JEDDAH, 2 August 2006 — She is like a rat cornered by a cat in a closed room. She came here on an Umrah visa and cannot return home because her Umrah-operator-appointed “mahram” is absconding. This Catch-22 situation has left the woman as an illegal resident in the Kingdom even when she wants nothing more at this point than to return to her humble farm and tiny home in India.
“I came to perform Umrah and especially to pray for my husband who passed away a couple of years ago,” said S.L., a short-statured woman always covered from head to foot, who, as scared as she is, wanted only to be identified by these initials.
“The Umrah operator told me not to worry and that he would manage. I wish I knew then what he meant by ‘manage,’ otherwise I would not have put myself in such a difficult situation in a foreign land,” said S.L., who is from a north Indian city.
Her story illustrates the plight of many pilgrims who fall under the “overstayer” category but who are not so by choice.
“I am lucky that there are many people from my city who are working and staying in Jeddah,” said S.L. “Word has gotten around about my plight and they all have hosted me for a couple of days in turns. Most of them also give me small amounts of money now and then.”
She said she went to the airport on the departure date but was turned back because the mahram was not there.
Everybody advised her to “take a chance” on leaving, as some kind official might sympathize and allow her to depart. She tried twice, but both times was sent back out on the streets of Jeddah with no legal status.
To add to her troubles, the woman will have to buy another plane ticket even if she is allowed to leave. The stress of the woman’s situation, including, she says, having her purse snatched at a local mosque, has increased her blood pressure.
S.L. said all she wants now is to return to her small farm and house in India she shares with her children. “I am worried most about my daughter, who is younger than my son. She cries over there and I here. I don’t know when will all this end,” she said.
In the meantime, S.L. says she tried to be of some use to the people who have been generous. A proud woman, she makes herself useful to her hosts by sewing clothes and doing other chores. “My kind hosts do not want this but I insist, as that also keeps me busy and away from thinking about my plight,” she said.
