Wadi Al-Naml (Valley of the Ants) is considered one of Taif’s oldest neighborhoods and is renowned for the multitude of ants that live there. However, in the last 30 years, the valley has also become home to thousands of African overstayers.
The area is and has not been included in municipality redevelopment plans for services or utilities and is therefore structured in an extremely haphazard fashion. Many Saudis, who live among the huge number of overstayers residing there, complain of a lack of security and services.
Around 35 years ago, the Taif Municipality decided to regenerate the quality of life in the Al-Shuhada District of the city, which is located between the Al-Maared and Industrial Districts of Taif. All of the people living in the Al-Shuhada District were moved to Wadi Al-Namel, which over time has become an African overstayer colony and remains as such till this day.
Over the years, the area has become a notorious safe haven for anyone not in possession of a residential permit (iqama). When African overstayers first began moving into the area, Yemeni construction workers, who dominated the construction business at that time, built home for Saudis, who in turn would rent these homes out to African overstayers.
“I was forced to come to this area because it is the only place that limited income people like myself and other Saudis can afford. I can’t afford to pay high rents,” said Muhammad Al-Harithy, a Saudi who has been living in Wadi Al-Naml for over 16 years.
“Over time, the number of overstayers from African countries has grown. They receive help from Africans that have Saudi nationality. Some Africans with iqamas are also harboring overstayers by renting homes from Saudis first and then later renting it to overstayers,” he said, speaking about the reasons why so many of the overstayers live in the area.
“The number of overstayers triple during the month of Ramadan. They’re generally involved in a lot of crime. The area is notorious for drugs and prostitution. Lots of murders, rapes and drug related crimes happen in this area,” said Al-Harithy, adding he does not feel safe leaving his family at home by themselves.
“Sometimes when we return home in the evening we get harassed by overstayers, who block the roads. The Passport Department doesn’t raid the area as frequently as they should. When they do, they only end up arresting a few overstayers. The rest run away before the officials arrive,” he said.
Abu Mastour, another Saudi resident, told Arab News that overstayers earn their living by washing cars, salvaging items from rubbish bins and selling junk. “It’s strange that they find buyers for the junk they sell. It’s even strange that they’re able to take old pieces of clothes and fabrics to sell in their countries.”
Muhammad Jabbu, an African overstayer, said overstayers, unable to gain proper legal employment, are forced to steal and commit other types of crimes to get money. He added that the situation in his home country is terrible and that Saudi Arabia is relatively much better.
“When someone gets sick we don’t go to hospital for treatment. We only buy from the pharmacy nearby because they don’t ask for identification when selling medicine. If we don’t have money then we borrow it. If we can’t borrow it then we end up having to steal,” he said.
Jama’an Al-Harthy, like Abu Mastour, has been living in the neighborhood for over 14 years because he cannot afford the high rent in other parts of Taif. “In the past, the situation was fine. Currently we’re suffering at the hands of these overstayers. They rob our homes and harass our women. They annoy residents by sitting on the sidewalk all day,” he said.
“When I come home from work in the evening, they block roads to annoy Saudi residents and to ultimately drive them out of the neighborhood. I think that the absence of the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice has played an important role in the spread of crimes and other immoral activities,” he said.
Abu Faisal, another resident, said that many people in the area suffer from poor health.
“There are many families living in the neighborhood that suffer from health conditions because the municipality is not cleaning the garbage. There’s garbage everywhere, especially in front of homes. There are flies and mosquitoes carrying diseases everywhere,” he said, adding that a lot of the overstayers are HIV positive.
Hamad Ali, a Saudi resident who also lives in Wadi Al-Naml, said that the neighborhood is designed in a way that makes it difficult for the authorities to arrest overstayers. “The streets are narrow. In case of a fire or an accident, a fire truck or an ambulance would not be able to get inside the area because of narrow roads,” he said.
“I remember a fire in which an entire Nigerian family died. The Civil Defense couldn’t reach the fire in time. Fire fighters had to connect water hoses from outside the neighborhood and drag them inside to extinguish the fire,” he added.
