Beggars across the city of Jeddah are collectively migrating to the upscale Al-Hamra District in west Jeddah especially during the last days of the holy month of Ramadan. Beggars in groups of tens and twenties along with children flock to Hamra district every day after Asr (evening) prayers and stay there till late at night begging at traffic signals and on side alleys. “Begging is not encouraged in Islam, yet some of the people here stop their vehicles and give money to the beggars which makes them crowd to this area. Besides, much of police raid is not happening in this part of Jeddah,” said a resident of the district. Al-Hamra is one of the wealthiest locations in Jeddah and hence an attraction for beggars. But most of the time beggars become a nuisance to the public especially the residents here as they often cause much noise. “Sometimes, these people have group fights and that causes a lot of noise and it is very disturbing. If someone in the group gets some money, the whole gang surrounds the car and the beggars then become choosers. They will not leave the car until they also get the alms,” a resident said. “Most of the time, I feel that they are very coordinated and when they see a potential target, they assemble and trap their prey and extract money. Mostly they use children to beg and their victims in almost all the cases will be those who have stopped the car, feeling pity on the condition of the children,” he said. Residents here want the authorities to take action against this public annoyance and want to have police surveillance here in order to curb this trouble.
