Expatriate workers, above, while away their time with a group game of cards, while on right, some of them make bold in speaking about the state of their living conditions. Abdullah Al-Abdali Okaz / Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — A number of illegal residents have taken refuge around Sharafiyah bridge, as they await to be deported. Those using the bridge as a shelter are either the ones who have sent all the money back home with the hope that they would to be sent home during this ongoing campaign of repatriating illegals. Or ones who have fallen onto desperate times and hope to be sent back home either with the help of a philanthropist aid or the country's mission's help. There are cooks, drivers, and tailors among others, who have sent their entire savings home, and cannot afford to buy tickets to leave for their country. Mohammad Abdulqader said that he used to work as a chef in a restaurant in Al-Salamah neighborhood for the past two years. He lived in a room over the restaurant, and during these two years he had collected enough money for him and his family. Due to the recent campaign requiring all workers to correct their residency status he tried but could not find a sponsor, so he decided to leave the country. Mohammad Jameel, a driver, said that he and other compatriots had sent enough money for their families, and have decided to return home. The monies sent should be enough for their needs, he said. He added, with the Kingdom offering time for us expats to rectify our status, it would have been a good opportunity for many of us to seek to get employed elsewhere. But the hassles of getting all the paperwork done proves too much for many, he said. He and about 50 other compatriot had send their remittance home four months ago, and are awaiting to be deported without added cost to themselves. He said that they set up tents around Sharafiyah bridge to draw the attention of concerned bodies, in the hope that they may be deported. The spokesman of Makkah Passports Directorate, Lt. Col. Mohammad Al-Husain, said that the passports office campaign is ongoing to deal with these residency violators.
