MAKKAH, 23 May 2007 — It seems that begging is not a marginal job that is practiced by the poor, as I recently came to realize when I went out begging in the streets of Makkah. In fact, I found it to be a highly profitable business that makes people rich in a short space of time. The only thing one needs is skill in pretending and eliciting sympathy.
Prior to going out to beg, the first thing I did was to carefully observe other beggars in order to imitate them and be successful in deceiving people. Some would pretend to be handicapped; others would pretend to be well-off people who had suddenly lost their wealth and status. Some would beg in family-like groups in cars and on foot, while others would loiter around street corners and near traffic lights. Some women are known to target young men by flirting with them and then demanding money that impressionable naive young men would quickly offer. Some older women are even known to offer young girls in return for money.
I started begging after Asr prayers and finished after Isha prayers when the Anti-Beggary Department arrested me. Overall, it was an exciting experience: I earned over SR300 in just four hours. Having observed local beggars, I tried several methods of eliciting money, which all proved workable and taught me lots of things about the craft. At times I limped on one leg, at others I pretended I was paralyzed in one arm. I targeted kind and gentle people, and made sure I looked pitiful and convincing. The experience was difficult and made me feel ashamed at times.
My evening of begging began in a crowded street. With some trial and error I managed to earn a lot of money. Looking in people’s eyes is the key to earning their sympathy. I started my stint by targeting two men who were standing on a street corner talking. One ignored me while the other handed me SR3. On receiving the money, I said, “Only SR3?” They then asked me how much I wanted and I said I wanted SR20. The man then took back the SR3 he had given me, insulted me and told me to move on. I smiled and left.
I moved to a nearby residential district where I hid one of my arms by pulling it out of its sleeve. A man passed by, handed me SR15 and said: “Thank God that He has protected me from being in a condition like yours.”
An elderly woman also went past and then headed to her car. She then gave her driver SR40 to give to me. It was then that I realized that begging is a profitable business.
At another location, I saw a man who was counting his money after coming out of a pharmacy. I came close to him, asked him for financial help and insisted he give me SR10. I then sat down to count the money that I had earned when a young boy came and handed me SR5. A passing woman looked at me compassionately and also handed me some money.
Later, I began hanging around intersections and traffic lights. As soon as a car would stop, I would be handed money. I stopped by five cars and was handed money by all of the occupants.
Spurred by the begging-feeling, I visited the upmarket Al-Hamra district where residents usually come to walk and jog.
I noticed a man observing me from afar when a young man handed me SR20. Unperturbed, I continued to pretend to be poor. The man came close and slid his hand in his pocket. I reached out for the SR50 he was handing me when a group of men suddenly came from behind and handcuffed me. It was then that I realized that they were from the Anti-Beggary Department and that I had been arrested in a sting operation.
They took me to a large anti-beggary van parked close by, which had a woman and her child inside. The woman had also been arrested for begging. We were then taken to the anti-beggary office where I explained to Mansour Al-Hazmi, manager of the Anti-Beggary Department, who I was and what I was doing. He was sympathetic and appreciated the efforts of the media in shedding light on the problem.
“The social security schemes established by the Saudi government have helped reduce the number of Saudi beggars,” he said, adding that the authorities are keen to provide citizens with comfortable lives. “Saudis make up 1.5 percent of beggars. The rest tend to be non-Saudis,” he said.
“If a Saudi beggar is arrested, his case is studied and then transferred to the Social Security Department or other charity organizations, especially if they are children. If they are elderly, then they are transferred to elderly homes,” he said. According to him, the files of beggars are then transferred to the Labor Office to find them employment. Meanwhile, non-Saudis are arrested and then deported to their home countries.
The art of begging is a tricky one. However, as long as people continue to hand money to beggars, the trade will continue to thrive.
