RIYADH — Circumstances might have brought them together. They might have been in the same classroom or in the same neighborhood. The result was close friendship between Saudis and foreigners. The Saudis found it only natural to sponsor their foreign friends otherwise there would be no meaning to the true friendship. Some Saudis sponsored foreigners for religious reasons seeking reward from God by helping foreigners who came from far away places to gain living in the Kingdom. Others did it for humanitarian reasons. No matter what the reasons were, a deep affinity had developed between many Saudis and their foreign friends living in the Kingdom. Abu Saad, who refused to disclose his true identity, told Al-Riyadh newspaper that he has been sponsoring a Sudanese friend for more than eight years and was also paying the iqama renewal fees for him. He said the Sudanese worked for him for five years before he closed down his office. “When circumstances obliged me to close down the office, I allowed him to work in the market while keeping him under my sponsorship,” he said. Abu Saad does not know what will happen to his sponsored Sudanese when the campaign against foreigners violating residency and labor regulations resumes in less than two months after the expiry of the three-month grace period granted by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah. He said he never spoke to the Sudanese about the impending threat. According to passport and labor sources, the campaign against unregulated foreign residents will be intensive and sweeping when it is relaunched. They said the Saudis who are sponsoring foreigners who are not working for them will be severely punished. Adnan Al-Amri, a lawyer, said under the system both the violating foreigner and the Saudi employing him without being his sponsor will be penalized. He said about 10 percent of the foreigners are being sponsored by their Saudi friends and relatives.
