23 Beggars including 4 Females Apprehended in Five Months
ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates - Wednesday, July 17th 2013 [ME NewsWire]
According to statistics published by the Capital Police Directorate, a total of 23 beggars were arrested in the first five months of this year, including 19 males, 4 females, and one minor. The total number of notifications during the same period amounted to 23 reports.
The Capital Police Directorate also classified beggars in age groups: in the 0-17 age group, one beggar; in the 18-35 age group, 17 beggars; and in the 36-53 age group, five beggars.
Brigadier Maktoum Ali Al Sharifi, Director of the Capital Police Directorate at the Abu Dhabi Police indicated that the Directorate has intensified its clampdown campaigns to face beggars and protect society from their evils. "There’s no place in our society for beggars, who try to gain the sympathy of citizens and residents alike, during this Holy Month,” he stated. Moreover, he stressed that the Directorate is endeavoring firmly to fight beggary through task forces established for this end, during the holy month of Ramadan, and will intensify crackdown campaigns across the city of Abu Dhabi to address this scourge and prevent beggars from seeking alms through mendicancy.
Al Sharifi urged all sectors of society to cooperate with the efforts exerted to combat and eradicate this phenomenon. This comes in line with the ‘No to Begging’ initiative launched by the Security Media Department at the General Secretariat of the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior, and implemented by the Directorate General of Police Operations.
The Abu Dhabi Police had called on community members, through an initiative titled "Do not let them use your sympathy", to avoid sympathizing with beggars who resort to fraudulent means to gain citizens and residents’ compassion; and take advantage of people’s tendency for charitable work during this Holy Month.
Al Sharifi underscored the need for individuals to cooperate with the police to fight beggary and enhance the efforts exerted in this regard. For their part, citizens and residents of the UAE regarded beggary as a significant negative problem for the UAE society, which exploits people’s sympathy and the humanitarian spirit of the holy month.
Al Sharifi noted that everyone must assume their societal responsibility in the fight against beggary, which is a source of inconvenience and creates an opportunity for trickery and fraud. Moreover, he urged citizens and residents to report beggars by calling the Operations Room on (999) or any police station.
On the same note, a number of citizens and residents indicated that culture is instrumental in addressing the scourge of beggary; lauding the Ministry of Interior’s efforts to combat this phenomenon, through its awareness campaigns.
Director of the Capital Police Directorate noted that community members’ efforts are a major contributor to the endeavors undertaken by the police institution in this regard. "Concerted efforts and cooperation between the police and community members are vital and extremely important for the Abu Dhabi Police in the fight against beggary and any other phenomenon, and contribute to combat and eradicate such evil scourges,” he continued.
Citizen Salem Al Rashidi underscored that culture is an important factor to combat beggary and eradicate it from society, and to promote efforts exerted for this end. He praised the Ministry of Interior’s awareness campaigns organized across the various emirates, to acquaint community members with the risks of interacting with beggars and the need to report them immediately.
For her part, Dr. Samah Mahdi, an Arab, said that mendicancy is an uncivilized negative phenomenon that has recently invaded the UAE society; expressing her surprise to see that beggars are all of Arab nationalities. She noted that beggars resort to various methods and pretexts to get alms; adding that despite the diligent efforts exerted by the competent authorities, particularly, the Abu Dhabi Police, to address this phenomenon through awareness campaigns, it is abound during the holy month of Ramadan, and during the different holidays and religious events.
Al Zahraa Alsaleih, of Arab nationality, corroborates Dr. Samah Mahdi’s opinion that most beggars are of Arab nationalities, despite the many charitable and humanitarian institutions and bodies that provide help for the needy. She recounts her own and most recent experience with beggars, a few days ago in the parking lot of an Abu Dhabi hospital. "I was taking my daughter for therapy, when an Arab woman begged me for alms. What I gave her did not seem enough; she tried to trick me into giving her more money. I did not appreciate this behavior,” she said. "We are a kind and loving people, and I feared that this woman was truly needy. Yet, the funny thing is, and much to my dismay; after extending her hands to get alms from people at the mall, I was surprised to see the beggar having lunch with her daughter in one of the mall’s finest restaurants,” she continued.
She reiterated the need to educate community members on the risks of beggary so as to enhance the efforts of the Abu Dhabi Police in combating this scourge.
Commenting on the issue, Mona Hussein, also of Arab nationality, indicated that she has been living in the United Arab Emirates for almost twenty five years. "Beggary was almost non-existent 15 years ago; and may be linked to the high numbers of visitors coming to the UAE,” she continued; noting that she learned from the media that some individuals take advantage of the holy month and obtain a visitor’s visa to come to the UAE and then spread across its emirates to beg for alms.
She recounted some of her encounters with beggars; such as the time when a man approached her and her husband at a petrol station asking for assistance, claiming to have lost his papers and money. In a separate incident, an Arab woman carrying a child knocked on her door and asked for alms, under the pretext of a dispute with her husband, who threw her and her child out the house.
She hailed the state's efforts to extend a helping hand to all people in need, through the numerous charitable institutions and organizations, in addition to the UAE Red Crescent. She also praised the efforts exerted by the various security and police agencies in the state to combat the scourge of beggary, and to provide psychological, social and financial support to those who need it. "Despite all of these efforts, there are immoral people who take advantage of the spirit of the holy month of Ramadan and other religious events, to perform acts of trickery and fraud. This requires concerted efforts from all to rid society of this phenomenon; particularly since the UAE has attained prominent positions in several areas,” she concluded.
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Photo Captions:
Photo1: Brigadier Maktoum Ali Al Sharifi:
"Everyone must assume their societal responsibility in the fight against beggary, which is a source of inconvenience and creates an opportunity for trickery and fraud”.
Photo2: Citizens and Residents:
"Mendicancy is a significant negative problem for the UAE society, which exploits people’s sympathy and the humanitarian spirit of the holy month”.
Photo3: The need to report beggars:
The Capital Police Directorate urged citizens and residents to report beggars by calling the Operations Room on (999) or any police station.
The Arabic-language text of this announcement is the official, authoritative version. Translations are provided as an accommodation only, and should be cross-referenced with the Arabic-language text, which is the only version of the text intended to have legal effect.
Contacts
The UAE Minister of Interior's General Secretariat, Tactical Affairs and Security Media Department
Abu Dhabi Police GHQ - Security Media
Chris Cron +971-(0)-50-987-1317
E-mail: cron.media@hotmail.com
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