JEDDAH, 4 July 2005 — Many Jeddah residents have spoken approvingly of the recent police raids in south Jeddah neighborhoods. The raids, over a period of four months, have led to the arrest of more than 150,000 overstayers.
Residents said the raids had cleaned many neighborhoods of criminals and their illegal activities. Saudi citizens who rented accommodation to overstayers have been left with empty houses and apartments. The police received a great deal of help and assistance from people who had grown fed up with the increase of crime in their neighborhoods. The number of calls to the police from the southern neighborhoods has decreased dramatically over the past four months.
Muhammad Al-Faqeeh, a resident of Al-Sabeel district, urged the police to continue their raids. He said large numbers of African overstayers were living in the neighborhood and that their numbers make longtime residents uneasy. “They sometimes live ten to one room and they commit many crimes such as housebreaking, robbing shops and snatching women’s purses. The police raids have had positive results and we hope the raids will continue.”
Muhammad Al-Shehri from Ghulail in south Jeddah said: “Our neighborhood before the police raids looked like part of Africa. There was nothing in the neighborhood to show that it was in Saudi Arabia. I was afraid that something would happen to my children when they on the way to school or just playing outside. The illegal overstayers sold alcohol and drugs at night and they were the reason that many young Saudis became drug addicts.”
Nasser Al-Amoudi, a resident of south Jeddah, told his story. “On my way home from a wedding, I was robbed. Two African overstayers attacked me with a wooden stick and hit me in the head. They took my cell phone and my wallet and left me unconscious on the street. I have never felt safe since that day. At night I hear the overstayers shouting and fighting in the street. I sometimes prefer to stay home at night, fearing that something might happen to my family. My daughter is putting pressure on me to move to a better neighborhood.”
