= DISTURBING TALE: A child begging at one of the streets in Jeddah. (AN photo by Ahmed Hashshad)
MAKKAH: Smuggling children from neighboring Yemen into Saudi Arabia to beg for money, especially during pilgrimage season and the holy month of Ramadan, is a rising phenomenon. Nobody really knows how many children are trafficked into the country and forced into bondage as child beggars. Estimates vary from a few dozen to as many as 10,000. Whatever the number, it is recognized to be a problem that lies in the area of child exploitation and child labor. It is a violation of UN conventions on children’s rights, and it robs countless children of not just their childhood but adulthood as well, as they are kept out of school as virtual slaves to racketeers as slimy as the worst mafia captains. These overseers and criminals can even be the heartless fathers of these children. HERE<http://1426.blogspot.com/2009/08/yemeni-kids-begiing-for-life-in-saudi.html>
