MAKKAH, 12 April 2006 — It is becoming an increasingly common sight in the streets of Makkah. The mentally ill seem to be roaming freely; apparently many of them are homeless, posing a danger to themselves and others.
Some locals have called police after being accosted by people who are not getting enough mental health support from their families, or public and private institutions. The calls to authorities seem fruitless.
Arab News approached Abu Cartoona as he collected empty cardboard boxes. While many of the city’s street people — often women of African descent — collect refuse to recycle for meager earnings, Abu Cartoona seemed to be collecting boxes compulsively for no financial gain.
When Arab News asked him about his behavior, he responded angrily and threatened violence. Later, some men approached giving Abu Cartoona some empty boxes; they said that the man poses no real danger to the community as long as people don’t anger him.
Mahdi, as people call him, is another of Makkah’s homeless, mentally ill residents. A local fixture, Mahdi is seen everywhere. One day he might be seen on Nuzha Street and the next in the far away Misfala neighborhood. He spends most of his time walking, sometimes naked, on the city’s streets. He has a tendency to sleep on people’s cars, which leads to occasional confrontations.
Mahdi was initially very polite when approached by Arab News, even offering a cigarette. At first his behavior was normal. He described his living conditions, how he doesn’t have very many clothes. When asked about his family, a trigger went off and the man began throwing rocks at this reporter.
Locals who claimed to know Mahdi said he was once in a better financial situation, with a nice house and business, until his wife and kids took over all his money and accused him of insanity.
Hamrawi is another known mentally ill case roaming the streets of Makkah. He walks the street barefoot and sleeps in front of commercial stores. His odd behavior has to do with his method of begging; he consistently asks for one riyal and if he is given any more he has a tendency to get angry and throw the money back. Locals say that Hamrawi is harmless; but those who don’t know might consider him a threat.
Abdul Aziz ibn Abdul Hakeem of the Department of Psychology at Makkah’s King Abdul Aziz Hospital said that the mentally ill are mostly a threat to themselves. Their living situation makes them frustrated, exacerbating their already fragile psychological state, and this can occasionally lead to lashing out at other people.
Regional authorities try to track these people, even fitting them with bracelets that provide information on the person’s condition. If they do get in trouble with the law, these people tend to be sent back and forth between health authorities and police before ending up in a state mental institution.
