Morocco expands campaign against begging

29/09/2008

A Moroccan government initiative to combat begging will be expanded, according to Minister of Social Development Nouzha Skelli.

By Mawassi Lahcen for Magharebia in Casablanca – 29/09/08

[Mawassi Lahcen] Moroccan Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity Nouzha Skelli said the government is expanding programmes to combat begging.

Coinciding with the last three days of Ramadan, Morocco has launched a new campaign to combat begging. Nouzha Skelli, Minister of Social Development, Family and Solidarity, cautioned citizens not to play into the hands of professional beggars who exploit the pity of the kind hearted.

Skelli called on Moroccans to allocate their charity and alms to people they know, whether relations, neighbours or well-known associations and charity organisations.

A Ministry of Social Development study released Friday (September 26th) estimates there are 196,000 beggars in Morocco, 49% of whom are female. The study, announced at the Tit Mellil Social Centre in Casablanca, also reveals that 62.4% of these beggars are professionals, with bank accounts and real estate properties purchased with money received through begging.

Skelli said that the government has endorsed a rights-based approach in fighting professional begging, which is calls a violation of human rights and integrity, especially the rights of the children and the disabled, who are often taken advantage of in harsh conditions. Professional beggars often mistreat children on the street in the interest of attracting attention and soliciting charity.

In its battle against begging, the government's strategy is to approach beggars through deploying social aid teams, discuss the reasons individuals begin begging and propose solutions.

Eighteen months ago, the government launched a campaign in Casablanca by expanding the Tit Mellil Social Centre and tasking it with eradicating poverty. Social aid teams patrol the city, picking up mendicants and registering them at the centre.

"The first thing we do is categorise newcomers, to distinguish between instances of real social problems and cases of professional begging," said Abdel Kreem Al Sabbar, general manager of the Tit Mellil Social Centre. "Social cases are then referred to the social aid department to figure out the appropriate solutions. Frauds and swindlers, on the other hand, are turned over to the authorities."

Al Sabbar said the centre has handled over 5,000 cases since opening 18 months ago.

"The first thing we check," he continued, "is whether a beggar has a family to support."

The centre then re-integrates them into families with the support and assistance of the social aid department.

"In cases where family reintegration is not possible," the director said, "we join hands with other associations seeking social integration through rehabilitation and professional training."

Medical patients, the disabled and the elderly who have no family to support them are lodged at the centre itself.

Al Sabbar also talked about the wealth accumulated by some professional beggars.

"We were shocked to see cases where beggars possessed property and bank accounts with substantial funds and yet continued to beg."

Al Sabar said beggars referred to the centre during the past 18 months possessed nearly 2.1 million dirhams, 1.54 million dirhams of which was in cash, with the rest in accounts or in the form of jewellery.

For his part, Abdel Kreem Bou Azza, head of social development at the ministry, said current Moroccan law does not permit the confiscation of funds acquired through illegal begging. However, he said the government is working to pass a law authorising the seizure of such money and allocating it to a poverty eradication fund.

Bou Azza said the government has started to expand the Tit Mellil Centre in Casablanca and to open similar institutions in other cities, starting with Rabat and Fez.