TARIQ A. AL-MAEENA I recently received the following from an American acquaintance of mine. He wrote: “Have you ever written anything about the Kingdom's passport control? I just returned from a multi-country trip and every place in the GCC I went to, I was out of the airport in less than 30 minutes. It took me two hours to get through in Jeddah. That should be an outrage or embarrassment. Just wondering?" What he wondered about is not unique to his experience alone. Following that note, I questioned a few others about their experiences with passport control at the airport. SM, a female Yemeni student currently studying in Canada, had this to say: “I was born and raised in the Kingdom. My family has been living here for more than five decades. But every time I return from abroad during a school break, I have to stand painfully in long and slow moving queues in the arrival hall or put up with intrusive questions, while passport officers move about seemingly unconcerned about the fact that some of us have been traveling for more than 20 hours to get here. It is sheer torture." MO, a Kenyan financial analyst, wonders why service is so appalling. “In the course of my business, I have to travel to many of the poorer countries in Africa. And while they may be limited in financial means as compared to your country, their airport staff is far more bountiful in attitude and greetings than yours. What does it cost to be pleasant and courteous? The officers here are usually so gruff. I sometimes wonder if Saudi officials know how to smile. And most of the time they make you feel like they are doing you a favor." YK, a German national, said that he has experienced passport services at both the terminals at Jeddah airport. “The bottom line, Tariq, is that it is appalling. The immigration counters on arrival at the Kingdom's airports are hardly ever fully manned in spite of the arrival of many flights at the same time. Passport officers can be seen, instead, crowded in offices chatting away or reading newspapers while we wait patiently and in agonized silence. If one dares complain, then he is singled out for some questioning as if he is at fault. On top of that, the ground airline staff is also not helpful in directing us to the right queue. Third World standards, in my opinion!" SN, a Pakistani national and a longtime resident of the Kingdom, says: “I resent the fact that whenever I arrive from Pakistan, all the passengers are lumped together as laborers and assigned to the slowest moving line. Sometimes the passport counter staff for that line has not even arrived to start the processing of more than 200-300 passengers. And with each passenger sometimes taking more than a minute, you can calculate how long some of us have to wait." AS, a Saudi, says: “The minute we enter the airport terminal we run to the shortest line serving Saudi and GCC nationals. It is like we are running in the Olympics. Sometimes, just as we get there, the immigration officer tells us to go to another line as he is getting off duty. And to make matters worse, some Saudi passengers have relatives waiting by the passport counters, and they go to the head of the queue and have their passports processed with no regard for the others who stand patiently waiting their turn. As a Saudi I must confess that I am sick of such behavior by my fellow countrymen. The passport officers must not give preference to anyone by virtue of their friendship. I do not see such behavior in other countries." BM, A Saudi female, was also critical about her experience with the Passport Department. “My passport had more than five months validity left. I was to go on a short training trip to Frankfurt. When I got to the airport they stopped me, saying I could not travel with less than six months validity on my passport. I was furious as it was an important three-day course for my professional development. I was forced to miss it. Now why issue a five-year passport and then make it valid for travel for only four and a half years? This is the kind of logic that has unfortunately embedded itself in the minds of our unimaginative and uninspiring bureaucrats!" MG, another Saudi, says: “Tariq, it's not just the passport control at the airports that is bad. Saudis are forced to go to the Passport Office in the most crowded area in old Jeddah to get their passport issued or renewed. The Passport Department claims that they have satellite offices in some malls to cater to the public. But these outlets do not issue passports for Saudis. You have to go downtown for that. It is crowded and with our streets in the condition they are, it is not a very pleasant experience. I ask you why, in the age of IT and instant communication, the satellite offices cannot serve us? Why are we still sticking to ancient practices? Our King, God grant him excellent health, has instructed public servants to minimize the sufferings of the public, but it seems that the message has not reached these people. Just who is serving whom?" There was no positive feedback to my query. As a public service entity, it is obvious from the responses that our Passport Department has a long way to go to serve the public in an acceptable manner. There is simply no legitimate excuse for this continued aggravation. — The author can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @talmaeena
