Seven detained in recent months over exploitation of child beggars

AMMAN — Since the end of December 2019 up until Wednesday, seven people were detained for the exploitation of child beggars and were referred to police stations, according to the Ministry of Social Development 

The ministry’s Spokesperson Ashraf Khreis told The Jordan Times over the phone on Wednesday that the seven detainees were accused of exploiting young boys, girls and women to work as beggars in public places, organising their work, assigning them to different locations and collecting money from them.

Cadres at the ministry’s Anti-Vagrancy Department apprehended the seven individuals after collecting evidence that showed they were exploiting children and attempting to avoid detection, while resisting the department’s employees, according to Khreis.

He highlighted the case of one of the detainees, who exploited three children under the age of 10 despite his monthly pension of JD400 and owning of a supermarket and a delivery vehicle.

The individual was referred to the police to be transferred to the judiciary, in accordance with the cooperation agreement between the Anti-Vagrancy and the Public Security Department.

Khreis said that the ministry “can only point fingers” but cannot take legal action, which is the judiciary’s role, and “the same goes in the case of children”, whose fate is decided by the juvenile court judge. 

“Exploiters must be punished. This is why children should not be given money — it is not cruel; it is necessary,” he said.

In accordance with the Penal Law, those who exploit others and force them to beg are to be jailed for no less than a year, the spokesperson said.

“People should be aware that when they give money to child beggars, it goes to the exploiters and damages them more than actually helping them,” Khreis noted.

“It is impossible to watch everyone at every traffic light, for example, which is why raising people’s awareness on the matter helps limit the phenomenon, which in turns limits the earnings of exploiters,” the spokesperson said.

Many exploiters, he noted, use children who are not related to them, and the judge decides whether the children need to be protected and cared for at a Social Development Ministry centre, or returned to their families.

If the former ruling is made, the children stay at the centre for a period determined by the judge, Khreis said.

During their stay, the centre facilitates their participation in awareness workshops and ensures their education is not interrupted. 

“If citizens truly want to support their communities, they should know where their money goes; it could go to a neighbour in need or to an entity known for giving to the needy,” he concluded. 

Director of the Anti-Vagrancy Department Maher Kloub told The Jordan Times in the middle of December that 3,859 vagrants, including men, women and children, had been detained from the beginning of 2019 to that point. 

At the time, the ministry launched a national campaign to combat the practice around the Kingdom, with the goal of raising awareness “to help people discern the difference between those who are truly in need and those who practise vagrancy to scam people”, Kloub said at the time.