Spatial Differences of Rich and Poor Neighbourhood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - Essay Example

?Spatial Differences of Rich and Poor Neighbourhood in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia, the oil rich nation is transforming quickly from atraditional country into a modern society. But, the gap between the poor and the rich keeps widening day by day. This paper explores the reason for this gap by studying poor and the posh areas in the modern city Jeddah located in the west coast of Saudi Arabia. The study analyzes six different factors based on birth rate, income rate, employment facility, education access, healthcare facilities and the crime rate in two prominent areas of the Jeddah city, the Al-Naeem district and the Al-Sharafiyah district. The paper examines how these various hypotheses affects the living condition of the poor and the rich people in these areas using the data collected through an elaborate survey in both the districts. The outcome of the research states there is relatively little difference between the life style of the rich and the poor. Both have nearly equal access to the education and employment. The chances for the poor people to earn more are slightly less than the rich owing to their rich people’s high education standard. The birth rate in both the poor and the rich families are more or less similar with slight variations in the number of children and the earning elders. But, the prevalence of crime rate is much higher in the poor neighbourhoods than the rich people’s area. Similarly, advanced healthcare facilities are mostly limited to the rich people. Introduction Just like many other Saudi Arabian cities, Jeddah too is mostly deserted. The fast growing city is located on the border of the Red Sea. The Al-Sarawat Mountains serve as a natural fortification for the city in the eastern side. The Gulf of Salman present on the northern side of the city acts as a great port. The cities location makes it a gateway for Mecca and Medina, the Jerusalem of the Islamists. The influx of tourists from international communities was crucial in the development of this multicultural city1. Jeddah is located on Tahoma coastal plain that is about 75 kilometres west of Mecca2. The region earned natural environmental distinction with a wide desert, eroded plateau at the central region, and the weather is dry and hot, although winter brings its cold season3. The climate in the city is usually quite high ranging up to 43 °C (109 °F) in the summers. Dust storms and bush fires are quite common. Jeddah is situated at the heart of the Middle East. It can be reached easily through flight from any North African and other Middles East country’s capital within a couple of hours. It is a major port of Saudi Arabia. Jeddah is considered as the next major commercial city in Saudi Arabia after Dubai. It is quite westernized and has all the modern facilities suitable for a metropolitan city. Jeddah's major shopping area Tahlia Street features everything from Gucci to Armani products along with their traditional jewelleries. Coined as the bride of the Red Sea, Jeddah stretched in a spatial area of 1,320 km24. Objective of the Study The main objective of the study is to spot out whether there is a significant gap between the life of the rich and the poor in the Saudi Arabia. The study selects the historical city of Jeddah as sample and explores the two districts in it, the economically backward Al-Sharafiyah and the posh Al-Naeem area. The main question considered for research is; How different is the life of the people living the economically backward regions like Al-Sharafiyah different from the ones living in flourishing areas like Al-Naeem. The study compares the various aspects of the life of the poor and the rich through six different hypotheses listed below. Hypothesis 1: The birth rate and the number of family members in the Al-Sharafiyah district influence the fertility of the region. Justification: Al-Naeem has controlled infant birth rate and high earning adult’s rate in each family. On the other hand Al-Sharafiyah has more number of small children and controlled number of bread winning adults for each family, keeping them poor. Hypothesis 2: The overall income rate is very low in the Al- Sharafiyah area which leads to a less fertile life style. Each house has several small children doing odd jobs and bringing in little income. Since, the head count in each family is very high, it is quite hard for the parents to provide good education or advanced healthcare to all their children. Justification: Starting to work at a young age without proper educational qualification makes most of the children in areas like Al-Sharafiyah become unskilled labours that will fetch very little income throughout their life. This keeps their families poor forever. Hypothesis3: The infant mortality rate is quite low in the Al-Naeem area, proving they have better access to advanced healthcare Justification: Families living in posh areas like Al-Naeem breed only limited children and tend to their healthy living carefully. Since, there are more than one earning members in each house they are able to pay huge medical bills easily. On the other hand people in Al-Sharafiyah have very little knowledge about infant health care and much less resources to tend to the healthy existence of each child. Hypothesis 4: Considering the literacy rate and attendance in the schools and colleges of both the areas, Al-Naeem has much lesser school and university dropouts. Justification: Since, the people living in poor areas send their children to manual labour at a very young age they are not able to continue their studies keeping the literacy rate in the area very low. This lack of education prevents their chance to transform themselves into valuable skilled labours, sealing their future fate as low middle class or poor people for their entire life. Hypothesis 5: Job security is low in Al-Sharafiyah area because of high levels of illiteracy and abundant cheap labour. Justification: There are too many