.
As one beggar, a mother with a baby who is apparently a permanent fixture outside Danube Supermarket on Tahlia, said: “It is harder to make money. All these new people are taking what we would normally get.” An Arab News investigation, however, revealed that there was still plenty of money to go around.
Arab News took to the streets of Jeddah for the last three days of Ramadan to see exactly what kind of beggar gets the most sympathy and probably the most money. After three days of disguises, we found that the more miserable a beggar looks, the more money he or she receives. Seated in a wheelchair, wearing a short ragged thobe and traditional ghutra, one of us sat at three different supermarkets for two days and managed to bring in an average of SR1.3 riyals per minute. If begging were to be treated as a full-time job, eight hours a day, six days a week for a month, the result would be SR14,976 which is more than many people’s monthly income. (All money received as we were writing this story was donated to charity.)
According to an official of the anti-beggary squad of the Jeddah Police, many professional beggars come to Saudi Arabia on Umrah visa. “These people know what they are doing. They spend one day performing Umrah and 14 days begging. They know what kind of begging elicits the most sympathy and they sometimes make more than SR1,000 in a day. They are well practiced and make enough money begging to cover the cost of their trip and then some,” said an official at the squad’s office.
The noticeable increase in the number of beggars has left many residents suspicious. A Saudi businessman told Arab News: “Things are not always as they appear. Chances are that of the thousands of beggars on the streets, dozens of them are preying on people’s good nature and are not in any need at all. To protect myself, I try to avoid giving any beggars in Ramadan. Instead I give to charities. At other times of the year, I may give to beggars but am very selective.”
One woman seen giving a few riyals to a young girl claiming to be a Palestinian refugee said: “I sometimes have a doubt when I give money to beggars. I try to be careful and spot the frauds because I am sure they exist — but it is difficult. My intent is to help a human being and fulfill my duty before Allah. If the person I am giving the money to doesn’t really need it and is therefore stealing it from someone less fortunate, then it will be between that person and Allah on the Day of Judgment.”
A Saudi man who was parking his car at Al-Raya Supermarket on Sary Street walked past three windshield washers, two children selling chewing gum, an African woman with a baby and a seemingly blind, elderly man seated at the curb with one hand outstretched. The good Samaritan gave only to the elderly man.
“I have a system. I only give to people with obvious handicaps and deformities and to the elderly. Apart from giving to a registered charity, there’s not much else I can do to make sure my money goes to those who truly need it,” he told Arab News.
The anti-beggary squad official told Arab News, “The best way to make sure your money is going to the right place is to give it to a registered and licensed charity or foundation. When you give your money to people on the street, you don’t know where it’s going. The money you give to these people only encourages them to beg for more and some of them are begging to support a drug habit. Of course some of them are genuinely in need and are simply trying to survive just as there are those who cannot afford to come and perform Umrah. To them, begging is a way to fulfill their duties as Muslims and is therefore acceptable in their eyes; to us, however, begging is begging and is therefore illegal. There are places and programs in existence which are designed to help those who are in need but unfortunately, begging is easier and more profitable.”