MUSCAT // Kareem Balochi put his life at risk when he travelled by boat illegally from Gwadar in south-western Pakistan to Oman. The 26-year-old decided to make the gruelling journey so he could beg in Oman during Ramadan to send money home.
It took Mr Balochi nearly a day — travelling in a rickety vessel packed with sheep — before landing in the Musandam peninsula in the early hours of the morning before Ramadan started.
He was not alone. There were six other young men from the Pakistani port of Gwadar, located across the Arabian Gulf from Oman.
The seven men then travelled by road to Muscat on the first day of Ramadan to start their begging expedition. They hid in the back of the pickup truck when the road passed in and out of the UAE.
"Ours is one of many boats from Gwadar that travel daily to Musandam a month before Ramadan. We are all beggars. I would say at least 700 Pakistanis from Gwadar are here this Ramadan," Mr Balochi told The National.
“Life is difficult there [in Gwadar]. No jobs. I made about 880 Omani rials (Dh8,760) in Ramadan last year begging in Oman. I earn that for two years working as a labourer back home,” he said.
Worshippers and residents say an unusually high number of beggars from overseas are in the country this Ramadan begging at the mosques or walking door to door.
“Yemenis go through a war and they find Ramadan difficult to make ends meet than the usual months. They just cross the border illegally and find their way to Muscat,” said Hassan Al Khalili, one of the regular worshippers of a mosque in Muscat.
“But it is not just them begging. Syrians as well, Bangladeshis and Libyans. They eat iftar with us in the mosque and this time their number is much larger than last year,” said Mr Al Khalili.
A Syrian who identified himself as Mustafa was standing at the gate of a mosque holding a placard in his right hand, with Arabic scribbling that read: “Help a fellow Muslim in distress”.
In his left hand was a tin cup for worshippers to drop money in.
At the sight of a police patrol car, he and other beggars disappeared, only to come back a few minutes later.
Begging is illegal in Oman and those found guilty face up to three months imprisonment and deportation.
“It is not a good place to be in Syria right now,” said Mustafa.
“I came here illegally through the UAE-Oman border last week. I heard that the policemen in Oman are not that vigilant like it is in UAE.
“I would say there are at least 150 of my compatriots begging in Oman this month. We don’t beg in one mosque but in different places to escape police detection,” he said.
Salim Al Aulaki, a policeman on patrol in Muscat said they arrested 36 beggars from six different countries in the first two days of Ramadan this year.
“In the whole of Ramadan last year, we arrested about 140. This time about 20 per cent of that number in just two days. It means there are a lot of them here this Ramadan,” he said.
Beggars are also spotted waiting at the ATM machines as well as knocking on doors pestering people for money. Some wait at petrol stations carrying infants or showing fake medical documents to drivers filling up their cars with fuel.
“This man, speaking in a whisper, showed me a medical certificate saying he needed an urgent throat surgery back in his native country. He was here in Oman to collect money from begging to pay for it,” Suhail Al Sharji, a taxi driver based in Muscat, said.
“It looks fake [the medical document] but this explains how far these beggars go to get money from people in the streets.”
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
This is an info box
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Henrik Stenson's finishes at Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship:
2006 - 2
2007 - 8
2008 - 2
2009 - MC
2010 - 21
2011 - 42
2012 - MC
2013 - 23
2014 - MC
2015 - MC
2016 - 3
2017 - 8
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Frankenstein in Baghdad
Ahmed Saadawi
Penguin Press
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Hobby: "It is not really a hobby but I am very curious person. I love reading and spend hours on research."
Favourite author: Malcom Gladwell
Favourite travel destination: "Antigua in the Caribbean because I have emotional attachment to it. It is where I got married."
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Sanchez's club career
2005-2006: Cobreloa
2006-2011 Udinese
2006-2007 Colo-Colo (on loan)
2007-2008 River Plate (on loan)
2011-2014 Barcelona
2014–Present Arsenal
ACL Elite (West) - fixtures
Monday, Sept 30
Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)
Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)
