Sidelights: Official Error Puts Saudi in a Spot

JEDDAH, 18 May 2008 — An old Saudi man, happily married for 60 years, was left in shock after being told at a government office that he had divorced his wife 17 years ago. The old man went to the Civil Affairs department to get a copy of his identification card where an official told him that he was divorced. The man’s son, who had accompanied his father, was also shocked on hearing this from the official and asked his father whether it was true. The man denied that there was any divorce and expressed his resentment at the mistake. He was left in a further conundrum when he tried to rectify the mistake. Having visited the offices on several different occasions to rectify the mistake, the officials keep telling him to “come back tomorrow.”