THE Kingdom's major cities have tens of thousands of undocumented workers who are being used by criminal syndicates to beg on the streets. The gangs take advantage of the plight of these undocumented workers and their families and often use threats of violence to send them out near stoplights and onto the streets to beg. The beggars only get a small amount of money they make every day while their handlers take the majority. Despite efforts by the concerned authorities to crack down on begging, according to a recent study the number of beggars in the country has increased, Al-Riyadh daily reported. The study said the majority of beggars are either undocumented workers who illegally crossed the Kingdom's borders or Haj and Umrah overstayers. According to the study, which warned about the social, economic and potential security threats posed by beggars, the majority of beggars are non-Saudi, illiterate and poor and can be seen at malls, near mosques and stoplights. Many refugees who arrived from war-torn countries have been used as beggars. Some are children and women pretending to sell roses, small toys and miscellaneous items. Their aggressive sales techniques are a thin veil for their panhandling activities. The study said the majority of beggars caught by authorities are between the ages of 16 and 25. Many of the beggars are married men who are jobless and have large families to support. They often carry documents that claim they have medical problems that prevent them from working. Al-Riyadh daily spoke to several members of the public for their opinions on the problem. Amaal Al-Sulaiman, a housewife, said every time her driver stops at a stoplight, beggars, some of who are children and women, approach her and offer her miscellaneous items trying to convince her to buy their merchandise. "I think their numbers have increased and they are seen now almost everywhere even in the upper-scale districts of the city. What worries me most are the child beggars. Some of them look ill and miserable. It's written all over their faces. Maybe they are abused by the gangs that handle them," she said. Sarah Saud, a private sector employee, said she has noticed that many old women bring little children with them and sit on the pavement near large villas and palaces. If someone or a car passes by, the women raise their hand asking for money. "They make you pity them. I think some of these beggars are Saudi because they speak the dialect perfectly and are good at convincing passersby to give them money," she said. When an Al-Riyadh reporter approached a beggar who had her face covered and asked what led her to beg, she claimed it was her country's deteriorating security situation. "The security situation in my country deteriorated and we had to run away. I have a big family to support. The money I get from begging barely helps me support my family. Some members of my family are old and crippled while others have chronic medical conditions," she said. The Ministry of Social Service has said the number of female Saudi beggars has increased lately and the ministry officials have caught 1,260 Saudi women and 977 non-Saudi women begging on the streets in the past few months. The study noted that non-Saudi beggars know very well that the concerned authorities will not deport them if their country is undergoing political turmoil or if the security situation back home is precarious.
