THEY wear blue uniforms and can be seen on streets holding brooms. People take pity and give them money and this is what most people know about street cleaners, but there are many other aspects of their lives that most have never heard of. To understand what it's like to be a street cleaner, a reporter from the Arabic language daily Al-Madinah joined a group of cleaners and wore the same blue uniform, covered part of his face with a scarf, grabbed a wooden broom and hit the streets of Jeddah. The reporter discovered that the world of street cleaners is simple just like their dreams. All cleaners rejoice when a passerby gives them money. In fact, they often wait patiently for money or any non-cash donations. “In two days, passersby gave me a total of SR42. I'm sure the other cleaners in the same neighborhood also received decent money because they all looked happy,” said the reporter. Street cleaners are often mistreated as some citizens look down upon them despite the fact that they keep the Kingdom's streets and cities clean. “I noticed they get upset when people mistreat them. I was worried something would give away my identity and end my mission. But slowly, I realized that nobody cared about my blue uniform or even made eye contact with me,” the reporter said. He added that people approached him and gave him a riyal or two throughout the day. Cleaning around traffic lights is particularly rewarding. When the traffic light turned red, the reporter approached stationary cars, said “asaalamu alaikum” and many drivers rolled down their windows and gave him money. The reporter noticed that people with limited income give more generously to beggars than rich people in fancy cars. While the former go to the trouble of calling on the street cleaner to give him money, the latter do not care. When the reporter stood near a traffic light in an upscale neighborhood, he did not receive any money. However, when he moved to a traffic light near Palestine Street, it was a different story altogether. How much does a street cleaner make in a day? One of the street cleaners the reporter spoke to said sometimes a cleaner can get as much as SR1,000 a day from begging. In Ramadan, this figure jumps to SR2,000. Non-cash gifts include clothes, shoes and watches. Street cleaners watch out for one another and help each other out whenever someone is in need. They show one another where to keep the clothes, shoes and other donations people give them. Most of the time, they keep their things in deserted houses because they cannot carry them while they work. At the end of the day, they collect everything and take it back to their accommodations. Street cleaners sometimes work as porters and carry boxes, groceries and other goods for people for a small amount of money. These odd jobs help cleaners improve their monthly income, which rarely exceeds SR300. Some cleaners collect aluminum cans off streets and sell them to soft drink companies.
Others collect miscellaneous items and sell them to scrap metal shops. Street cleaners are more likely to contract dangerous diseases because they work in an environment surrounded by poisonous materials and garbage. They are rarely given protective gloves and most were clueless about maintaining personal hygiene. Regardless of the weather, cleaners wear the same uniform and the company employing them does not offer them summer or winter clothes. Still, they rarely complain. Another problem are teenagers who often attack cleaners on the streets for no reason. “I faced the same situation. A teenager in his car got closer to me while I was picking up some trash and hit the cardboard box I was holding for no reason,” the reporter said. Street cleaners gather at a Friday market and engage in several activities. It is a busy market as a large number of workers go there to sell or buy things or just to eat food from their native Bangladesh. The market helps them get some rest and provides them a break from their grueling daily routines.
