http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/article96126.ece
Ramadan signals boom time for beggars By RIMA AL-MUKHTAR | ARAB NEWS Published: Aug 5, 2010 23:02 Updated: Aug 5, 2010 23:02 JEDDAH: Ramadan is the month when people try to do good deeds, including giving in charity. However, some people distribute alms the wrong way by giving to beggars instead of registered charities, something that causes a surge in people begging on the streets during the holy month. "Begging is like a business for us because we rely on it to earn a living. It's like a full time job for most of us. We sometimes move from one place to another looking for people to give us money," said Fatima, a Somali beggar. "Ramadan is a month in which we make more money than any other month. I sometimes make less than a SR100 in a month, but in Ramadan I can easily make over SR5,000," she said. "People don't just give us money, they also give us food and clothes in Ramadan which is all good because we can sell this to each other," said Sofia, another beggar. "We can easily get people's sympathy in Ramadan because it's a month of giving and feeling sorry for the poor," she added. Many people loathe seeing beggars in streets and in shopping centers and wonder how they could make them go away. "I hate how beggars run around us and show their disabilities, especially in Ramadan. I don't know where they come from. Their numbers increase in Ramadan," said Lamia Al-Salhi. "I don't feel safe when they are around. I fear they will steal my purse or kidnap my child when I'm out shopping. I wonder what the authorities are doing to combat begging because we always read what they are doing in the newspapers but never see any progress on the ground," she added. According to a source at the government office that combats beggars, members of the public should not give to beggars as that encourages people to ask for money. The source added that if anyone wants to give money then they should donate to charities, which will then donate to those in need. "Ramadan has become the month of begging because many people prefer giving away clothes, food and money to the poor during this month. But what happens is that people simply look for the nearest beggar. This is wrong," said the source. "Begging is not something that is modern. People and the government should work together to limit it. As for citizens, we ask them not to deal with beggars and as far as we're concerned, we try our best to catch them and deal with them according to the Kingdom's rules," he added. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
