MAKKAH, 6 October 2006 — An Indonesian maid had her exit/re-entry visa denied due to a pending traffic violation, the Okaz daily reported yesterday.
OK, setting aside for a moment the fact that women can neither obtain driver’s licenses nor actually drive a car in Saudi Arabia, but the supposed location of this traffic violation was 700 kilometers away in the northern city of Hail.
But officials at the Passport Department had no time for such silly things as “reasoning” and simply insisted that the maid’s sponsor pay the SR300 ($80) traffic fine for a violation that, for all intents and purposes, was impossible.
