Saudi: Expat workers hope for 'miracle' as deadline ticks

The distressed workers are desperately running from pillar to post to leave the country but to no avail.

The scenario is the same, be it in major cities like Jeddah or small towns like Al-Ahsa and Hail, with thousand of hapless illegal expat workers thronging deportation centers to clear their papers. And it is not happening!

Take the case of Jeddah. Only 10 percent of the applicants have been able to complete the formalities with the remaining 90 percent losing hope of completing the process in such a short period.

In Dammam, several thousand Asian expatriates, who want to take the exit route, have been sleeping on the roads, waiting for their turn to record their biometrics at the deportation center.

The process has been slow in almost all cities and towns due to limited logistics support, but what is a matter of concern is that some expats, with final exit visas, have not been allowed to leave the country. Many such cases have been reported at King Khaled International Airport in Riyadh.

In Jeddah, thousands of workers from Bangladesh, the Philippines and Yemen are absolutely clueless about their fate since the last day for their biometric recording was Thursday. And, 90 percent of the applicants have not been able to go through the process.

Yemenis are concentrated in Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushayt besides Jeddah, and 80 percent of them have been successful in completing the formalities in the Southern Province.

The Bangladeshi mission has done everything possible not only in Jeddah but elsewhere in the Kingdom to help their countrymen, but the slow process at the deportation centers have negated their efforts. Every day, thousands of applicants continue to approach the Bangladeshi Consulate inquiring about their chances and possibility of extension of the grace period.

Similar is the situation with Filipino expatriates, mostly women and children, who are desperately seeking to leave the Kingdom but are faced with major hurdles.

Rai Linita, a Filipino worker camping for nearly four months now, told Arab News: “We are just waiting for a miracle to happen.”

In Riyadh, the biometric recording is far better but still, there are dozens of cases of workers being turned back by immigration officials since their exit details were not complete.

Jayshri Kushwaha, a worker from Gopalgunj district of Bihar in India, told Arab News that he had completed his fingerprint recording on June 3 in Riyadh, but when he reached the airport on June 28, he was told by airport officials that his passport number could not be accessed.

“A philanthropist bought my ticket but due to 'no show up,' I will have to pay a huge amount which I don't have,” he said.

The situation in Dammam is worsening by the day, with illegal workers from Nepal, India and Bangladesh not able to record their biometrics.

Hameedullah, who hails from Kapilavastu in Nepal, told Arab News that he did not have an iqama as his employer did not provide one. “How can anybody expect me to produce the iqama when it was never given to me? I have been running after officials seeking my status, but with just three days remaining for the grace period to end, I don't know where I should go?” he said.

Bhoma Ram, from Rajasthan in India, narrated his ordeal to Arab News. “We do not have any space to sleep or keep our luggage, and we have been using facilities in the nearby mosque only during prayer time. Most often, we are dependent on philanthropists for food. We have been reduced to the status of beggars now,” he said.