UAE beggars defy police warnings to plead for donations

Despite knowing the practice is illegal, beggars say they are willing to risk prosecution because of their desperate circumstances.

A woman donates money to a beggar outside a prayer area in Al Baraha, Dubai. Police say that only by giving through the recognised charitable organisations can residents be sure their zakat is going tShow more

ABU DHABI // Each year, six women make a trip from Iran by boat, risking prosecution to beg for money house to house at a time of year when Muslims are most focused on charity. Police warn against giving to the many beggars who illegally take advantage of residents' generosity.

The women travel in a small boat to the capital from a village in southern Iran to take advantage of the spirit of giving that is strongly tied to Ramadan and Eid Al Fitr.

They know it is illegal – begging for money and food, from door to door – and that they risk prosecution if they are caught by police, who have launched their annual clampdown.

Senior police have asked the public not to encourage beggars, but to send their donations to charitable organisations where they can be assured that their charity will go to good causes.

But despite the risk, each Ramadan beggars from overseas arrive in the UAE to plead for money. They are usually found hanging about near mosques.

In many Abu Dhabi neighbourhoods it is common to see beggars going from house to house in groups.

“Every year we come,” says Amina, 35, a mother of three and one of the six Iranian beggars.

“Usually we get Dh5 or Dh10 when we roam around the houses. This year I am afraid to go to the houses, afraid of getting caught by police.”

The women say they hope that by the end of their stay they can return home with a few thousand dirhams of donations.

Amina says her husband suffers from health problems and cannot work, which also means they cannot afford treatment for him.

“My children are always hungry. Where can I feed them from?” she asks. “My family members won’t allow me to work and my husband can’t work. I wanted to be a janitor, only to be able to keep my children comfortable.”

In their village, the women say they live in small houses of wood covered with mud, with no running water or sewerage system. They say they cannot afford electricity, education or health care.

To get to Abu Dhabi, they say they paid about Dh1,000 each for passage across the Arabian Gulf, money that they do not have and usually borrow from other people.

“We also have to get a visa but it is more expensive, so we ask the men to wait until we get back and we pay them from what we have,” Amina says. She and her relatives arrived in Abu Dhabi in the week before Ramadan and are staying at another relative’s house, where they work for the money she gives them.

Her sister, Zahra, says her husband used to come to Abu Dhabi to beg years ago but has been caught by police.

He was let go after three days and deported immediately, so Zahra says she is now the breadwinner for her family.

“What I find I get from the good people here. If we are not in need we will not come,” she says.

Another beggar, Jameela, 23, says she married when she was 18 but her husband’s reluctance to work is forcing her to beg in Abu Dhabi.

“My husband is very good, always praising Allah, but he doesn’t work. I keep crying and telling him I will not live with him,” Jameela says.

Education in their little village is very expensive, and many children grow up without basic reading and writing skills, making it even more difficult to find a job.

“I came to Abu Dhabi this year to raise money for a sewing machine,” Jameela says. “I want to make dresses for the people in my village.

“But for the brides, I will make them for free because most are orphans, so they can’t afford it.”

The women say that, although some householders are rude, many are generous.

“People in the UAE who know of our circumstances are very kind,” says Amina. “They give us rice, oil and money.

“We don’t want anything, only to be comfortable. Only Allah is with us, and the few people that are helping us.”

Maj Gen Khamis Al Muzeina, chief of Dubai Police, warned anyone caught begging would be subject to legal procedures.