AL-JOUF/JEDDAH, 19 January 2008 — The cold spell that has struck many parts of the Kingdom has made life especially difficult for those living in hilly and coastal areas.
The death of Mashael, a 15-year-old girl in the northern city of Arar, due to severe cold has turned public attention toward the poor who stay in tinplate houses. An intermediate school student, Mashael was living in one such home with her relatives.
Mohammed Al-Kilabi of the International Islamic Relief Organization in Arar said at least 1,300 families with nearly 10,000 members are living in tinplate houses in villages of this northern region. “Some families have been living in such houses for more than 20 years,” Al-Kilabi said. But Ramdhi Al-Enazi, director of social insurance in the Northern Border Region, said the number of people living in such houses would not exceed 5,000.
The National Society of Human Rights has decided to send a team to Arar to investigate the reasons for the death of Mashael. Dr. Mufleh Al-Qahtani, vice president of the society, urged the Ministry of Social Affairs to conduct a survey of poor families in the region and take immediate steps to meet their requirements.
According to police report, Mashael’s father and uncle brought her body to Arar Central Hospital last week. Her father told the police that Mashael was found dead when her mother tried to wake her up in the morning. She was living in a house made of cement blocks and tinplates.
Salman Al-Odah, a well-known Islamic scholar, called upon the Kingdom’s wealthy to come forward to help the needy battle the severe cold spell. He said the responsibility for Mashael’s death falls on the whole society.
Many charitable organizations are already extending their helping hand. The King Khaled Charitable Foundation has distributed approximately 63,000 blankets and sweaters among the needy in the northern region, the worst-hit by cold weather.
“More than 1,000 families have benefited from our relief supplies and 60 percent of them live in tinplate houses,” said Riyad Al-Abdul Kareem, deputy director general of the charity.
Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has ordered financial assistance worth SR654 million to alleviate the suffering of people affected by cold weather across the Kingdom.
Social Affairs Minister Abdul Mohsen Al-Akkas said his ministry would start distributing the aid today after taking into consideration the need of each affected family.
There were snowfalls in many parts of the northern region yesterday, making life difficult for people living in the area. Saudis and residents thronged markets to purchase blankets and sweaters to protect themselves from severe cold after temperatures dipped to minus seven.
There were long queues of people seeking kerosene at petrol stations in many parts of Al-Jouf. There were also new reports of unspecified deaths as a result of cold weather.
