Two teenagers make JD180 a day begging in Amman –– ministry

AMMAN — Begging in Amman has turned into a lucrative business for some, with some beggars making thousands of dinars, according to the Ministry of Social Development.

The ministry's anti-vagrancy team has apprehended two “juveniles” this week for the 11th time over the past few years, an official said Thursday.

The siblings — a 16-year old girl, and a 13-year old boy — make up to JD180 daily through begging people in the streets, and they have bought a car for their uncle from the money they collect.

“Whenever they are suspended, their grandparents release them on bail,” Fawaz Ratrout, the ministry’s spokesperson, told The Jordan Times over the phone.

He added that “they told us” that their grandparents force them to go back to the streets as “begging” is their main source of income.

According to Ratrout, the ministry this time will recommend not releasing them with bail and keeping them in the rehabilitation centre for their protection.

Another case that the ministry dealt with last week involved a man who was pretending to be blind to collect money from passersby in Amman's Rabiah District, the spokesperson said.

According to ministry figures, 1,323 beggars were apprehended in the first two weeks of Ramadan, 129 of whom (10 per cent) are Syrians.

Of the total, 566 are females, and 300 are children.

Most of the apprehended beggars were in Amman, Irbid, Zarqa and Aqaba.