Posted on 08/24/2006 2:33:23 AM PDT by PrinceOfCups
JEDDAH, 24 August 2006 — Following the recent raid on terrorists in the Al-Jamia district, voices of concern are being raised that overpopulated areas where buildings have been constructed in a haphazardly fashion across Jeddah are being used by terrorists and criminals to hide in and evade suspicion.
This is the second time that the Al-Jamia district of Jeddah has come into the limelight. Previously in October 2004, Al-Jamia came into the spotlight when security forces and terrorists exchanged gunfire for 12 hours in which one man died and another was arrested.
Dr. Bakr Bagader, head of sociology at the King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah, told Asharq Al-Awsat that “expatriates and people that are less well off are attracted to come and live in these areas because of the inexpensive accommodation found there and their location.”
Dr. Bagader said that there aren’t many utilities in these areas and that the roads are generally narrow and therefore limit the presence of security forces and the police. “This is what really makes these areas a hospitable place for criminals and terrorists,” he said.
Dr. Bagader believes that such areas need to be reconstructed to stop being used as dens of illegal activities.
“There is an urgent need to reconstruct these random districts, so terrorists and criminals stop hiding in them. What happened in the Al-Jamia district can easily happen in any other old and badly-built area,” he said.
According to Dr. Bagader, the solution lies in increasing utilities and services, widening roads, increasing the presence of security forces, and a general increase in awareness among people that live in those areas that they need to be on the look out for anything or anyone suspicious.
Guns and butter. Yeah, that's the ticket.
I've traveled around Saudi cities; it's shocking how much poverty they have for a country so deeply awash in oil money. It just goes to show the utter corruption of the several thousand "royal princes," who spend the cash on jaunts to Europe rather than creating jobs in the homeland.
"of" should be "or"
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