JEDDAH: Around 150 Filipino overstayers and runaway workers, including pregnant women, are living and sleeping in makeshift tents made from blankets and plastic sheets on the street in front of the Philippine Consulate in Jeddah.
“They are trying to attract the attention of the police and the Passport Department to be deported to their home country,” said a man who lives close to the consulate in the Al-Faisaliah district of Jeddah close to Serafi Mall. The workers have been there for the past few days, and can be seen begging for money from passersby. “This is an unfortunate situation. We are hoping to resolve it in a timely matter,” said a consulate official.
“These are mostly workers who have run away from their previous employers. Some of them arrived on Umrah visas and then overstayed. We are working with the Saudi deportation authorities to send them back to the Philippines,” he added.
“My iqama expired a long time ago,” said a former decorator who was identified by the rest of the workers as their leader. “I ran away from my former employer in Dammam over a dispute regarding holiday entitlements. I had been working for five months and when I asked for my vacation he refused to give it to me so I left Dammam and came here to the consulate,” he added.
Among the people are pregnant women and some small children playing in the afternoon heat. “There are 150 of us right now. We have given the consulate our papers and complaints showing our demands. We need someone to take us home,” said another Filipino.
The caretaker of a nearby building said he was fed up with the Filipinos sitting close to his building. “They sit here in the shade and leave rubbish. I sympathize with them. There are two pregnant women sitting there by the plant and one lady is carrying a child. It wouldn’t bother us as long as they were to clean up. We also give them food at iftar time,” he added.
