Sunday, July 20, 2008

Riyadh deportation centre overflowing

A deportation centre in Riyadh is overflowing with ‘runaway’ maids, convicts and foreigners denied entry into the country as the cost of flights out of Saudi Arabia soars.

Detainees are kept in camps before they are deported to their home countries and are given the option to return early if they pay for their own flights.

But Saudi Airlines has more than doubled the price of a single flight, citing a labour counselor at the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Riyadh.
Filipino maids are staying at an embassy-run safe house waiting to return.
Days ago, the Philippine Embassy issued an advisory to all Filipinos not to runaway from their employer, instead, they must seek the assistance of the Embassy POLO Office for any job-related problems. Likewise, Ambassador Antonio P. Villamor discourages Filipinos, who travel to Jeddah risking themselves to travel by backdoor, saying that the Saudi government is now tightening its campaign against those expatriates who shall go on exit from the Kingdom without proper documentation.

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