Several charitable organizations and philanthropists in the Eastern Province have erected more than 200 air-conditioned Iftar tents in open areas near mosques, bachelors quarters, industrial cities and Dammam, Al-Khobar, Ras Tanura and Jubail Corniche areas. Charitable organizations are vying with each other to set up tents to accommodate an increasing number of low-income, mostly expatriate laborers who wish to break their fast during the holy month of Ramadan. The Islamic Cultural Center (ICC) in the Eastern Province has erected large tents opposite the offices of the Passports Department in Dammam, Al-Khobar, Jubail and Al-Ahsa which can accommodate more than 7,000 persons. The chief organizer of the mass Iftar program of the ICC told Saudi Gazette that more and more people came to their tents last Ramadan to break their fast. In view of the increasing number of people, we have increased the number of tents, he said. “We conduct religious lectures and study classes about Ramadan and hold quiz competitions before Iftar time. We have made separate arrangements for Filipinos, Sri Lankans, Indians, Bangladeshis, Indonesians and Arabs so that programs can be organized in their languages. Indians have been further split into separate sections for people speaking Urdu, Malayalam, Tamil, Kannada,” he said. Meanwhile, tent companies in the Eastern Province are also doing a brisk business and are working overtime to set up tents in different areas. “We are working day and night in order to complete our work using all our manpower. This year there is an increased demand for tents from charitable organizations,” Ahmed Naser, a sales executive of a leading tent factory in Al-Khobar, told Saudi Gazette. Sulaiman Rasheed, an Iftar tent organizer, said that studies are conducted to identify locations to erect Iftar tents so that more and more low-income foreign workers are able to benefit from them. Special committees at various charitable organizations organize the menus, monitor food quality on a daily basis and ensure that each food item is packed nicely in a box. If there is the slightest suspicion about the quality of any food item, it is immediately rejected and the catering group which provided it is blacklisted. For breaking the fast, dates, water, laban, fried rice with chicken or mutton, fruits and juices are served.
