Abdo Khal



Okaz

 

The second grace period provided to illegal expatriate workers to rectify their status has ended. Apparently there is little time left for the large number of expats who have yet to correct their status.The closer we got to the end of the grace period, the more we read statements about the preparation and seriousness of authorities to strictly enforce the rules and regulations.

These statements emphasized the government’s sincere intention of solving the problem of illegal workers in the country. This gave a clear sign of alert to violators and overstayers. Everyone is now waiting for the day the campaign will begin.According to press reports, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has communicated with the labor and interior ministries regarding an appeal by some foreign diplomats to extend the grace period to enable more of their workers to benefit from the opportunity to rectify their status.We thank Allah that it was only an appeal.

The country cannot respond to this appeal, because doing so will cause the authorities to lose credibility in carrying out the campaign and prevent them from solving a real problem.Starting the campaign will disclose to what extent one can be reassured about what has been stressed by the authorities concerned.

The citizen still has fears about the usual leniency that accompanies such campaigns, as many citizens have incurred big financial losses. The male or female worker in the country knows for sure the leniency of these campaigns. We have fears that what happened before will happen again.The workers, who have repeatedly fled from their sponsors and received no punishment for doing so, were already given a great opportunity to rectify their status.

Our fear now lies in the lenient methods used in these campaigns. We all know they are stern for a few days and then are laid-back for a whole year. If this is the approach that will be followed in the coming days, the rectification of status will not be beneficial and the number of runaway workers will double.This necessitates the continuation of the Passport Department and Labor Office to be strict. The campaigns should not be linked with office hours.

What is more important is to restructure society and create a state of self-reliance. We should begin this task so as to rectify our social conduct and decrease our total dependence on domestic workers.