- Title: SAUDI ARABIA: Tensions high as Riyadh clamps down on foreign workers
- Date: 14th November 2013
- Summary: RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA (NOVEMBER 14, 2013) (REUTERS) FOREIGN WORKERS, MOSTLY AFRICANS WALKING PAST SECURITY OFFICERS AT THE MANFOUHA DISTRICT OF SOUTHERN RIYADH AT THE GATHERING POINT FOR DEPORTATION MORE OF AFRICAN WORKERS MOSTLY OF ETHIOPIAN ORIGIN GATHERING WITH THEIR FAMILIES AND LUGGAGE SECURITY OFFICER SPEAKING ON RADIO SECURITY OFFICERS GIVING INSTRUCTIONS TO WORKERS TO STAY BACK SECURITY OFFICER DIRECTING FOREIGN WORKERS SIGN FOR SAUDI SECURITY READING (Arabic): "SPECIAL TASKS AND DUTIES FORCE" (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) ETHIOPIAN WORKER IN SAUDI ARABIA, ABDULRAHMMAN, SAYING: "We will not leave from here until the embassy comes (Ethiopian embassy) and human rights are observed, we do not want to go anywhere." SECURITY FORCES ON THE STREET CROWD OF FOREIGN WORKERS GATHERED ON THE STREET SECURITY OFFICERS STANDING ON THE STREET HOLDING BATONS CAR PATROLLING STREET FOREIGN WORKER PULLING LUGGAGE TOWARDS DEPORTATION GATHERING POINT CARS FOR RENTAL DAMAGED WITH SMASHED WINDOWS PARKED ALONG STREET VARIOUS SMASHED WINDOWS / SIGN ON TOP OF SHOP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) OWNER OF RENT A CAR COMPANY, RASHED ISMAIL, SAYING: "We closed the stores after prayers and when we came back we found that eight cars were damaged, witnesses said that people with machetes had smashed the cars." WOMAN MOVING PARTS OF SMASHED WINDOW (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) SYRIAN LIVING IN MANFOUHA DISTRICT, AUM DAL'AA, SAYING: "There is no more bread left in our home and we are afraid to travel from the house to the store to buy more. Must we die from hunger because of these events? We ask the Saudi government to deport them (foreign workers) quickly. It is not reasonable for us to live in terror in a country that has safety and security. Are we in Syria? In Syria Bashar (al-Assad) is the reason for fear, but here? What is the reason for these problems and this mess?" ROW OF SECURITY VEHICLES ON THE ROAD
- Embargoed: 29th November 2013 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Saudi Arabia
- Country: Saudi Arabia
- Topics: General
- Reuters ID: LVAD2WUWUN8UU57HBSWXWZD9ADTJ
- Story Text: Crowds of foreign workers continued to surrender to Saudi authorities in Riyadh on Thursday (November 14) amid a clampdown on visas.
Tensions were high in the Manfouha district of southern Riyadh, a low-income area that is home to many poorer expatriates, a day after clashes between Saudi riot police, citizens and foreign workers resulted in the death of a Sudanese man.
Heavily reinforced security was present on the streets of Manfouha, with police carrying out patrols by car and on foot. Special assignment forces and riot police were in control of the district as workers continued to arrive at a location set aside by authorities for workers without proper visas to turn themselves in.
People congregated with their luggage, waiting for transportation to a deportation centre.
Thousands of foreign workers, mostly from Africa, have surrendered to the authorities in Manfouha since clashes there on Saturday (November 9) in which two people, a Saudi and an unidentified man, were killed.
The world's top oil exporter is pushing its 9 million foreigners to resolve irregularities in their passports or face penalties including prison and deportation, and has carried out raids on shops, offices and marketplaces to check visas.
The campaign, aimed at ending a black market in cheap foreign labour and creating more jobs for Saudis, has led millions of people to go through the tricky process of changing their visas, while hundreds of thousands of other people have left.
"We will not leave from here until the embassy comes (Ethiopian embassy) and human rights are observed, we do not want to go anywhere," said Abdulrahmman, an Ethiopian worker at the area set up for people to surrender.
Several rental cars with smashed windows could be seen nearby.
Rashed Ismail, the owner of a car rental shop said witnesses had reported African workers carrying sticks and knives had damaged the cars.
"We closed the stores after prayers and when we came back we found that eight cars were damaged, witnesses said that people with machetes had smashed the cars," Ismail said.
There have been other reports of disturbances in recent days, leading to arrests but no deaths, in Jeddah and Mecca.
Locals in Manfouha said they were frustrated with the process and continued tensions.
Aum Dal'aa, who is originally from Syria and lives in the district said she and her five daughters were living in fear after their window was smashed. With her husband away, Dal'aa said she was afraid to step out of her home.
"There is no more bread left in our home and we are afraid to travel from the house to the store to buy more. Must we die from hunger because of these events? We ask the Saudi government to deport them (foreign workers) quickly. It is not reasonable for us to live in terror in a country that has safety and security. Are we in Syria? In Syria Bashar (al-Assad) is the reason for fear, but here? What is the reason for these problems and this mess?" said Dal'aa.
Since the raids began 10 days ago, following a seven-month amnesty to make changing visas easier, tens of thousands of people with incorrect paperwork have been deported. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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