Tariq A. Al-Maeena

 

In a matter of a handful of days, the clock will run out on thousands of expatriates whose residency in this country has been questionable.  They will be the unfortunate ones who did not manage to correct their residency status and will have no option except to return home.



It was only a few months ago that the Ministry of Labor and the Saudi Passport Department launched an extensive crackdown on all fronts in the Kingdom against those expatriates with suspect residency documents creating an unprecedented demand on the diplomatic missions of most of the affected countries as thousands of their nationals flooded the premises seeking answers and relief.  Most of these workers were from Asian countries that supply much of the unskilled and semi-skilled labor the country needs.



At the height of the crackdown, several businesses and services came to a halt as workers, afraid of being rounded up and sent to deportation camps, chose to remain in their homes.  Many construction sites were void of the usual activity, and there was considerably less traffic on the road much to the delight of lawful residents.



The Ministry and the Passport Department were concerned about the issue of unregistered and illegal aliens.  In addition, there was the issue of runaways who had fled their sponsors, and others who were employed with individuals other than their own sponsors.  Finally, there were those whose profession on their residency cards said one thing but they were caught doing something else.



The fever of uncertainty that swept through the expatriate community even affected the thousands of foreign housewives who teach in schools and other support professions.  These were  unsanctioned workers, and once the raids began, most of them opted to stay home rather than risk being rounded up.  Legally they were attached to the residency status of their husbands and were not allowed to work.  But for years, the opposite was true and the authorities had not acted on the matter.



Alarm bells vibrated throughout the entire expatriate community as official information was being trickled out in small doses while the raids continued.  Rumors fed the unnerved souls of those foreigners unsure of their legal status in the country.  Reports of arrests and deportation sent shock waves through many communities, and their politicians and media back home sat up and began to either make politically correct promises or cover the event extensively.



Concerned that the mass deportation would create its own set of problems with returning workers, politicians from India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the Philippines and Bangladesh among others flew in to the Kingdom to plead for relief for their countrymen from the Saudi authorities.



Their diplomatic missions went to extraordinary lengths to reassure their countrymen who had been severely unnerved by the turn of events.  Among the largest expatriate communities, it was essential that the panic and reaction of the communities was dealt with in an efficient manner.  Updated status and clarification of rules and regulations were periodically posted in the news and on the consular websites.



An extension was granted when it seemed that the task of correcting residency status would not be accomplished within the stated period of time.  The ministry has reiterated recently that there will not be any further extension to the grace period and that official penalties will be meted out to violators immediately after the expiry of the deadline.  It also warned owners of all firms and companies registered with it to ensure that all undocumented and illegal foreigners either correct their status or leave the Kingdom.  There is every reason to believe that there will be no further extension granted, and those who have not managed to sort out their papers will be afforded no more time to do so.



Many who came here seeking a pot of gold made good use of the amnesty program and returned home.  Others whose dreams of a better life back in their home country remain unfulfilled still remain, uncertain and unsure of what is to happen.  Some are victims of greed.  Unscrupulous Saudi visa traders who somehow managed to garner bulk visas sold them to expatriates desperate to eke out a decent living.  Workers have borrowed and practically mortgaged their lives and belongings to scrape up enough money to pay for visas from unscrupulous Saudi visa traders who provided no support or services other than to squeeze additional money from their hapless victims each year simply for granting them the right to remain in the country.



This is a crime, and it should be the Saudis who trade in human misery with visa trading who should be rounded up and jailed.   If the authorities want to permanently put a stop to the practice of residency violations and undocumented workers, then they should start rounding up the visa traders before anything else.  They are the real purveyors of human misery.

 

– The author can be reached at talmaeena@aol.com. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena