JEDDAH, 3 January 2005 — Jeddah nowadays is full of child peddlers aged between four and 10 asking, and sometimes begging, you to buy gum or towels from them. Poverty is driving them to do this small-time business. They are there in every district in the city and their daily incomes vary according to the class of the area they sell their wares.
In Tahlia, a high-class shopping area, there is a bigger number of these peddlers and they make more money due to the high status of people who shop there. Arab News asked the peddlers there about how much they make daily.
A four-year-old African girl selling gum near Zara, said: “SR30, SR40 or maybe SR50.”
A Bengali child, selling gum in Al-Khayyat Center, said: “I make SR60 everyday.”
“A 10-year-old girl, who looked distressed, tried to sell me towels and beach balls at the Al-Sawary Mall parking lot,” said Osama, a middle class Saudi. “I told her no thanks. Then I asked her how much did she make per day? She said, ‘No one buys from me,’” he added.
Abu Omar, a school teacher, said: “A five-year-old girl dropped the gum packet in my car pleading to get rid of it even without taking money, saying ‘Please take the packet for free. I don’t want it; otherwise I will be beaten up.’” He added: “I once saw a man beating his son, who sells towels, for not selling all his stock and not getting enough money.”
Some of these children turn hostile if people do not buy from them.
“I once was in Jarir Book Store on Sari Street. When I was walking to my car, two kids followed me to buy gum. I told them I didn’t want the stuff. They spat on my car window and threw chewed gum at the car before running away,” said Ola, a university student.
Nuha, a housewife, said some streetsmart peddlers tend to choose attractive words and prayers to manipulate people to buy from them. When they sell their stuff to girls, they will say: “You beautiful girl, may Allah let you marry the man of your dreams” which might please the girls and then they may buy from her.
According to a sociologist, it is a serious problem. “We have no solution to this one. These children should be protected from the gangs that put them in the street. Everywhere I go now, I see them. They are only as old as my children or even younger. Their place at this age is in a secure home or in schools. They should never stay in the street in the sun trying to sell products. Even the money they earn is not going into their pocket. Police and citizens should get involved in this to stop this menace.”
