RIYADH, 27 October 2007 — The Human Rights Commission (HRC), the government-funded rights watch group, said that it has noted a number of violations during a visit to the King Fahd Causeway, which links Saudi Arabia to Bahrain.
The HRC visited the causeway after receiving a series of complaints about long queues and other difficulties faced by people crossing to Bahrain. The violations have now been brought to the attention of the Saudi authorities.
An HRC source said immigration officials, who are insufficient in number and work under pressure due to the huge influx of people crossing the causeway from the Saudi side especially on weekends and during holidays, complained that their efforts went unrewarded.
“A number of officials told the HRC team that they have been employed there for years without any incentives or pay rises,” the source told Arab News. “You cannot expect people to work efficiently when they are not being well cared for,” the source added.
At least 20,000 cars traverse the bridge that links Bahrain and Alkhobar in the Eastern Province on normal days. But visitors jam the bridge on weekends and during holidays.
According to local reports, vehicles crossing to Bahrain during the Eid holiday had to wait as long as five hours for the immigration check. An estimated 250,000 vehicles crossed into Bahrain in the first four days of the holiday.
Violations noted by the HRC include a requirement for women travellers to step down from their cars and enter special booths for identity verification.
The HRC also pointed out that several lanes were closed on the causeway due to insufficient number of qualified officers to do the immigration check.
“The HRC team also noted that some of the employees did not have enough experience, hence entering information takes longer than usual,” the source added.
The HRC has come up with a number of suggestions to smooth the flow of traffic on the causeway.
Among the suggestions is the implementation of a fingerprinting system for women travellers to verify their identity instead of them having to go through the personal inspection inside booths.
The HRC also brought to the attention of Saudi authorities the need to employ more qualified personnel and called for salary hikes and other incentives for officers manning the causeway.
The 27-kilometer causeway, which was opened for traffic in 1986, consists of three parts: One bridge extends from Alkhobar to a man-made island on the Saudi side close to the Bahrain border, a second bridge from this artificial island to the Umm-Al-Nasan island and a third from there to the main island of Bahrain.
A toll fee of SR20 ($5.30) is collected from each vehicle crossing into Bahrain. A similar amount is collected by Bahraini customs on the other side of the causeway from returning vehicles.
