RIYADH, 23 May 2004 — In another blow to Saudis in the United States, the money due to all Saudis connected with the embassy in Washington was not paid this month, students and embassy staff told Arab News.

That includes all 2,600 scholarship students, all embassy staff, military personnel and those on medical treatment, sources in the embassy’s financial department said.

Different reasons are being given. “There is no money in the bank account and we are waiting for money to be transferred from the Kingdom,” said a source in the embassy’s financial department, who wished to remain anonymous.

But another financial department source said the problem was that the contract with the current bank ran out and the embassy “is looking for another bank to deal with but hasn’t found one.”

An adviser to Saudi students in the US said the embassy could not find a bank that was prepared to deal with it. The Americans “tried their best to make us leave through the NSEERS system (under which Saudis are fingerprinted and questioned on arrival and departure), and now they are putting another form of pressure on us.”

He said the problem was not likely to be solved soon.

All students, military personnel and those in the US for medical treatment have their stipend paid through the embassy, he said. Thus when a problem like this happens, “nobody gets paid.”

“But this has never happened to us before,” he added.

The situation is becoming difficult for the students, who are most dependent on the money. Many are forced to borrow money, sell off belongings, or seek the support of relatives back home.

Arab News has learned that the experience has left some of them desperate. Abu Mansour, who studies engineering at the University of Pittsburgh, said: “It’s enough that we are under continuous surveillance and we have to watch our back all the time, but not paying us our monthly stipend on time kills us.”

He pays $1,200 rent for his house and another $323 monthly installments on his car. “I also have a bunch of other bills as well as four children to feed,” he said.

Muhammad Y., a Ph.D candidate in the same university, said: “America is expensive and we don’t have savings.” He plans to put all his bills on his credit card until money arrives.

The embassy is trying its best to send the students separate checks for this month. “We were in the office till midnight last night trying to send the students one-off checks.” However, this may be too late for many students as the summer break started in all US universities and many of them headed home or traveled for the holidays.

One disgruntled Saudi Ph.D student, Abu Ghady, said: “I am used to withdrawing my stipend from the ATM machine monthly. I won’t be back at my address for three months so there is no way I can pick up the check. They might as well not send one this month.”

Dania, a female Saudi student in Boston, said she had to ask her family in Jeddah to send more money. “The money we get from the embassy is peanuts anyway,” she said. “I told my dad about the problem and he said he would transfer some money.”

Another student, who only wanted to be identified as Raid Y., told Arab News: “This may be the last straw for Saudis in the US. We have had enough of the new laws and regulations that were made to encourage us to leave and not set foot here again. None of us can tolerate having our funds cut off like this.”