DIBA, Tabuk — Painful images of women and children traveling long distances to obtain various services haunt people residing in some parts of Tabuk province. Residents complain that they have to drive their women and children hundreds of miles to obtain simple services such as opening a bank account or obtain an ATM card, not to speak of completing paperwork at the women's section of the Civil Affairs Department. They said they had approached the authorities with letters explaining the hurdles they faced several times in the past, but all of them came up dry. Hamoud Freij Al-Omrani said he suffered greatly because there was no women's section at the Civil Affairs office in Haql. "We drive approximately 250 kilometers to Tabuk just to book an appointment at the office there and then travel again 15 days later for fingerprinting so that our women can obtain their national identity card. I demand that we get our own women's section in Haql so that our suffering will end," said Al-Omrani. Muhammad Ali Al-Stouha explained that the lack of women's department had subjected him, his daughter and his niece to great hardships when they were forced to stay 14 days in Tabuk to finish their paperwork. "We used to travel daily 500 kilometers back and forth to Tabuk to complete the paperwork to get out national IDs issued. I'm not young and I'm unable to travel a lot," said Al-Stouha. He hoped that things would change soon with a women's section functioning in their city. Mohammed Juma Al-Omrani indicated that the lack of women's sections of banks and the civil affairs exacerbated their problems. Many families have lost the lives of their loved ones who were commuting on the road. "People leave their daily chores and head to Tabuk to finish their paperwork. Traveling a lot on the road can be exhausting and dangerous," said Al-Omrani.