AMMONNEWS -By Hanin Kreishan- Cadger is a person who survives by practicing begging in order to live. However, not all of them are poor. Some are making good money, but are begging as a usual habit in order to increase their own incomes. Refer to “Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD) – Legal Aid 8/18/2015” report for Adv. Ahmad Akho Amera depicted “begging” as a negative phenomenon has became common and spread throughout the country. Begging becomes a threat when it goes beyond the mendicants themselves. Concentrating on their behaviors of using others in their begging act, especially kids, to seek favors which takes multiple ways start with showing body wounds, disabilities, standing or wandering in a common place, and most of the time, gathering to make gangs by using women, children, kids, and infants to gain more money illegally.
Laila Azzeh reported in her article at the Jordan Times “Over 1,000 beggars caught so far this year” in May, 2015, that the total of mendicants were caught estimated of 1,116 cadgers for the beginning of this year, which have been doubled with the same period in 2014. Although, Jordanian Government announced the zero-tolerance policy towards such acts, but figures are rapidly increased. According to Social Development Ministry Spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout; telling The Jordan Times that “… noting that about a fifth of the vagrants caught this year are Syrians”. And continued that the caught Syrians have received the same treatment as Jordanians. And he also mentioned that most of them were women, while most of the minors were boys as in 2014, around 3,300 cadgers had been detained included 25% were children. The majority were women including 18% Syrian refugees.
The issue didn’t stop on the mendicants’ behaviors, when it expanded to the high incomes that begging afforded to each cadger, as reported in Al-Quds News in January 22, 2015, the average income “per-person per day”, between January of 2014 and November of the same year, was between“150-200JD per day”. Highlighting the dangerous common social phenomenon, Social Development Ministry Spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout announced for Al-Quds News that infants were using in begging and the one baby was rented for 20 JD per day.
A scoop by Al-madenah News in March, 2015 announced that in the words of Social Development Ministry Spokesperson Fawaz Ratrout, recently, a cadger’s family has paid 100,000 JD bail to release their son from jail!
Malek Obidat, has highlighted the negative socio-economic impacts of cadgers in Irbid, when wrote in Deeretna News, in June 21, 2015 about negative impacts of cadgers in Irbid –one of the most famous cities in the North Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan- by confirming that 50% of cadgers who were caught in Irbid were not Jordanian, most of them were Syrians, refer to the statistics analysis for 2014, and the negative influences on the economic sectors there since some of merchants and stores’ owners were complained from cadgers rapidly increased with having bad behaviors such as stuck into the clients and insisting to help them by begging in a bad way to have money which most of the time makes troubles and fights between the clients and cadgers which made most of clients ran away from place that they might find one of cadger which reflected negatively on the stores’ owners and merchants by that year.
Again according to Adv. Ahmad Akho Amera’s report, explained the way of reducing the begging phenomenon which was found by the Ministry of Social Development (MOSD) that works on fighting mendicants by forming anti-begging teams working all over the Kingdom. The team members have legal and judicial capabilities; empower and competency to investigate crimes, collect evidence as well as detain committers then refer them through public security personnel and governors to the concerned judicial entities for punishment. Thus, the team members arrest beggars and send them to the security center, then to the Governor who will prepare an agreement guaranteeing from the family not to repeat the crime. But this procedure does not prevent cases from going to the competent courts; as such an act is a criminal act under Jordanian law.
Also, he highlighted the dangers of non-Jordanian cadgers when he said:
“However fear is increased when the cadger is a foreigner (non-Jordanian) as it is possible for the governor to issue a deportation order against him/her. For example a Syrian who has been caught begging, regardless if it is a first time or multiple time offence, and the individual is not registered at UNHCR and does not have a refugee or asylum seeker certificate is different from a Syrian registered with UNHCR and holding said certificate(s). This person, with proper registration and certificates, has protection from deportation with the exception of a crime committed relating to state security which then increases the chances of deportation.”
On the other hand, Adv. Ahmad Akho Amera’s report has mentioned the Ministry of Social Development’s (MOSD) role in preparing reform plans for cadgers after they have been caught through care houses established by the Ministry and offering rehabilitation programs to train and qualify cadgers to acquire skills, and vocational, industrial and technical expertise, which help cadgers to give up begging and allow them to depend on themselves as productive and active people in the community.
Therefore, Adv. Ahmad Akho Amera found that we can improve the situation of the cadgers phenomenon by relying on the importance of workshops that increase the legal awareness of such groups who have usually done things, such as begging unconsciously and often unknown that they have broken the law in such acts. As he stated the efforts of ARDD-Legal Aid in providing such workshops to increase the legal awareness of Jordanians and non-Jordanians residents in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
comment replay 