people ready to take up manual labour in the Al-Sharafiyah area. These poor people face stiff competition from immigrants of other countries too. They do not have any job security because they do not know how to stress on contracts and the employers are keen on replacing them with immigrant workers ready to work for much lower wages. Hypothesis 6: Al-Sharafiyah crime rate is much higher than the other areas in the Jeddah city. Justification: Crime rate is usually high in the areas with poor and illiterate people, because they resort to stealing commonly and resolving petty issues through violence rather than using diplomatic ways. The people in the locality cannot afford for hi-fi security systems. This easy access to valuables is also a reason for high crime rate in the area. Methodology This research contains a mixed qualitative and quantitative approach in this study and an analysis of the data collected. It will explore how respondent of the study experience living in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. In examining the quantitative aspects of the study, charts that cite figures were generated from the sample of respondents from the selected communities of Jeddah. The result of the survey was subjected into statistical analysis to make up the outcome in percentages. In this study, a survey was conducted to generate results to analyze the population and some factors affecting the quality of life. Information and data are made through questionnaires that constitute as the primary research of this study. Secondary researches are gathered from scholarly studies done by social scientists that have invested similar interest about Jeddah5. The results of the survey will be analyzed, explained and interpreted with reasonable flexibility by using charts based on various factors and other significant social dimension. Mixed method was used to transfer the raw data to qualitative and quantitative components to come up with comparative findings. Jeddah – An Overlook Sociologists regarded Jeddah as a liberal city in a Muslim nation its stature as the best gateway for Muslim religious pilgrims and business ventures. As of 2011, the city has an estimated population of 4.14 million but this varies due to the as influx of migrants and tourists from different continents of the world for religious, employment and business undertakings6. The development of the oil industry in the 18th century and its advancement also drove the employment of migrant professionals and non-professionals. Thus, the city became an avenue for intercultural exchanges and of multiculturalism7. Ethnic diversity is evident here than in other cities of Saudi Arabia thus, social relationships are cohesive and tolerant. While the social status of the city showed significant improvement in its tourist, entertainment, market and transportation and industries, there are still social disparity in terms of how people, e.g. rich and poor neighbours, relates their social being to governance and to political structures8. Details of these are illustrated in the result of the survey conducted (See blank survey on page26-27): Hypothesis 1: Increased birth rate affects the quality of life in Al-Sharafiyah region. Jeddah has a population of 4.14 people9.The survey results shows nearly 8.8% of rich families in areas like Al-Naeem have more than 9 members. Most of them are elders with the capacity to earn well. Nearly 50% of the families have only 3 to 6 members compromising two children, their earning parents and grandparents with substantial savings. On the other hand, nearly 52% of the families in poor areas like Al-Sharafiyah have more than 6 to 9 members most of which are small children. The mother of the home usually stays back to look after the children and the man of the family is the only breadwinner. He has to incur the medical bills of the elderly people in the house too. Hence, children are usually forced to abandon studies and work for a very low wage from a tender age. Hypothesis 2: Low income level widens the rich poor gap in the Jeddah Region The survey shows most of the people living in the rich areas have inherited a good amount of money. They have good education background which enables to them to earn well and save for their future generation. On the other hand, people living in poor areas pay most of their earnings for debt instead of saving them. The survey indicates even a moderate family earning around 20000 to 60,000 Saudi Riyal can live a decent life if they use it for their family, as the cost of living in Jeddah is very moderate. But, the families in areas like Al-Sharafiyah struggle because most of their income moves towards paying interest for their debts. Since, the money to be spent for children’s education goes towards feeding an extra head or paying interest, they also miss the chance to get a better life. They have the chance only to become unskilled labours earning more or less equivalent to their parents. Their illiteracy prevents them using birth control and improving their skill further. The cycle continues with the families staying in poverty forever. Hypotheses 3: Limited access to healthcare in poverty stricken areas Al-Naeem district has many modern hospitals with advanced facilities. All the latest facilities introduced in the medical field will find their place in the Jeddah hospitals very soon. But, such hospitals charge their patients very high. They are capable of controlling the infant mortality rates efficiently, but only the rich can afford to visit them and use their services. Only 20% of the people living in Al-Naeem complained they did not have proper access to medical facility while nearly 38% of the people in Al-Sharafiyah reported they do not have access or cannot afford to get proper healthcare facilities. The difference is nearly 17.4%. Very high infant mortality rate is observed from poor community at 14%. This graph shows that higher life expectancy is present in affluent families more than the poor families. The category 40 to 50 shows similar rates at 52%. We see smaller differences