On the seamy side of Jeddah lies Karantina, a sordid district whose name has held unfavorable connotations for being a hotbed for illegal activities from drug dealing to prostitution. If you have lately driven through Karantina in southern Jeddah, mostly populated by illegal Africans, you've probably noticed a different Jeddah packed with illegal car washers on both sides of its main street turning it into a little Africa over stagnant dirty swamps. Hip-hop music radiating from customers' cars, being washed, mixed with African voices around throughout the day unto late night hours would penetrate Saudi ears with cultural wax. Illegal street vendors, beggars, pirated CDs and DVDs, water detergents, buckets, and car waste would be a regular along the 3-km strip from Seaport Highway to King Abdul Aziz Hospital. For a measly SR12, a customer gets a shiny car back in less than 30 minutes. In fact, they don't harass motorists who come to them from different parts of Jeddah. But the situation was starting to get out of control as complaints from legal residents started to bombard the authorities, prompting Jeddah Police to conduct routine raids to round them up and eventually deport them. Residents reported crimes and cautioned about potential security threat from these illegal aliens. In response, police launched a sudden security campaign last week in Karantina netting many illegal Africans. But some criminal gangs and other illegal aliens who have gained vast experience dealing with security forces managed to escape the police net. They are now believed to be cautiously moving from one area to another. As thousands of them remain on the run, they, however, are often just one step ahead of the authorities. Some unsuspecting customers who have been using the services of these illegal Africans were recently held for investigation. “It is illegal to hire an illegal worker in any type of work,” said Jeddah Police spokesman Col. Misfer Al-Juaid. – Okaz __
