MADINAH, 29 January 2006 — The memory of the girl who died when she tried to escape from her kidnapper’s pickup truck is still fresh in the minds of the people of Madinah.
The man tried to kidnap two girls by driving at high speed to an isolated area in Al-Duaietha. One of the girls jumped out of the truck and died as a result of her injuries. The driver escaped but was later arrested.
The girls were coming home from the market at night and accepted a lift from the driver of the pickup truck. Instead of driving them to their destination, however, he attempted to kidnap them.
Madinah has always been known as a peaceful place and it was common for people to use pickup trucks for transportation for two reasons: They are everywhere in the city and they are cheaper than taxis. In fact, because of competition from the small trucks, many taxis went out of business. The unfortunate side to this is that many truck drivers used this opportunity to harass women.
Umm Mahmoud recalled an unpleasant experience she had with a young pickup truck driver. She said that she hired the driver to take her and her three sisters to the market; she noticed that the windows of the vehicle were shaded.
She explained, “He began to flirt with us and tell us how attractive we were. We were uncomfortable and asked him to be quiet and take us to the market. He then changed directions and tried to close the windows but I stuck my hand out and prevented him from doing that. He attempted to frighten us by driving very fast. Luckily my sister had an electric stun gun and she threatened to use it on the man if he did not stop. We forced him to pull over and so we escaped.”
Najwa Hajjaji said that in the past things were more quiet and peaceful because the drivers were older men with families who were trying to earn an honest living. They were conscientious workers and very seldom did any of their passengers have a complaint. These days, on the other hand, the trucks are driven by young men who are interested in one thing — harassing women.
She told her story, “I saw an accident with a speeding pickup truck in Al-Beda Park, some 20 kilometers from Madinah. I saw a woman jump out of the vehicle and roll down the street.
The driver kept on going and escaped while the woman suffered a broken arm and leg. We took her to hospital and told the police what had happened. She explained that she had hired the truck to drive her home from the market and suddenly, two or three young men jumped into the car and they took her to an isolated area near Al-Beda. After a struggle, she managed to escape — though with the injuries I have mentioned.”
Mohammad Saeed, a Madinah resident, said that the best solution is simply to stop pickup trucks from being used as taxis. “If people want to work as taxi drivers, then they must do it the legal way. There should be a system under which people buy taxis in easy installment payments,” he said.
He pointed out that people are generally sympathetic with the truck drivers because they usually come from remote areas and need the money they can earn. He also noted that not all the drivers were troublemakers but that in light of the harassment and kidnappings, he felt that the solution was to ban the trucks completely.
Mustapha Ahmad said that he remembered an incident involving a woman living in his neighborhood. She wanted to go to the hospital to see a friend but she ended up kidnapped, badly beaten, robbed of her money and jewelry and left in an isolated area. The driver escaped.
Fatima Al-Amin said that women should be wary of young drivers, especially if the vehicle has shaded windows. She said that the older men are merely trying to earn money but that the younger ones have ulterior motives and should be avoided.