in the first and second category. Higher differences are present in the last two categories. Category 50 to 60 shows an anomaly, this might be present, as the cause of death was not mentioned is the survey. There are various reasons for this. The poor people have many children. They cannot spare time and money to pay more attendance to one sick child. Hence, the infant mortality rate in such areas is very high. Similarly, they struggle to meet both the ends meet for food, clothing and other basic needs. Hence, they cannot afford to spend more for the extending the health of the old people too. So, their life expectancy rate is also very low. Most of the advanced hospitals are situated in the posh areas than the economically backward areas like Al-Sharafiyah. There are small clinics set up by immigrants rather t than, huge hospitals in these areas. Hypothesis 4: Low literacy rate in the Al-Sharafiyah region is a major cause for their continuing poverty. Educated graduates will be the state’s intellectual capital and determining the capacity of the state to stand in self-reliance knowing that its people can work innovatively in production, marketing, industry and various government affairs10. Nearly 87% of upper middle class people and the rich people get access to standard education. while only 40% of the poor people get this privilege. However, laws in Jeddah enforce the employer of the worker to pay for one or two of their employee’s child education. Hence, most of the children have some sort of public school education even if they are poor. Though the standard of the public schools cannot compete with the standard of the private schools, they take care of the basic literacy needs of areas like Al-Naeem. Most of the children in these areas quit school when they are around 13 or 14. Girls are taken out of school a couple of years earlier. The reasons for this depend on the overall family income and the birth rate indirectly. If a poor family has just one or two children, they can easily afford to educate the child. But, most of the poor people are under the wrong notion that more children means more hands to earn income. The rich families make it a point to educate all their children’s even they have many children in their home. It is a status issue for them which indirectly help them to grab all the white collar jobs and maintain their family economy. This graph shows that higher level of literacy rate is present in the poor families all the categories, except the last two in which the literacy rate is higher in affluent families. This is because the literacy rate should be shown in terms of the numbers of families, which this graph does not show. Thus in reality higher literacy rate is present in the affluent families in all the categories. Data shows that higher level of education is present in the Affluent families. The graph shows the similar education level in the first four categories in terms of the respondent, the father and mother. However, it shows a bigger difference in the last two categories Bachelor and Graduate degree in which the affluent families have higher education. An anomaly is present in the Graduate category in which the Mothers in the poor families have higher graduate degree than the ones in affluent families. Both graphs shows that the fathers in both affluent and poor families, have higher education that the mother. This is because when the mothers have children they usually stay at home to take care of their families, instead of completing their education. Both graphs shows a big differences in education levels in terms of the respondent, the mother, and the father, this can be linked to the access of education. While the rich people can enjoy getting education in private schooling, the poor families get education in public schooling. The reason why in these decades people in both regions Al-Naeem and Al-Sharafiyah district can get a better education is because of government scholarships, which allows people who get high marks in their high school, bachelor, or graduate degree to go and study abroad, in his/her chosen city, with their chosen major. The data collection simply affirmed that those who can afford education earn more degree while the poor community necessitate avail education from public schools. Jeddah government must consider providing alternative education for those poor but deserving families and offer scholarship to their children. Hypothesis 5: Job security is very low and unemployment rate is very high in Al-Sharafiyah. Human security is about job security. The latter is a necessity for a family to enjoy food security and health care. It is the role of the state to afford protection to labor, provide access to employment, ensure equal opportunities for all, provide security of tenure, and humane conditions of work 11. Employment rate is very high in poor families rather than the rich families. But, the earning rate is very low. Only a few members earn in the affluent families. But, they earn enough to support their family well. Their higher education makes them valuable workers with necessary skills. Such workers are sought after by many companies no matter how much money they demand. Job security is not a matter for them, as they keep switching companies which pays them well in short intervals. On the other hand, job security is a matter of life and death in many of the poor families depending on the daily wages earned by the single bread winner of the family. People living in areas like the Al-Sharafiyah are mostly non skilled labours. They do not have a proper education. So, they cannot demand high wages from their employer. There are several immigrants ready to work for half the wages. Lack of job availability and lack of skills are the main factors affecting the employment rate of people living in these areas. Construction business and factory jobs are on the rise in Jeddah for the past two decades. In fact, the Jeddah industrial park is the fourth biggest in the country. But, most of the people working there are temporary workers. They do not have