Deportation center deaths
The death of five Ethiopians at the deportation center in Jazan should be treated very seriously.
I believe it is a crime. The explanation of acting Jazan police spokesman Abdul Rahman Al-Zahrani that they died of asphyxiation due to overcrowding should give us cause for even more concern.
I am in agony that in this holy month of Ramadan five people whose only crime was that they were illegal migrants would meet such a horrible fate. What is even more agonizing is that these are being justified as “death by natural causes” due to overcrowding.
A committee, with members drawn from the Health Department, the Passport Department and other relevant government agencies, has been instituted to investigate these unfortunate deaths. Whatever its findings — nothing will bring to life the five Ethiopians. The deportation centers, the treatment of those inside and their mismanagement leave much to be desired.
A few years ago I went to check on my driver who was held at the deportation center at the Old Jeddah airport. I was totally shocked by the hundreds of people there with no sanitation facilities, and I was equally shocked by the callousness on the part of the employees there. It was total anarchy. How could this happen in a country that proclaims to be following the Qur’an and the Sunnah?
It was reported in the local newspapers recently that during this Ramadan more than 1,500 illegals were arrested in and around Jeddah. One wonders where they are lodged, especially since there have been reports that our prisons are overcrowded. Are they being taken care of? I shudder to think of what must be happening to them. I hope and pray that my worst fears are not confirmed.
An example to be shared here is that of an Arab national holding a valid iqama who was dragged in a sweep by Riyadh immigration authorities. Despite his vehement protestations, he was given a slap and put in the van and taken to the deportation center. He described it as hell on earth. Let out after four days, he suffered a lung infection and then left the country resolving never to come back. He had a valid iqama. What if he couldn’t speak Arabic? What if he had no one to contact?
In addition to those who come for Umrah and overstay, there are expatriates who are forced to live a life of misery and anguish by their kafeels or sponsors. They seize their passports, declare them as absconders just so that they do not pay the end-of-service benefits. I receive tens of letters from distressed expatriates telling tales of woe, and it is heart rending.
On many occasions these people have done nothing wrong. Their crime was that they landed with wrong “kafeels” who abuse the system. It reminds me of how this system is abused. A Turkish man could not attend the funeral of his mother because the kafeel would not arrange for an exit-re-entry visa for him. An Indian doctor was virtually held hostage by his kafeel for two years. There have been calls to review the sponsorship system, and now is the time to do just that. We need to plug all the loopholes and set appropriate penalties to compel compliance.
And this brings me to the work visa/iqama racket. In many cases workers come, and the kafeel demands money from them. If they do not pay him, he reports them to the police. Declared a huroob, they are arrested and put in places that are not fit for humans.
Then there are the widespread cases of justice not only being delayed but being denied. Labor courts take years to decide on cases that might sound trivial to us but are matters of life and death for these wronged expatriates. During the trial period they languish in the country at the mercy of others. They wait endlessly for the courts to rule either way — especially when the kafeels are allowed to use every ploy to delay the proceedings. And when the ruling is in favor of expatriates it takes months for the judgment to be fully implemented. In most cases the expatriates are not even aware of what the actual judgments are since they are delivered in a language whose intricacies the guest workers cannot fully fathom.
The issue is very complex. We always blame the illegals; we blame the workers — we blame everyone but refuse to look inside and ask ourselves why this is happening. If workers knew of scams like these in advance they probably would look elsewhere for employment — especially if they may face a stiff sentence before they even get a hearing.
This is not simply a question of some overstayers, this is a question about injustice that sullies the reputation of every Saudi citizen at home or abroad and jeopardizes our government’s many efforts to develop our economy. It makes it more difficult for honest men to hire workers from overseas and for the country to encourage tourism if people have to fear the inadvertent mistake that could force them to forfeit their dignity, their freedom, and, Allah forbid, their lives.
I am glad that there is a human rights commission, and I am proud we have a king of humanity. I am pleased that these are issues that we can now discuss openly. Let the human rights association go and inspect these so-called deportation centers or “tarheel” and make an independent report. Let them expose what is wrong there. Let those who violate basic human principles be punished, and let the public know about this. Let our writers and opinion-makers discuss this issue as it affects our image abroad.
If we launch a website where we invite people to share their experiences and stories, I am sure hundreds if not thousands would write in telling their tales. I have said this on many previous occasions that, in the face of a vituperative attack on Saudis abroad, the people who can be our best ambassadors are those who are living among us or those who have lived among us in the past. If we treat them shabbily and with such utter contempt what chance do we have of them defending us or talking good of us? They will be more than willing to join in the chorus of anti-Saudi diatribe that we often hear in the West.
And of the authorities I request that immediate action should be taken to alleviate the sufferings of those held in these centers. I am neither asking for them to be pampered nor for them to be persecuted. I simply ask that they be afforded the dignity that any human being should be given. There should be a difference between a criminal and someone with a paperwork problem, and if this difference is not clear, our leaders need to make it clear to all of our government employees what these differences are and how people — all people — have to be treated at all times and in all circumstances.
In the case of Jazan, a thorough investigation should be conducted and those guilty should be punished. We have full confidence in the determination of the governor of Jazan to look into this and prevent any further incidents.
May God give peace to those who died and patience to their families for the loss. If we allow these conditions to persist unchecked, I think our humanity dies a little, too. May we serve Allah during this holy month of Ramadan and every day of every year by treating all of His creation as He intended, and may Allah protect our country always. Ameen.
(almaeena@arabnews.com)
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Aug 30, 2010 02:56
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