During summer we saw a whole lot of young and old selling bottled water at every intersection in Riyadh. Although the brands they were selling were not familiar, but to quench their thirst motorists did not mind sparing a riyal for a bottle of drinking water.
Now with the winter setting in, like the migration of birds from one country to another, the bottled water sellers have totally disappeared from these points to be replaced by beggars.
The beggars’ demand too is just a riyal, although they don’t give you anything in return except the reward from the God. One knock at the windscreen and the show of their index finger indicates their need — one riyal. However, the worrying factor here is that the little boys, under the age of 14, have taken to this habit of begging. One wonders whether they are being sent by their parents or they are doing this without the knowledge of them.
I believe that these young kids should not be encouraged to beg on the street but I admit on many occasions one has to fight his own emotion, looking at their innocent faces to turn down the request for a riyal.
It is left for you to make your own judgment in the interest of these young kids. — S.H. Moulana, Riyadh
Begging habit