a proper union or laws safeguarding them from very low wages. In fact, most of the workers are underpaid. They fail to question their employers for the fear of losing the existing job. Hypothesis 6: Al-Sharafiyah district has more crime rates than the Al-Naeem district. Crime rate in Jeddah is much higher in the district of Al-Sharafiyah and the adjoining the poor communities rather than the rich areas like Al-Naeem. The reasons for this are pretty much understandable. Most of the people living in areas like Al-Sharafiyah vent out their frustration in life through violent means. White collar crimes are common in areas like Al-Naeem, but not violent activities. There is a general notion that most people indulging in such activities work for the rich people in areas like Al-Naeem. It might be true to a certain extent, but they are not powerful mafias. Most of the people (44%) indulging in monetary crimes in the poor areas belong to the age group 20 to 30. Another 27% people indulging in such crimes are aged 30 to 40. Nearly 71% of the criminals are young people aged 20 to 40. The most productive years of their life are spent in jail for performing minor crimes. The highest category in the rich areas is from 0 to 10. The average age of people indulging in white collar crimes in rich areas is between 40 and 50. Research Results Our survey aimed affirmed there is massive difference between in healthcare access and crime rate between the rich and the poor. The people in the Al- Sharafiyah region are living in a dangerous environment full of crime with more chances to get hurt easily. Medical access to them is also very limited. The situation is entirely different for the poor as they are enjoy very safe environment with very little crime rate and immediate access to good healthcare facilities. There is moderate difference in the way birth rate and the income level of the family influence the lifestyle of both poor and the rich. Both the rich and poor people have large families. But, the earning elder members are more in the rich families while under aged children compromise the huge percentage of families in Al-Sharafiyah. This reflects in their education and proper upbringing. The income level of the families in the rich is quite high owing to their good education. But the income level of the poor families is below average and non-standardized due to flexible laws and very high competition for the job. The chance to get education and employment is more or less same for both the rich and the poor. There are public schools and government education programs for economically deprived children. The rich usually secure good white collar jobs due to high education. The poor people also can live a decent life and earn well as the demand for manual labour is also quite high. Recommendations for the Government Based On the Research and Hypotheses Based on our research we put forward certain recommendations to the Jeddah government to help them bring down the gap between the rich and the poor in the Al-Sharafiyah and the Al-Naeem Areas. Though it is a religious country Jeddah is getting westernized in most of its field. The government should come forward to insist birth control in poor families at least forcibly like in China. They can do it without hurting the religious feelings of the people by educating them regarding the positive aspects of having one or two children in a household. Massive awareness programs regarding birth control should be designed targeting the women in mind. Medical facilities like birth control pills should be provided to the poor women for free or very low cost and they should be educated regarding the proper usage of the same. Since the rich can readily access hospitalization and healthcare, it’s understandable that they enjoy lengthy lives compared to those living in poor communities. Jeddah government must therefore look into the plight of its constituents who have no access to healthcare and outline intervention to address this concern. Teaching proper sanitation to them and offering them useful insurance schemes which will help them manage advance diseases should help. Several countries like India use a co-operative medical insurance scheme where millions of people below the poverty line pay nearly $0.5 a month. The government pays a particular amount for them too. These people are entitled to get free medical care for critical diseases. The co-operation can afford the treatment cost because it gets millions of dollars every month as revenue. A similar plan can be introduced for poor people in Jeddah too. The huge hospitals can be forced by law to give treatment to a handful or poor people every year. The survey affirmed that those who can afford education earn more degree while the poor community necessitate avail education from public schools. Jeddah government must consider providing alternative education for those poor but deserving families and offer scholarship to their children. Jeddah government must increase creation of job opportunities in the Al- Sharafiyah region and prioritize their poor residents instead of those overseas workers. Government must also synergize the courses in school to the kind of jobs demanded by industries and market to alleviate issues on skills mismatched. Sponsorship should also be discouraged in hiring employees; instead standard labour laws and policies should be promoted. This way, fair and just opportunities can be availed by all. We agree with fifth hypothesis that states that job security is lower in poor areas than rich areas as indicated by unemployment rate. Quelling criminalities is the responsibility of the state police and military forces. Jeddah should strictly enforce policies that will mitigate the crime rate of the city. The comprehensive security management plan should be done which will serve as a blueprint in establishing peace and order in the city. References 1. Chen, H. (1997). Applying mixed methods under the framework of theory-driven evaluations. In J. C. Greene, & V. J. 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