Ali bin Gharsan, Abdullah Al-Dani and Abdullah Al-Abdali Okaz/Saudi Gazette MAKKAH/JEDDAH — Many mental patients in the Kingdom roam the streets aimlessly and live in abandoned houses, narrow alleys and under the bridges, completely ignored by relatives and totally neglected by society and the authorities. They mumble ambiguous phrases and some of them can be dangerous to approach. Saleh, son of a prominent Makkah businessman, has appointed himself the manager of a contracting company. He takes care of the employees and encourages them to work hard. He speaks to people in total coherence and most people he meets with have no reason to doubt his sanity. However, Saleh is suffering from a psychological condition. On the steps of Makkah's historic Al-Mualla cemetery sits an old man in worn-out clothes and he seems to be in complete harmony with himself. He lives in the cemetery, claiming he is its guardian. In Al-Ma'abdah neighborhood of Makkah an old man roams the streets helping people by carrying their bags to their cars in return for just a few riyals. Under the city's Sitteen Road Bridge roams another old man who has lost all contacts with his family for years for unknown reasons. After his retirement, he experienced difficult circumstances, could no longer pay his rent and took refuge under the bridge. Yet another old man has been living under the same bridge for the past two years under similar circumstances. Hisham Al-Alsheikh, a law professor, said the relatives of these patients have an obligation to look after them instead of leaving them to wander the streets. He said the law will hold them responsible for any damage these patients inflict on people's lives and property. In the absence of relatives, Al-Alsheikh said, these people will become the responsibility of the state, and the ministries of social affairs and health should provide them with appropriate accommodation and treatment. He said anybody who comes across one of these patients should not hurt or scare them but instead should notify the appropriate government body. A member of Shoura Council's security committee, Dr. Nawaf Al-Fagham, said society is obliged to provide these patients with the appropriate treatment and care. Society should change its view of mental patients and should not consider them crazy, he said. Al-Fagham added that patients with advanced stages of mental disorders are difficult to control and should be protected to stop them from inflicting harm on themselves and others. Head of Jeddah's Mental Hospital Dr. Suhail Khan considers the approval of the Council of Ministers to build special centers for these patients as a very important step. He said the hospital receives mental patients and conducts comprehensive psychological and physical examinations on them. If a patient has some physical illnesses, he is referred to a hospital that is equipped with specialized clinics, he added. In addition, mental patients are provided with necessary rehabilitation services to allow them to return to their families to lead a normal life. He pointed out that mental patients wandering the streets are a global phenomenon and the Ministry of Health has adopted a comprehensive program to rehabilitate them. Head of the Islamic Studies Center at Um Al-Qura University and a member of the National Society for Human Right (NSHR) Mohammad Al-Sehli said government bodies responsible for these patients should work as a team to deal with the problem. “The NSHR has submitted reports and recommendations to concerned bodies to deal with this problem. However, we have not received the response we had hoped for,” he added. Al-Sehli pointed out that the NSHR believes the solution lies in building special centers where rehabilitation sessions can be held to preserve the dignity of these patients. A source in the Social Affairs Directorate in Makkah, who preferred not to be named, said these patients are the responsibility of the Ministry of Health and the Social Affairs has nothing to do with them. Spokesman for Makkah Health Affairs Fawaz Al-Alsheikh said the Ministry of Health is not responsible for chasing these patients in the streets. He pointed out that the ministry's role begins when these patients arrive at hospitals looking for treatment. Makkah Police spokesman Lt. Col. Abdulmuhsen Al-Maiman said police do not deal with such cases, as their role is to maintain security. He added that there are a number of cases that were transported to hospitals by the Red Crescent. Ibrahim Zamzami, a lawyer, holds the Ministry of Social Affairs responsible for these patients like other needy people. He added that officials should realize that these patients are a part of society and cannot be marginalized. Neglecting them will only lead them to desperation, and they may become a danger to themselves and society, he added.
