YANBU, 10 September 2007 — The municipal council here has called for the establishment of an Anti-Beggary Department to round up all those who are secretly becoming wealthy by begging for change by ATM machines, in shopping malls, around mosques and beaches.
These people increase their wealth by exploiting people in Saudi Arabia during the month of Ramadan. A lot of times these people are women who fake regional Saudi accents in hopes that they can fool their victims into thinking that they are poor and out of luck.
“They dress up in abayas and they speak using regional dialects,” said a person. “But we generally know they aren’t speaking in their native tongue.”
Khaled Al-Ilaiani said that he encountered one of these shysters near an ATM machine who claimed to be from some place called Al-Miznib. But, he said, the woman was obviously not from there.
“I did not show any interest in talking to her, but she proceeded to talk to me,” he said. “She said she came from the central region and that her family came here to visit cousins and her husband got sick and they had to sell their car.”
Abdullah Al-Jihani says these people extracting fortunes from poor Saudis need to be swept up by an Anti-Beggary Department.
“Since these beggars don’t get punished for begging, they beg,” he said. “They even beg to police. It is easy for them to accumulate a fortune.”
Hassan Al-Zahrani said that officials cannot deny the spread of the phenomenon in the city. “They beg everywhere,” said Hassan Al-Zahrani. “Near ATMs, and around malls and hospitals. Most of them are women.”
Yusouf Al-Hamdi also called for an Anti-Beggary Department to decrease the number of beggars that increase during Ramadan.
“This department is essential to follow those beggars,” he said. “And to help those of them who are in need through cooperation with charity organizations. Illegal residents must be deported to their countries rather than making their living through beggary.”
Nasir Al-Jihani said that a month ago a Saudi woman approached him with a sad tale of sick relative. He said that when he told his cousin about it and described how this woman looked, his cousin said this was the same woman who had asked him for money earlier with a different story. “I was shocked when he described the woman to me and told me that she is not even a Saudi but an Arab woman,” he said.
