Many people believe that if tourism is to succeed in Saudi Arabia, it must begin in Jeddah. The city has the ingredients needed for a flourishing tourist industry — the two most important factors being geography and demography. Jeddah enjoys an excellent geographical location and boasts a diverse cosmopolitan population that has always been receptive and open to the outside world.
But can Jeddah really be transformed into a tourist hub? Sadly the city has been turned instead into what appears to be a hub for beggars. Wherever you go, you find a few — at hospitals, commercial centers, banks, mosques and even at small shops and groceries in sleepy streets. They represent a range of nationalities — even Saudis (or so it is thought — and ages as well. There are child beggars, small boys and girls roaming the streets; there are adult beggars, men and women, young and old, some with clear physical disabilities but many others, in appearance at least, as healthy and fit as a fiddle. Some are persistent, others importunate while still others are shamelessly rude and even impudent.
What can you say about a beggar who approaches a motorist waiting at a traffic signal but when there is no response from the driver, he simply goes to the passenger side and makes his or her plea? Many beggars risk their wellbeing and their lives by trying to negotiate their way between moving cars and loud honks. What is really disturbing is that begging has become a full-grown phenomenon that we just accept. It is indeed a fait accompli because we have done nothing to keep it from becoming one.
It is true that some of these people need help and have been driven by dire need to roam the streets asking for help. At the same time, there are also crooks who know how to separate people from their money. My brother once told me of a young man approaching him and asking for help. Suddenly a mobile phone in the beggar’s pocket began to ring and the beggar asked to be excused for a few minutes before returning to my brother.
We are certainly not the only country with beggars. They are found everywhere, even in rich countries. What sets our beggars apart is the tactics they use. Beggars in London or New York seldom chase or persistently annoy people. What I find amazing is the degree of trust and confidence with which beggars in Jeddah pursue their trade. They seem totally oblivious to the police, the immigration department, anti-beggary squads or even laws that prohibit begging.
Officials say they hope to turn Jeddah into a regional tourist attraction. Frankly, such hopes will never be more than dreams unless we can eliminate most of these beggars.
