Following the floods, the government announced that the relatives of people who died in the floods would receive SR1 million in compensation. However, without a body, the relatives of missing people cannot prove they are dead and claim their compensation.
Relatives say they have been visiting the offices of the committee in charge of compensation but have so far not received a definitive answer about their situation.
The father of 39-year-old Saad Al-Johani, who went missing on the morning of that fateful day, said he has no idea whether he is alive or dead.
“I asked the authorities to look for Saad, but they never asked me to look for his body among the unidentified dead bodies which they had. I’m not concerned about the compensation as much as I am about him returning alive,” he said, crying.
Ali Ahdal’s two children, Sami and Zahra, are also still missing. “I’ve visited the Compensation Committee and not received anything,” he said.
Salman Barnawi said his 13-year-old son, who suffers from hearing and speech problems, is also missing. His loss has been further exacerbated by his arrest on a charge of making a false compensation claim. “The police said my son had been missing before the flashfloods. I told them it was true that my son was lost five years ago in the Grand Mosque, but he was later found and had been living with me until the floods took him away,” he said.
The main problem these people face is proving their relatives are actually dead. Without a body, this is almost impossible.
Justice Abdullah Al-Othaim, chief judge at the Summary Court in Jeddah, said it is the court that decides if a missing person’s relatives are eligible for compensation or not. “The court decides how long the authorities should wait before the missing person can be declared dead,” he added.
Legal expert Mahmoud Zaini said the government said it will compensate the relatives of anyone who died in the floods.
“The death of a person can be established beyond doubt in the event of a dead body being found. But if there is no body, then the death has to be determined by a judge who will have the final say on how long relatives need to wait in order to make a decision,” he said.
Lawyer Shahir Al-Barkati said the old view was that if there is no information about a missing person for four years then he would be deemed dead.
“As there is no fundamental religious texts to support this view, judges have the discretion to shorten or lengthen the waiting period,” he said.
On the other hand, legal consultant Abdul Aziz Al-Haushani argues that in this modern era of instant communication four years is far too long to determine whether a man is alive or not.
An official from the Civil Defense said his organization is continuing to look for the 21 people who are still missing following the flashfloods of last November.
