MAKKAH: The Ministry of Social Affairs and the Ministry of Health have both denied responsibility for the proliferation of mentally ill persons frequenting the vicinity of the Grand Mosque in Makkah. The occurrence has reportedly led to “shameful practices” by the individuals concerned. The Ministry of Social Affairs said that the responsibility for the issue lay with the Ministry of Health, but the latter in turn says that its tasks are restricted to those individuals who “pose a physical threat”. “We are not responsible for mentally ill people who are found in the streets,” the Ministry of Health said. “Some families of mentally ill persons do not care for them properly and refuse to take them back home from hospitals.” Abdullah Aal Tawi, head of Social Affairs in Makkah, said his ministry was prepared to take part in any work done by field committees to combat the problem, and that it is “fully prepared to offer any help in terms of accommodation or security for the homeless”. Aal Tawi said that cases in which the individuals concerned suffer from mental illness “have no relation to Social Affairs”.
