Syrian expatriates in Saudi Arabia are scared to go home for fear of reprisals by the regime's militias. Some of them received anonymous threat letters for voicing their opposition against the regime via Twitter and Facebook.
"About 30 percent of Syrian expatriates in the Kingdom have been put on a black list and cannot enter Syria," one of them said. He did not want to be identified.
A number of Syrian expatriates said they were unable to go home because they dared to criticize the regime's brutal practices against its people. They received threatening text messages on their mobile phones and via their accounts on Twitter and the Facebook.
Some expatriates said they were unable to renew their passports at the Syrian diplomatic and consular missions in the Kingdom. A valid passport is a must for the renewal of the residence permit in the Kingdom.
Muhammad Mazeed Al-Tarkawi, a Jeddah resident, is a member of the Syrian National Council and one of the leaders of the council of Arab tribes in Syria. "Some Syrians who support the regime and maintain close relations with it would not hesitate to tell on fellow countrymen who bear negative feelings toward President Assad and his men," he said.
Al-Tarkawi said the informants would supply the embassy or the consulate with detailed information about supporters of the revolution, including their full name, occupation, address and their family.
"Those who are against the regime cannot process their papers at a Syrian diplomatic mission in the Kingdom," he explained.
According to Al-Tarkawi, many Syrian expatriates who support the revolution would be arrested the moment they arrived at any of the border posts in Syria.
He recalled that he once found a sticker on his car warning him that he was being watched and that the authorities back home surveyed all his movements. He said many of the Syrian diplomatic or consular staff had connections with the Syrian intelligence and that part of their duties was to keep an eye on Syrian expatriates.
About a million Syrians live in the Kingdom. Many of them are working in administration, medicine and engineering. The percentage of expatriates supporting the regime is not even five percent. Still, Syrians fear that spies might infiltrate their meetings and convey what’s been said with many distortions to the authorities. "Many of us cannot speak openly at such meetings for fear of being reported," an expatriate said.
Many Syrians in the Kingdom exchange tragic stories on the Internet about the atrocities perpetrated by the military forces of the regime. "I used to attack the regime and agitate people on Twitter. I now avoid going to my country for fear of being arrested the moment I set foot on its soil," said Wael Khalaf.
Relatives of Abdullah Al-Banouni have joined the Free Syria Army. He said his uncle, who lives in Damascus, warned him against coming to Syria because he had been blacklisted.
"I am not willing to take the risk of going to my country as long as Bashar Assad is in power," he said.
He said because many of his relatives had joined the Free Army, he would be accused of joining them if he dared to go back to Syria.
Syrian expatriates fear going home
