When The Begging Day Is Done

Author: 
Essam Al-Ghalib, Arab News
Publication Date: 
Sun, 2005-08-14 03:00

JEDDAH, 14 August 2005 — This is where they go when the begging day is done. A parking lot, dotted with a few scattered trailers, near the Jeddah Port. Dozens of Pakistani men, women, children and infants live here without running water or electricity. Of course, there is no air-conditioning just as there are no walls or ceilings — only the rusty trailers for shelter, shade from the burning sun.

Babies are bathed in paint buckets of water as do old men, half-naked and dripping. Everywhere people are cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, breast-feeding, sleeping and eating. There is no privacy here, only traffic going quickly by, taking no notice. Most of them sleep on cardboard but the one man with a bed and mattress, sits in the sun, and says, “The (limited) space under the trailers is for the women and children,” and his mattress is too big to fit there without having to share. “At night, the air is cooler,” he added, “So sleeping outside isn’t so bad.” Most people living in a parking lot would consider themselves to be ‘outside’ already, but here, having a trailer overhead is considered ‘inside’.

Everyone seems to contribute, even the older children, charged with keeping an eye on the younger ones — many of whom were amusing themselves by chasing a playful brown puppy around the lot. The women, if not too old, are also expected to contribute.

“Their job is to collect ‘sadaga’,” — the Arabic word for charity, said Mohammed Ul-Yaq, 27. “They take a child with them and go collect sadaga,” he added. Knowing that babies elicit more sympathy and therefore, more money, some of the women here lend out their babies — for a fee.

The more able-bodied younger men, head off to different parts of the city — wherever a job may take them. Many go to Sitteen Street and the Al-Bawadi District looking for a day’s work. “I can, paint and do electrical work. I also know how to fix plumbing,” one man said. He leaves just after the early morning prayer and returns to the parking lot just after the sunset prayer.

Time is passed by visiting with other families at their trailers. Some play cards, while others talk or sleep. The sound of laughter and loud Urdu conversations are heard throughout the evening and into the night. As midnight approaches, it is all-quiet as most of the women begin to put the children to sleep. Some of the men stay awake and keep watch.

But they are not alone. In a nearby jeep, sits a bored and frustrated plainclothes policeman, keeping watch over everyone and everything. “I’m supposed to stop them from leaving this parking lot, from going out to beg, but when they all leave in one group, it is hard. In the beginning, I used to call for help from the immigration and passports department, but they never came, so now, I just make sure no one tries to commit any crimes while I am here,” he told Arab News.

When asked what crimes might be committed there, the policeman said, “None, really. I spend most of the day making sure that the children don’t run out into the street.”

Some of the families said that they had been here as long as three months. They arrived on an Umrah visa with no return ticket. Some beg in order to make enough to buy a ticket home, while others have no intention of ever going back, and are trying to save enough money to get off the streets and into more comfortable accommodation.

Ul-Yaq told Arab News that he plans to stay here until after Ramadan before returning home. In the meantime, he plans to make as much money as possible. He explained: “This is just the beginning for many of us. From here, we hope things improve. If they don’t, I will return to my country after Ramadan or Haj, but if they do, I will live here, maybe forever. Life in this parking lot is harder than life in Pakistan but this is where we have come to start a new life. There are opportunities here that are not available at home and therefore we suffer now, knowing that it is temporary.”

The parking lot seems to be the place where Pakistanis wishing to overstay their visas come and learn from others who came before them. It is considered a safe haven and those who live there are confident that no one from the anti-beggary squad or the Passports and Immigration Department, will harass them, “So long as they stay in the lot,” said the plainclothes policeman.

“They are safe as long as they stay here. If they begin to wander the streets begging and looking for day-work, then they are exposing themselves to arrest like any other foreigner here illegally. But, if they stay here, they can be sure that they will not be harassed,” he added.

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