“Illegal residents should not be afraid of census enumerators who merely collect data and nothing else. They don't ask about personal things except when the interviewees can't speak English to answer questions. If this is the case, the enumerators merely ask for their iqama to know their identities,” said Abdullatif Al-Khamees, head of the media center for the 4th National Census for Population and Housing.
“I appeal to all, especially illegal residents, to cooperate with the enumerators so that we can come up with a census that is as accurate as possible.”
But Arab News managed to find numerous examples of wary illegal residents. In Riyadh's Aziziyah district, a Filipino mechanic told Arab News that three roommates left the flat unexpectedly after a census-taker paid a visit and said he was out of English-language forms and would return.
“The three occupants of one of the rooms left without our knowledge while I, my wife and the occupant of another room were out,” said the mechanic, who did not want his name published.
In Jeddah, Indonesian maid Sarawati said she sat quietly in her room when a census taker arrived at the residence, fearing that her resident status would be investigated. A similar thing happened in Madinah to Deydi, another Indonesian maid.
In Dammam, a Filipino community leader who also did not want his name published said a neighbor harboring an illegal resident was not counted when the census taker paid a visit to their building.
In Taif, a Bangladeshi maid named Rajika also avoided the census enumerator who showed up at her door for fear that she'd be discovered as an illegal resident. She has been working in Taif for the past six years and recently ran away from her sponsor for a better salary working illegally.
