JEDDAH, 24 March 2005 — The garbage-dumping site located east of Jeddah has become a meeting point for overstayers from Africa.
Some of them have built small wooden houses and tents made of cardboard boxes, Al-Madinah newspaper reported. Officials say the overstayers have taken over the place.
Muhammad Al-Zahrani, a resident in a neighborhood near the site, said that the area is not safe anymore because of the increasing number of overstayers and absence of patrol police. He said, “Many house owners had to sell their property and move to safer places. We have asked for government intervention many times, but all our pleas have fallen on deaf ears.”
Abdulraheem Al-Juhani agrees. “We live in constant fear. Crimes have increased in the area,” he said.
Saber Ibrahim described the situation as far from desirable. He said, “This place has become a safe haven for African overstayers and their numbers keep multiplying. Fights between them — in which all types of sharp weapons are used — have become common. The last thing one wants is to get into scrapes with them. There is no police station in the area. If there was one, things would have been different.”
African overstayers refuse to be considered troublemakers or a threat to residents. One African interviewed by Al-Madinah said that they are not bothering anyone and that they are trying to make an honest living. He said, “We collect from the site what we believe is good to be sold and try to earn money by selling it.”
Another overstayer told Al-Madinah that they are honest workers who believe in the dignity of labor and they refuse to earn money the illegal way.
He said, “Most of the crimes that are blamed on us are committed by criminals from other neighborhoods. Food is plenty in this place. People who many say are complaining about our existence are now our friends and most of the time they give us food and clothes.”
