Saudi Gazette report TABUK — The Saudi Embassy in Jordan is a hub of activity throughout the year, but more so during the holiday season with its Saudi Affairs Department dealing with numerous queries around the clock. Four employees work tirelessly to receive and process telephone queries from Saudi visitors and residents in Jordan. The department's vice president, Metaeb Al-Khuzaim, told Al-Madinah newspaper that the embassy under the leadership of Ambassador Fahd Al-Zaid helped the department to cope with the pressure. This year Jordan witnessed unexpectedly high numbers of Saudi visitors who came to the country either for vacation or medical treatment, he added. The Saudi Affairs Department is in charge of processing the various types of paperwork for Saudis and provides all necessary assistance, said Al-Khuzaim. He said the department is manned by both men and women, adding there was a public relations section that would receive feedback and complaints from Saudis and resolve them immediately by liaising with the relevant authorities in Jordan. Faisal Attna, who works for the department's field work section, said he and his colleagues divide work in two shifts, one in the morning and the other in the evening, to ensure there is cover throughout the day. The embassy's legal researcher, Zawma Atawi, said her work in the department involved supervising the law firms and legal representatives working for Saudis and Jordanians as well as working on memos, communications and drafting divorce documents for Saudi nationals married to Jordanians. The department also handles cases of car theft by liaising with Jordanian security and customs departments, said Atawi, in addition to cases of Saudi nationals who need help to return home. Such cases are immediately provided with accommodation, money and tickets back to the Kingdom. The department also handles cases of Saudis who die in Jordan or are incarcerated. It helps Jordanian women married to Saudi nationals to acquire Saudi citizenship in addition to matters related to Saudi students and providing them with birth certificates, said Atawi. Atawi added she helps provide Saudi families located in Jordan with social security insurance and works with the Red Crescent to help Saudi prisoners detained in Iraqi prisons. An administrator with the Saudi Affairs Department, Amena Hamid Dharani, said she is responsible for issuing passports for babies born in Jordan to Saudi couples, passports issued by order of the Saudi Ministry of Interior for marriage purposes and passports for children born to a Saudi father and Jordanian mother. She helps Saudis with renewal and replacement of passports as well as marriage applications.
