JEDDAH, 4 January 2007 — On the streets of Saudi Arabia cities, thousands of child beggars, under the control of cruel gang masters are simply trying to survive, the daily Al-Madinah reported recently.
These children now constitute a shameful and a dangerous phenomenon that should be treated. Africans in addition to people of some other nationalities that are begging are using deception to elicit sympathy and compassion.
Information reveals that gangs are said to help, train, transport and accommodate child beggars. They give each one of them a certain location at the street to practice begging and supervise and watch them up closely from a distance to tell them what they have to do.
Some Arab channels recently broadcasted scenes for a number of young children of different nationalities begging in the streets of Jeddah. The clip showed a person standing not far away from the young beggars, giving signals. The children said that this person is their master. The camera was lurking on him without his knowledge.
Omar, a seven-year-old African child, had been arrested by anti-begging forces in Jeddah and taken to a shelter house in preparation for deporting him. He was healthy and well when he was deported back to his country. Some years later he returned to the Kingdom, accompanied by his parents, this time one of his hands amputated. Officers have identified him, and during the investigation he said that there was a specialized gang that amputated his hand and sent him back to Saudi Arabia for begging.
Another not less surprising story is about two Africans that were arrested: one a ten-year-old and the other seven years old. During the investigation, the two children guided the police to a gang specialized in harboring a large number of child beggars.
According to official statistics issued by the Anti-Begging Office in Jeddah province, the rate of child beggars who get arrested could reach up to 89 percent of the total number of beggars who have been arrested, most of them are Africans. The high percentage of child beggars grabbed the attention of responsible authorities on the fight against this phenomenon. As a result, the authorities established a shelter house to provide them with social and health care before deporting them back to their countries.
The number of children, who were repatriated back to their countries by the center in cooperation with the immigration authorities since its inception, has reached 1,933 children. The number of children taken back to their parents reached 1,188 children.
Yehya Abdullah, a 12-year-old beggar at the shelter house in Makkah, said that he was arrested at 60 street traffic lights by the anti-begging office. “They arrested me for selling to drivers while they stop at the traffic light. I have a residency permit (Iqama) and I am in the fourth grade,” he said.
Mohammed Nour, a 13-year-old beggar, said that he was arrested in the squares surrounding the Holy Mosque in Makkah. “I always beg at this location, this is the first time that I got arrested and placed in the anti-begging office,” he said.
Hashmia Al-Haaj, a sociologist at King Abdul Aziz University, said that citizens contribute to the existence of this phenomenon. “Providing of assistance to these children on our streets and markets as charity has contributed to the spread of begging,” she said.
“The citizen is supposed to have a role in reducing this phenomenon by not giving any assistance to those children.” “Also, the citizens should not provide any assistance for beggars because behind these beggars are gangs who send them to Saudi Arabia specifically aimed at begging. We also require of every citizen and expatriate to inform authorities immediately. Statistics show that these child beggars receive more assistance and compassion from women, unlike men who do not provide any help.”
On the other hand, Saleem Al-Harbi, a social specialist at the Ministry of Social Affairs, explained that beggars provide a negative image of Makkah community. “They represent corruption and crime,” he added. “We cannot blame them for their bad behavior because of the nature of their social and economic circumstances. We see African women begging in Makkah and carrying their babies on their back, which means these children will become beggars, too.”
