Badea Abu Al-Naja Saudi Gazette MAKKAH — Despite continuous efforts by officials and responsible authorities to put an end to the scourge of begging, it is still continuing and growing day after day. The worst form of begging is when gangs operating covertly use children for begging because people are more sympathetic toward them. It is a normal daily scenario to see a child begging on the sidewalk or at traffic signals. Winners in this case are the gangs and the victims are the children who had their childhood assassinated. Despite constant warnings to people to fight the phenomenon of child begging, to report their locations and not give them any money because the money goes to the gangs that benefit from them, the problem continues to grow. Some of these children are smuggled from neighboring countries to beg in Saudi Arabia because begging is more lucrative here and people in general are sympathetic toward the needy. Sometimes families of these children allow gangs to use them and make a profit through them. Saudi Gazette roamed the streets of Makkah and met with officials and child beggars for this report. Saudi Gazette met with a 10-year-old Bangladeshi boy named Islam. He said, “My father is dead and I am the only one supporting my mother. I sell women's scarves in the central area near the Grand Mosque.” Islam said his mother forced him to do this, saying it was the only way to survive. He said his mother told him to sell women's scarves if it made good money. Otherwise, he has to beg. Islam said he works from early morning after the Fajr (dawn) prayer until after the Isha (evening) prayer. In between, he rests away from the sun and heat. He added, “My mother told me if I was caught by police not to give them my name or any other information that might lead to her arrest.” Othman, a 10-year-old Nigerian child, told Saudi Gazette his parents left him in the care of his uncle in Makkah to beg. He said, “My family live in Madinah. We are poor, but we live decently. Last Haj, my uncle convinced my parents to make me stay in Makkah with his son. I did not know what my uncle was up to, nor did I understand why my parents gave me up to my uncle.” He said after his parents left, the real intentions of his uncle were revealed when he asked him to start begging inside the Grand Mosque. The boy said his uncle told him to go to the mosque after Fajr prayer and stay there until afternoon, begging for money from worshipers. After that, he should walk all the way to his residence in Al-Mansour Street and give him the day's take. He said, “At times, things got difficult because authorities inside the Grand Mosque were chasing us out. My uncle then told me to beg for money at intersections. He told me if I was caught, I should tel the authorities that I am a Saudi orphan.” Othman said he hated his uncle and parents for what they did to him. He hopes that one day he will be caught and admitted to a child care home. Ishaq, a 13-year-old from Bangladesh, said he was forced by his parents to beg in the central area of Makkah. “My parents put me and my younger brothers in the care of another man from Bangladesh. This man drops us off around the Grand Mosque in the morning and picks us up in the evening. He takes whatever we collect from people and at night he takes us back home to our parents. “This man gives my father a certain percentage of what we earn. If we do not earn enough money, this man tells my parents and they beat us up. “My father advised me not to give my nationality to the police if I was caught.” Saudi Gazette spotted the gathering point of these beggars near certain mosques in Makkah and some gas stations. On more than one occasion, this reporter followed the children to their pickup point. Most of the time, a mini bus came to take them back home. Sultan Al-Harthi, a legal representative, said, “Forcing children to work or beg is considered illegal in the eyes of local and international law. Such behavior is un-Islamic and these children should be allowed to live a normal, joyful and happy life.” He said, “Most of the families that force their children to work are uneducated and come from poor backgrounds. People should work side by side with officials to prevent children from being exploited and report them to responsible authorities.” Spokesman for Makkah Police Maj. Abdulmuhsin Al-Mayman said the police are working on a project to round up child beggars and hand them over to the anti-beggary department to study their cases. He said the police's role is only to make the arrests. Al-Mayman said begging in areas around the Grand Mosque is considered a negative tendency and a special committee has been formed to fight such behavior.
