JEDDAH, 13 February 2004 — Ahmed sits in a corner, slightly away from the main crowd. His body language suggests he does not want too much attention. Slouched shoulders, head down, he does not make much eye contact. He is a cobbler, busy mending shoes...making about SR20 to 30 per day. His situation speaks volumes about the country he is from and the country he lives in.

Ahmed is an overstayer. He came to Saudi Arabia from Pakistan a year ago on Umrah visa and has stayed on. “I have no desire to break the law. But Saudi Arabia is the only country where I could come to and make enough money in a short time to pay off my father’s debt.”

He pays a monthly bribe of SR50 to a municipality official, so that he can continue sitting in his corner and not get picked up for visa violations. That’s only a small amount to pay isn’t it?

“No, its not” he says. “I don’t make a lot. And I have other expenses...food isn’t cheap here, neither is accommodation.”

Ahmed stays in a small room with 11 other people. He pays SR75 per month. Food costs another 200 to 300 riyals every month.

Ahmed’s father, a farmer who cultivates a small plot of land of his own in a village near Swat in the North Western Frontier Province in Pakistan, took a loan of 50,000 rupees (about SR3,500 then) from a loan shark about three years ago. With compound interest, the loan became almost impossible to pay. His son, Ahmed decided to do something about it.

“In my village I have seen very poor people go to Saudi Arabia and within years their financial situation seemed to improve. My acquaintances told me it was best to go to Saudi Arabia on an Umrah visa and then stay on. That way, I wouldn’t have to pay a lot of money to an agent.”

But life in Saudi Arabia was not as easy as Ahmed had imagined. “I have been here one year and have managed to only pay off my own debt. The one I incurred in buying the plane ticket and for coming on Umrah. I only knew farm work because that is what I have done all my life. Here no body gives me work because I’m illegal.”

A fellow countryman taught Ahmed to mend shoes. “It’s not easy work,” said Ahmed showing me his red and badly bruised hands. “It looks simple, but all the pounding and the sewing with the big needle is terribly hard on the hands. But I suppose I should be grateful for learning this skill.”

Ahmed, a sixth grade drop out, does not like Jeddah much. “Mainly I don’t like it because I cannot live and work as I want. I am always scared that I will be caught and deported. I am on a mission to pay my father’s debt and would not like to leave without achieving that. It’s a sad thing that we cannot make enough money in our own land, otherwise why would I take the risk of working here illegally?”

He also misses his village and suffers from homesickness. “My village is so beautiful, so green. I miss the water fall and the open fields the most.”

Ahmed who is about 22 years old hopes that he will be able to get his money by the end of next year. “Then you won’t see me here. The really sad part about being illegal is that I cannot go to Makkah and perform the Umrah though I’m so close to Haram.”