Overstayers blame poverty for predicament
Published: Apr 1, 2011 22:08 Updated: Apr 1, 2011 22:08
RIYADH: The six-month general amnesty for illegal residents that ended on March 23 was a big blessing for many illegal workers who overstayed their Haj, Umrah and visit visas to earn money to support their families back home.
Hundreds of thousands of overstayers managed to reach home by taking advantage of the amnesty period. Immigration authorities have had to cope with a heavy rush of illegal workers who flocked to the deportation centers across the Kingdom during the last days of the general amnesty period. The authorities have warned that those who overstay after the amnesty period would face stringent punitive actions.
An overwhelming majority of these illegal workers were happy to return home after earning considerable amounts of money to fulfill their basic requirements.
Speaking to Al-Riyadh Arabic daily, a number of overstayers who were awaiting deportation at the deportation center in Riyadh said their difficult financial conditions forced them to overstay in the Kingdom.
Muhammad Burhanuddin, a Bangladeshi national, said he overstayed in the Kingdom after arriving on an Umrah visa. “I spent more than two years in Riyadh after sneaking into the city,” he said. “I paid more than SR500 to a Pakistani driver who smuggled me into the downtown Batha district in Riyadh from Makkah. I started doing sundry jobs before specializing in electrical works. I received training in the job from a compatriot.”
Abdul Rasheed Mokhtasar, another illegal worker, managed to save at least 100,000 rupees during the last three years after overstaying his Umrah visa.
“I came to know earlier that there were plenty of job opportunities in the Kingdom. This was at a time when I was facing a difficult financial situation. There was no way to alleviate my poverty and support my family. My efforts to come to the Kingdom on an employment visa had also not materialized. This was the actual reason that forced me to come on an Umrah visa. While I had been busy as a construction worker in various parts of the capital city, I never encountered even a single occasion when anybody asked me to show my residence permit (iqama),” he said.
Similar was the case of the 60-year-old Pakistani national Yakhtaman Khan.
“My difficult financial conditions forced me to overstay in the Kingdom after performing Umrah,” he said. “I managed to remit at least 50,000 rupees to my six children who have been engaged in agriculture back in Pakistan.”
Luqman Hussein, who worked at a grocery store of a compatriot after overstaying an Umrah visa, told the newspaper: “I reached Riyadh from Jeddah with the help of a driver who took me through long desert roads to dodge police checkpoints. I was paid a monthly salary of SR800 in addition to accommodation and food. I never came across any policemen asking me to show my iqama during my three-year stay in the capital city. After my duty hours at the grocery store, I used to sell computer CDs at a number of computer showrooms in the city,” he said, adding that he managed to transfer a total of 150,000 rupees to his country during the last three years.
The 59-year-old Saadat Hussein reached Riyadh from Jeddah after performing Umrah. He joined a group of workers who used to gather at a designated street in Riyadh, in anticipation of customers who wanted to get done various manual jobs, such as loading and unloading and construction and cleaning works.
“I engaged in construction work during the last four years, and managed to earn an average of SR5,000 monthly,” he said.
Chadli, an Egyptian illegal worker, said that he had done various jobs after moving from one city to another. “In the beginning, as a shepherd in Haradh I managed to herd flock consisting 500 heads of sheep. At that time, my monthly salary was SR1,100. Nobody asked me about my iqama. Then I moved to Al-Kharj where I worked as a guard at a rest house. Then I worked as a vegetable seller before reaching Riyadh. Now, I am eager to reach home before the expiry of my passport within three months,” he said, while expressing happiness over his earnings, which according to him, would suffice to buy a house and furnish it.
Misbahuddin, who worked at a restaurant in Riyadh, said that the manager of the restaurant, who is also a foreigner, does not know that he is an illegal worker.
“I never met with the owner of the restaurant. Also, I did not encounter any official asking to show my iqama. This encouraged me to continue doing the job of food home delivery for which I received a monthly salary of SR800,” he said.
Misbahuddin noted that illegal workers are available at lower wages than legal workers.
“This encourages many employers to hire overstayers. Also, some sponsors earn monthly commission after allowing their workers to go out and find suitable jobs with employers other than their sponsors. These workers need to pay at least SR4,000 for issuing their iqama in addition to similar amounts for the renewal,” he said, noting that these sponsors devour a major portion of their low wages.
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Apr 2, 2011 13:24
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