& Muhammad Bin Mehaidi Okaz/Saudi Gazette ARAR – We are a few days away from the summer vacation when thousands of Saudi families flock with their families to nearby countries for fun. It's the time for fun. But it is also a time of worry for families. Many cars owned by Saudis get stolen abroad. The number has hit hundreds over the past few years. What is really annoying is that most cars get stolen in broad daylight. The risk is much higher for people who live in the Northern Frontier Province as they are close to a number of countries, such as Jordan, and travel by road. Okaz met some citizens and asked them about this phenomenon. Badr Al-Hazmi was shocked when his car was stolen in Amman from a street full of cars and police officers. Al-Hazmi had gone to Amman for medical treatment. When he got the following day to the Saudi Embassy to complain about the vehicle theft, he was surprised to see many fellow Saudis standing in line waiting for their turns to do the same. “Thieves go for certain models like Hilux and Jeep,” he said. Ahmad Al-Eneizi owned 2009 Nissan vehicle before it was stolen abroad. Up to this moment, his car has not been found. Math'han Al-Shammary went with his family to a nearby country for medical purposes. He stayed in an apartment near the hospital where his family was being treated. On the second day of his arrival, he woke up in the morning to find his car stolen and only some pieces of broken glass was left on the spot he parked it. Al-Shammary called the Saudi Consulate and the officer there told him to go to the police and file a case. He then had to get the theft report attested by the interior ministry and the pertinent court in that country. Owayed Al-Eneizi believes that car theft is an old problem that has been on the increase over the past few years. Al-Eneizi's car was stolen from the parking area of the building he was staying in. Haleel Al-Madaij would have lost his car, which was stolen from a parking area, had it not been for the intervention of a parliament member in the country he was visiting. The man pulled some strings and got the car returned to its rightful owner within 24 hours. Police found the car downtown and its Saudi license plates were replaced with local ones. A question which imposes itself Where do the stolen cars go and how come they never turn up anywhere? Car theft experts say some of these stolen cars get smuggled to Iraq while some are hidden in certain places until they are dismantled and their parts sold. Ali Al-Abad, spokesman for the Saudi Embassy in Jordan, said car thefts are common in neighboring countries, not just Jordan. He believes it has not yet become a phenomenon; however, it could happen any time to any Saudi family. “When you compare the number of Saudi cars stolen in Jordan with that of Saudi tourists, you'll see that it's not unusual.” Al-Abad thinks that these accidents happen because many families do not choose the right district to live in. Besides, some Saudi citizens attract attention by the way they act, which costs them their vehicles, he said. He urged citizens who want to spend their vacations abroad to access the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' website and read about the country they intend to travel to or see if the ministry had issued any warnings about this country. He also called upon vacationers to read about the laws of the country they want to visit. An informed source at the Saudi Embassy in Amman told Okaz that the mission would discuss with the security authorities in Jordan different issues such as car thefts and armed robbery involving Saudi citizens. The embassy will try to find solutions to these problems which many Saudis suffer from especially in Jordan. __
