“The number of beggars is much higher than what the latest statistics indicate. More than 87 percent of the beggars are foreigners who come from neighboring countries in the south and the north,” one researcher told Arab News Wednesday. He did not want his name to be published.
He said this was despite the fact that border guards and police along the southern border are constantly trying to stop large numbers of infiltrators who enter the Kingdom with the sole purpose of begging during the peak seasons of Ramadan and Haj.
Arab News has noted growing numbers of beggars along the streets of Jeddah, especially at traffic signals, near malls and entertainment centers.
The majority of the beggars hailing from neighboring countries consist not only of old men, women and children but also young men who are strong and able to work.
Another remarkable feature is that begging continues throughout the day and night. Even women and young children stay till the early hours.
Beggars have also returned in hordes to mosques after their numbers dropping sharply a few months ago following a circular by the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance to imams asking them to help curb begging.
Commenting on the growing phenomenon, some citizens said beggars were now coming right to their homes. “They do not hesitate to knock on the door, especially in the afternoons, to ask for money. This is a grave matter with serious security implications,” one citizen said. He did not want to be identified.
A number of concerned officials and citizens criticized the offices to combat begging and said they were unable to deal with the large number of beggars in the country.
They accused officials of slackness and laziness in their response to calls by citizens informing them of beggars at certain places. “We are asked to call these offices to report beggars but there is no one there to heed our calls,” a citizen said. There are eight offices all over the Kingdom to combat begging in addition to offices that follow up such cases.
The citizens asked the Ministry of Social Affairs to either put pressure on these offices or close them down. They also asked to provide these offices with qualified human cadre, cars and other facilities and to introduce a single helpline to handle reports of beggars.
Many citizens who spoke to Arab News believed that many beggars deported home come back very soon to the Kingdom to continue their business. They said security procedures to combat begging must be revamped.
Researchers and academics interviewed by Arab News believe that awareness programs against begging have not been effective. They said these programs have so far failed to reduce the sympathy of residents toward beggars.
They called for more effective programs that would convince people about the dangers posed by beggars. They also said the programs should inform people about where they should direct their charity given that the country is full of welfare societies that administer charity properly to the poor.
