JEDDAH, 20 January 2004 — So many neighborhoods in south Jeddah are sources of trouble because large numbers of overstayers live there. The absence of infrastructure also contributes to the problems. One such neighborhood is Al-Muntazahat, located at Kilo 11 on the Old Makkah Road.
The area falls under the jurisdiction of the Al-Jamea police who are responsible for other difficult areas in south Jeddah. Such crimes as burglary, car theft, assault and fights are common there. Taxi drivers often refuse to go to the area even if passengers pay in advance; the drivers are often stopped, beaten and robbed. Al-Madinah newspaper visited the area to find out.
A resident, Ismail Muhammad, said that the area lacked a strong police presence. He pointed out that one problem was groups of young men who gather in the area and create problems.
Abdullah Al-Hazazi, another resident, said, “One of the common problems is that many young men harass taxi drivers by not paying them or stealing their money. When I go to work in the morning, I do not find difficulty in finding a taxi but I find great difficulty when I want to come home. When drivers hear where I want to go, they refuse to take me even if I offer them twice the normal fare.”
Ahmad Al-Zahrani said, “Most crimes in the area are committed by young men because of a lack of family awareness. Sometimes I wonder where the families of those young men are. Don’t they know that the young men are hanging about in the street until the small hours? Don’t the families ask their sons what they are doing? Once I saw a man trying to steal tires from a car at seven in the morning. When he saw me, he ran away. I called the police and they found that the car had been stolen.”
Hassan Al-Shamrani, a resident, said, “Most of our problems come from these young men who hang out in the street. They cause many problems for residents by harassing them, breaking the windows of houses and cars and also breaking streetlights. I do not want to talk about what taxi drivers experience here because of these young men since everyone knows about it.
“This is why taxi drivers often refuse to come here. Even sewage truck drivers are exposed to harassment. The young men run behind the sewage truck, turn on the hose and release dirty water into the street. They also throw rocks at trucks and then escape into the maze of narrow streets. This kind of behavior annoys residents of the neighborhood.”
