With regard to the article "Are they street cleaners or beggars?" (Mar. 20), to say that street cleaners beg is a blatant lie. I often come to Saudi Arabia for Umrah, and I make it a point to give Sadaqah (voluntary charity) to those who are cleaning the streets. I give it to them; they do not beg for it. Even in my home country, I do not give to beggars but only to those who do something to earn a living. I also help poor people to set up small businesses to generate income. There are many families who have benefited. I am saying this to counter the accusation about street cleaners in the Kingdom. Ismaeel. Marikar, Online response When their companies only pay their paltry salary once every few months, what do you expect them to do? Let the newspaper interview these people who are toiling to keep the country clean and name the erring contractors who are responsible. The authorities are keeping their eyes closed, so people out of humanitarian considerations are forced to pay, seeing the plight of these workers. Don't call them beggars. They came as cleaners, but have been forced to seek assistance from members of the public. Noble, Online response Don t blame them for begging. Do you expect them to work hard all the day for SR 400 a month? Talk to them and ask them what they were promised when they were recruited. I am sure that they were offered a higher salary or were told that they could beg to make more money. Fix a minimum salary in Saudi Arabia for expatriate workers before talking about beggars. Ashref, Online response First, street cleaners are not paid their wages on time. Second, if they were not underpaid, they would not be like street beggars. The authorities must intervene and fix a minimum salary for them. Riaz Murtaza, Online response Step 1: Pay them a decent salary. Step 2: Treat them like human beings and not like slaves. Step 3: Stop acting as though you are better than a street cleaner. Muhammad, Online response
