The hundreds of women and children who gather at deportation centers across the Kingdom daily to register their biometrics have been suffering under harsh summer temperatures and lack of shelter.
The waiting period often drags on for hours and there are no facilities in sight.
The Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) had previously erected a large-sized tent with over a dozen air-conditioning units inside for the scores of applicants thronging the deportation center in Jeddah prior to the extension of the amnesty period.
When the extension was announced on July 2, the tent was removed the same day and there have been no shelters since.
Female applicants often seek shelter inside make-shift tents for passport service agent offices in front of the deportation center, but they are small and can accommodate only a few people at a time.
Some women were seen waiting at the old airport departure lounge located opposite the deportation center, which also can accommodate only a handful of people.
Women often wait here from the early morning hours until 2 p.m. before they can enter the premises to record their biometrics, and they have infants to manage and feed while moving back and forth to check for their turn to enter the premises.
Arab News spotted several Indonesians, themselves illegal, selling ethnic East Asian food to applicants as they wait.
Every Thursday, around 500 Indonesian applicants, mostly women, come to the deportation center and wait for hours together for their turn.
Ayan Abdullah, an Indonesian who came along with his wife and child to record their biometrics, told Arab News: “I came here at 8 a.m. and it is now 1 p.m., but we are still clueless as to when our turn will come.”
According to sources, several Indonesians who are not covered under the amnesty are also approaching deportation centers seeking exit. This has resulted in time-wasting, not only for Saudi Passport officials at the deportation center, but for Indonesian officials who are present to assist their nationals.
A similar situation prevails in Riyadh, Dammam and other cities of the Kingdom, where hardly any facility exists to give expats respite from the sun.
Several cases of fainting were earlier reported due lack of shelter and long queues at the deportation center in Jeddah.
