Illegal expats grope in the dark

November 8, 2013

Illegal_expats

Jeddah, Nov 8: Jeddah residents have called on the government to move hundreds of illegals from under a bridge at the intersection of Palestine and Prince Majed streets.

About 400 workers have been squatting at the location for days waiting for buses to transport them to the Shumaisi deportation center. Many were sitting on the ground, outside restaurants and moving in-between the traffic.

There had initially been many more expatriates, mainly Indonesians, under the bridge when the amnesty ended on Nov. 3. They had been told by their consulates to wait there for transport, and were later taken in buses to the deportation center.

There are now mostly workers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Somalia and Ethiopia under the bridge.

Local residents and owners of shops and restaurants have complained that the workers are causing problems in the area. The constant noise late into the night disturbs them, they said.

Saleh, a Saudi resident, said he has great difficulty reaching his home in the afternoon because of the heavy traffic and many cars parked in the area. He said the workers have littered the area.

“I suggest another place be found for workers to wait.” He said the deportation and foreign affairs officials should work together to ensure the workers are taken to the center for processing.

Some of the stranded workers told Arab News that they had been waiting for two days for buses to take them to the deportation center.

Arshad, a Pakistani worker, said that he came to the bridge with compatriots because they were told there would be transport for them.

Saeed, an illegal worker from Somalia, said he had been waiting for almost 12 hours and had not found anyone able to give him more information. “We want to leave this country because we could not correct our status. It is hard for us here because we have to sleep on the ground and there are no basic facilities.”

Zafar, another Pakistani, said he had been waiting for two days and wished he had never come. He said most of the workers wanted their embassies and consulates to organize their deportation procedures.

“We are suffering a lot here especially during the hot midday hours. Some of us came here with families and children. What's making things worse is that no one has been able to tell us how long we'd have to wait.

“Today around six to seven buses came early in the morning and took some workers to the deportation center,” he said.

There was a large contingent of policemen stationed around the area to provide security on Thursday.

Arab News tried to get a statement from the head of the police officers there, but he refused because he was not authorized to do so.

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News Network
October 29,2024

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At least 60 people, including children, have been killed in Israeli strikes on several areas in Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa Valley, the Lebanese Health Ministry says.

The ministry said at least 58 people were also wounded in the attacks on 12 areas in the Bekaa Valley on Monday.

Of the 60 killed, at least 16 deaths were recorded in al-Alaq, west of Baalbek city, the ministry added.

The casualty figures were preliminary and are expected to rise as rescue efforts were still ongoing, according to to the ministry.

Baalbek governor Bachir Khodr denounced the attacks on the area as the "most violent" since the start of the Israeli aggression.

Israel has been targeting Lebanon since October 2023, when it launched a genocidal war on the Gaza Strip.

Hezbollah has been responding to the aggression with numerous retaliatory operations, including one with a hypersonic ballistic missile, targeting the occupied Palestinian territories.

Since late September, Israel has escalated its strikes against Hezbollah, killing its leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah and a number of its senior figures.

At least 2,710 people have been killed by Israeli fire, and 12,592 others wounded since the clashes began last year, the health ministry says.

The Lebanese resistance movement has vowed to keep up its operations against Israel as long as the Israeli regime continues its Gaza war, which has so far killed at least 43,020 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

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News Network
October 27,2024

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The death toll from the overnight Israeli aggression against a number of military positions across Iran has risen to four.

Earlier the Iranian Army had announced the martyrdom of two of its forces in the Israeli attack, who lost their lives “while confronting the projectiles of the criminal Zionist regime in order to safeguard the security of Iran and prevent harm to the Iranian nation and interests.”

Media reports identified the two martyred Army forces as Major Hamzeh Jahandideh and Sergeant Mohammad-Mehdi Shahrokhifar.

Major Sajjad Mansouri and Sergeant Mehdi Naghavi, who had been injured in line of duty, also succumbed to their injuries, reports said.  

The strikes targeted parts of military sites in the capital Tehran as well as the western and southwestern provinces of Ilam and Khuzestan, with Iran’s air defense saying the attacks were “successfully intercepted and countered.”

The attacks caused “limited damage” in some locations and the dimensions of the incident are under investigation.

Despite Israeli media reports overplaying the Israeli attack by circulating fake images, the Iranian public returned to their routines and daily life continued smoothly across the country.

Iran’s Civil Aviation Organization announced that flights had resumed after a short interruption and footage from Mehrabad Airport in western Tehran showed operations running normally, with passengers moving through as usual.

The Tehran Oil Refining Company also dismissed rumors of an Israeli attack on its facilities.

On October 1, Iran responded to the Israeli assassination of Hamas political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh, Hezbollah Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, and senior IRGC commander Abbas Nilforoushan by launching as many as 200 ballistic missiles toward the occupying regime’s military and intelligence bases all over the occupied Palestinian territories.

Dubbed Operation True Promise II, the retaliatory strike dealt a severe blow to the illegal regime all the more ruinous than its prequel in April, with Tel Aviv having so far declined to reveal the extent of loss it suffered despite vowing to respond on several occasions.

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News Network
October 25,2024

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A substantial wave of Israeli settlers is migrating to Cyprus, fueling concern over what analysts are calling a “silent occupation” as Israeli buyers snap up properties across the island. Following Israel’s recent military offensives in Gaza and Lebanon, thousands of Israelis have reportedly relocated, seeking real estate and creating enclaves of secretive luxury resorts that cater exclusively to affluent settlers. This shift represents the third major wave of Israeli migration to Cyprus, driven by a mix of war fallout, economic pressures, and Israel's internal political unrest.

Dimitri Lascaris, an investigative journalist and activist, reports on the rapid real estate acquisition in Cyprus, revealing that Israelis have been “buying anything in sight” amid the recent regional crises. He warns of an underlying agenda, stating that Cyprus has historically been viewed by Zionist ideologues as a potential site for a Jewish settlement due to its proximity to Israel and suitability for European-style development. Lascaris draws a link to early Zionist ambitions for Cyprus, recalling the Third Zionist Congress of 1899 when David Trietsch and Theodor Herzl both championed Cyprus as a base for Jewish settlement—a precursor to claiming Israel itself by force.

This migration, which has swelled Cyprus’s Israeli community from 6,500 in 2018 to over 12,000 by April 2024, has sparked an influx of 250-300 Israelis monthly. This quiet but steady stream has led to a larger presence of Israelis in Cyprus, with many pursuing strategic real estate purchases despite legal restrictions. Under Cypriot law, foreign entities can only acquire 500 square meters of land. However, by registering as Northern Cyprus firms and securing at least 51% Turkish Cypriot ownership, Israeli companies can circumvent this rule, enabling them to buy extensive tracts of land.

Cyprus’s geopolitical position—close to Israel, with NATO membership and new gas reserves—amplifies the strategic importance of this quiet expansion. Additionally, the island hosts a significant UK military base at Akrotiri, which has served as a launch point for aircraft bound for Palestinian territories, further heightening the controversy around Israeli-Cypriot connections.

Economically, the high cost of living in Israel and divisive internal issues, such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s contentious judicial reforms, have also driven migration from the occupied lands. According to a Hebrew-language report by Maariv, the first seven months of 2024 saw an exodus of 40,000 Israeli settlers—nearly triple previous years’ numbers—primarily to Cyprus and other nearby regions.

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