RIYADH, 29 June 2006 — The Saudi Embassy in the Philippines traced a Filipino man, whose late father was a Saudi national, in order to reunite him with his extended family after 18 years, reported the Al-Watan newspaper.
The man, who is called Majed, had left Saudi Arabia at the age of two with his mother, a British citizen, after his father died. Majed had lived most of his life in the Philippines as a Christian and did not know anything about his family in Saudi Arabia.
Majed’s brother Bandar Al-Moussa said that by coincidence he discovered Majed’s birth certificate in some of his father’s old papers and it was then that he learned he had a brother who lived in the Philippines.
Bandar began searching for his brother together with an uncle who had witnessed his father’s marriage to Majed’s Filipino mother many years ago.
In his quest to be reunited with his brother, Bandar sought help from the Saudi Embassy in the Philippines and also managed to get hold of an official document from the Interior Ministry that confirmed that his father’s marriage to the Filipino woman was registered.
Bandar learned that his brother had never returned to the Kingdom having left with his mother 18 years ago. After an intensive search coordinated by the Saudi Embassy, Bandar learned about his brother’s whereabouts.
Abdul Aziz Al-Rakabi, in charge of welfare section at the embassy, said that they found Majed after two months through an old telephone number. Majed’s mother had left for England, leaving Majed in the care of his grandmother. Al-Rakabi contacted Majed’s mother to allow her son permission to go to Saudi Arabia and claim both Saudi citizenship and his share of his father’s inheritance.
As a Christian, the embassy found that the Saudi government was unable to grant Majed citizenship. The embassy contacted the Muslim affairs office in Manila and Majed then converted to Islam. A translator was present when Majed met Bandar because both brothers could not speak each other’s languages.
Majed will soon leave for Saudi Arabia.
