JEDDAH, 29 February 2008 — Health workers, who have been making home visits as part of a weeklong polio vaccination campaign, find their jobs increasingly risky and unsafe, said nurses and technicians interviewed by Arab News.

Many of the health workers said they were verbally abused by members of the public.

“When my colleague told a young man who was harassing us to be polite and treat us like his sisters, he replied: ‘In the first place I wouldn’t allow my sisters to roam the streets flirting with everyone,’” said a 36-year-old Saudi laboratory technician, who is a mother of four.

She said that on another occasion, one man tried to trick her and her colleagues into coming into his house. “He said his child was sleeping and urged us to come inside to give him the vaccination. When we asked about his wife he said she was in another room and would not come out. We were about to go when we saw three men emerge. We just ran away,” she said.

“Since then I decided never to knock on doors. Instead I try using the intercom and ask to speak to the women inside,” she said, adding that her husband was reluctant to let her take part in the campaign after hearing of a nurse, who was taken to hospital after being physically abused. “He only agreed under the condition I use the intercom system,” she said.

One nurse said using the intercom system was not always feasible because many buildings do not have them and that those that do often do not work.

She also said that they were advised to seek help from secondary school students who were supposed to accompany them.

“Unfortunately, these volunteers also harassed us,” she said. “Occasionally we came across people who were high on drugs. Although they try to look normal yet we figure them out,” said another nurse, adding that approaching such people in their homes is extremely dangerous.

The nurse, who has been working for the Ministry of Health for 10 years, said that Saudis appeared to be more aggressive than expatriates. “Expatriates would talk to us politely and would say thanks when we finish our work,” she said, adding that it would be better to set up camps in public places or close to mosques, and encourage people to bring their children there.