JEDDAH, 25 November 2004 — Holding onto your belongings used to be a fairly simple matter for residents of Jeddah. Nowadays, however, there appear to be plenty of people lurking, waiting for a chance to snatch a purse or a cell phone — and they don’t have any hang-ups about you getting hurt in the process.
Cell-phone theft and purse snatching are becoming widespread problems in Jeddah. Many women have reported incidents where men snatch purses and cell phones as they pass in moving cars. Women carrying their purses in their hands or on their shoulders are popular targets. Women often are accosted from behind or when walking down narrow streets or in isolated places.
“My cell phone was snatched from my hand in the downtown Jeddah market when I was in a middle of a conversation,” housewife Ensaf Naser said. “I was so stunned that I couldn’t do anything. People around me were stunned, too, and no one even tried to chase the criminals, who disappeared down narrow streets.”
Ironically, the story didn’t end there. “My cell phone was sold to my cousin in a cell phone shop a week later,” she said. “My cousin opened the cell phone not knowing it was stolen and was stunned to see all my numbers on it.”
For some victims, injury is added to the insult. “I suffered from serious shoulder injuries because of a fast motorbikes rider who grabbed my hand to snatch the phone and my shoulder was dislocated,” said Nawal Essa, a Saudi woman. “The phone was gone, and I have since vowed not to talk on the phone while I’m on the street because it is just not safe.”
The thieves have little regard for their victims, and the robbers’ greed can turn deadly. “My wife, Um Muhammad, almost died when a group of five young Africans in the car tried to snatch her purse when she was walking on the street,” said Al-Hassan Al-Qasmi, a resident of Morocco. “The car was slowing down when they snatched her purse. Then the car took off at high speed, dragging my wife for 20 meters. She was screaming and shouting because the purse was stuck on her hand. It took her two weeks to recover at the hospital from her wounds.”
It is a disrespect for human life that is almost beyond belief.
“What I don’t understand is how these criminals could do such a thing,” Um Muhammad said. “There was only five riyals in the purse with a couple of cards and bills. I had to ask them if they were going to kill me for those five riyals. It was terrible. For two months after the accident I was afraid to go outside.”
Add to the vermin who steal purses another group who snatch cell phones from unsuspecting passersby. These thieves drive up to people with cell phones and ask them if they can make an urgent phone call. After getting the victim to swallow the story, when people hand over the cell phones, the mobiles get mobile as the car speeds away, leaving the victims dumbfounded.
Such was the case of Ali Attas, who has learned that trust in his fellow man is an obsolete concept in Jeddah.
“It’s happened to me before,” he said. “Now every time someone asks to use my cell phone, I say it’s disconnected. I won’t allow it to happen to me twice.”
Of course, hot mobiles are worthless without buyers — and a place willing to sell them. “I work on Palestine Street in Jeddah as a cell phone auctioneer,” said Abu Ahmad. “Most of the stolen cell phones are sold here. We have only seven auctioneers in the place because we are the ones who started the market. We take a commission of SR10 per normal phone and SR20 per camera cell phone.”
Their customers don’t seem to mind the misery of the victims.
“Many customers come to buy cell phones from here because they are half price cheap and easy to get,” Ahmad said. “We have customers from Taif, Makkah and Madinah. No one can stop this market. The Passport Department always arrests those who do not have iqamas, but they can’t do anything about the black market.”
