Govt promises streets free of expat beggars after Nov. 3 Illegal expats begging in the streets will be arrested after Nov. 3 by police in an effort to reverse negative residency trends that have resulted from the disorganization of the local labor market, Jeddah Police spokesman Nawaf Al-Bouq told Arab News. Al-Bouq said: “We will begin arresting all expat beggars after Nov.3. Most of them have no iqamas and are working to earn money illegally. It is time to end this negative phenomenon.” Many expat beggars from Yemeni and African countries are Haj and Umrah overstayers. Most of them did not legalize their residency status during the amnesty period since they do not possess identity documents. The Ministry of Social Affairs told local media that “around 80 percent of beggars are expats whose work status cannot be corrected by the ministry.” However, according to Khalid Al-Thubaiti, spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs, the percentage of foreign beggars in the Kingdom has dropped to 70 percent from 85 percent. The drop in the number of beggars, he said, was the result of extensive campaigns carried out by the ministry over the past two years to counter begging during holiday seasons. A study published on King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology’s website, however, has said that begging is on the rise in Saudi Arabia. The possible reason for this, the study suggested, is the increasing number of individuals infiltrating into the Kingdom through the borders and overstaying their Haj and Umrah visas. The study warned against the negative effect of such figures on the social, economic and security fronts. It said that the majority of beggars are Yemeni, followed by Egyptians. Most of these beggars are illiterate. A study carried out by a research team from the Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Endowments, Call and Guidance found that a majority of the beggars caught were non-Saudi and that Jeddah ranked first in terms of the number of beggars, followed by Makkah and Riyadh. “The new raids will contribute to getting rid of such chaos in the Kingdom. Expat beggars travel across the Kingdom,” Al-Bouq added.
Posted on: Tue, 29 Oct 2013 14:02:49 +0000
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