JEDDAH: Many foreign workers, due to work timings, are often unable to go home and so end up breaking their fasts at nearby mosques or iftar tents organized by local charities.
“Most people, whose nature of work does not allow them to leave their workplaces in the evening, get free iftar meals in mosques and other public places. The meals are donated by individuals or businesses,” said charity worker Salah Muhammad.
“For instance, last year a telecommunications company in Jeddah donated 500,000 iftar packets for distribution,” he said, adding that the International Islamic Relief Organization-Saudi Arabia launched a SR6.2 million program to supply iftar meals around the Kingdom this year.
Noori Muhammad, a coffee shop worker, said, “I don’t have time to go home and break my fast because customers rush to my shop as soon as the Maghreb prayer is over. So I go to a nearby mosque, break my fast there and then return to work.”
Security guard Muhammad Al-Namri said he takes coffee, dates and fruit juice when he goes to work.
People caught up in traffic at Maghreb time and in shopping malls are also handed dates and water by charity workers at intersections and shopping malls.
Yahya Hussein, a soldier, said his duty hours often do not allow him to go home in the evening. “Most of us on duty bring along some fruit, coffee, dates and snacks. We put everything together and end up having a full dining table at work,” he added.
