Saudi Gazette report JEDDAH — Five orphan siblings are being confronted with difficult situations in their daily lives because they do not have national identity cards, thanks to their father who allegedly committed identity theft. The two boys and three girls are unable to continue their education and cannot get their father's social insurance payments. Their father married their Saudi mother with a legal marriage contract that was authenticated by the court and Saudi witnesses. When their father died, the mother approached the Civil Affairs Directorate to include them in the family card. However, she was told that there are no records of her husband in the Civil Affairs Department proving that he was a Saudi citizen. She was later informed that her husband was of Yemeni nationality and that he had impersonated a Saudi citizen. Ahmad, the youngest brother, said he and his siblings were enrolled in schools using their Saudi birth certificates. Schools later asked them for a copy of their family card that they did not have. These problems caused their mother to become a diabetic and suffer from high blood pressure and heart hypertrophy. She later died of cancer. Ahmad later visited the Civil Affairs directorate and they asked him to sign a letter to issue iqamas for him and his siblings. The siblings reside with their handicapped aunt and do not have any source of income except for what they receive from philanthropists. They cannot continue their education, nor can they find work. The manager of Makkah's Civil Affairs directorate Ghazi Al-Bishri said the Ministry of Interior has approved granting citizenship to the siblings, but they have to provide iqamas issued by the Passport Directorate. The supervisor of the Makkah branch of the National Society for Human Rights, Dr. Husain Al-Shareef, said these siblings should be exempted from the iqamas condition. They are of a Saudi mother and have the right to citizenship, he said. He urged them to contact the Society so it could help them by liaising with the Ministry of Interior.
