JEDDAH: Victims of the Nov. 25 floods have accused the Civil Defense of discriminating against non-Saudis by providing housing, food, medication and other necessities to Saudis only.
Fatima A., a Yemeni woman who lives in the flood-ravaged Kilo 14 district said that not one official has offered help to her or her family. When she went to the local Civil Defense outpost, she was told that priority goes to Saudis only.
“A man working for the Civil Defense said that they haven’t received orders yet to help non-Saudis. You receive help if your mother is Saudi,” said Fatima.
The Civil Defense has denied that they have discriminated against non-Saudis in offering relief supplies.
Fatima has 10 sisters and her mother to look after. Her diabetic mother suffers from an enlarged heart and high blood pressure. Fatima is the sole breadwinner taking care of her five unmarried sisters since her father passed away 24 years ago.
“Many of the wedding halls in Kilo 14 turned into aid centers providing all kinds of support to Saudi victims of the floods. My mother’s Saudi neighbor has a green card she uses to get her medication for free. She has other cards that grant her food and clothes,” said Fatima.
The only time Fatima and her family received help after their home was swept away by the floods was when citizens volunteered to give them food and clothes. To secure her mother and her siblings, Fatima moved them into the home of one of her married sisters in Haraj district, another area in the south of Jeddah. “We need at least SR500 a month to rent a new house. I receive SR1,000 per month working as a Qur‘an teacher. My husband receives SR1,300 to call the prayer. I wish someone could help me secure my mother’s medication,” pleaded Fatima.
Abu Ahmad is another Yemeni who once owned a humble house in Kilo 14 where he looked after his 14 children. The floods hit his district so hard that the walls of his two-room house collapsed.
“Donors moved my kids and I into a room in one of the mosques. It’s been very tough. Mosquitoes and hunger are depriving us of sleep,” said Abu Ahmad.
Umm Mohammed lost her home to the floods and the sewage. She said in November she received some help from neighbors who gave her a box or two full of food supplies. “We don’t receive anything anymore,” she said. “A week ago, people came and cleaned our water tanker and painted it. But inside my home I’m suffering from cockroaches and rats. It’s falling apart, but I’m still hoping that good people will help us.”
Brig. Mohammed bin Abdullah Al-Qarni, media center director at the Civil Defense in Jeddah, denied that there was discrimination against non-Saudis. He told Arab News that two months after the floods, 742 families of all nationalities were housed and that compensation would be given to both Saudis and non-Saudis.
“The names of dead people from all nationalities have been announced in local newspapers. Aid is for everyone. It’s just a matter of time until people receive help,” said Al-Qarni.
