With 8.4 million foreign workers in Saudi Arabia recorded in the April, 2010 census and the number increasing each year, there are more expatriates who die in the Kingdom, and, as a result, licensed cargo operators are doing an increasing business in repatriating the remains of deceased workers to their home countries. In the Eastern Province alone, there are about a dozen cargo companies involved in the business of repatriating the remains of deceased expatriate workers. One cargo company handles on average 30 to 40 such cases per month, according to the operational manager of a cargo establishment in Dammam. “My average monthly repatriation of human remains to countries like India, the Philippines and Bangladesh is in the range of 30 to 40,” said cargo operation manager Rey Labiano. “Most of those whose remains are sent home are workers from India, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, and recently Nepal, and Arab countries like Syria,” Labiano said. He said that although some Muslim expatriates who die in the Kingdom are buried here, most are repatriated upon the request of their families. The main causes of death among expatriates are heart attacks, motor vehicle accidents and suicide, with heart attacks accounting for 65 percent of all loss of life. Philippine Embassy records indicate that the main causes of death among Filipino workers are heart attacks and motor vehicle accidents. The Philippine Embassy estimates that some 400 Filipino workers in the Kingdom die every year, and it is also probable that there is a similar average among Indian and Bangladeshi nationals. The cost of repatriating human remains is usually borne by the employers of the deceased workers. Because human remains are treated as cargo, the rates of the International Air Transport Association (IATA) are applied. According to Labiano, the total cost of sending human remains depends upon the final destination and the route of the airline involved. “It is more expensive if the delivery of the remains is off-line, meaning there is no direct flight to the final destination and, therefore, the cost of additional transportation is added,” Labiano said. For example, the cost of the repatriation of Filipino human remains ranges between SR2,800 to SR3,000, depending upon the availability of connecting flights from Manila to the provinces. The repatriation of deceased workers is more efficient than in the past with human remains now contained in galvanized coffins and sealed by the Ministry of Health. Delays are usually due to the slow response of employers who, under the law, have the responsibility for repatriation. There are cases of deceased foreign workers, particularly Indian and Bangladeshi nationals, whose sponsors cannot be contacted. In such instances, local community organizations usually pay the cost of repatriation. __
