DAMMAM/AL-AHSA – A number of female employees in the Ministry of Social Affairs in different parts of the Kingdom, stressed that they are suffering due to critical daily circumstances as their work place is far away from their families. They sometimes suffer from the dangers of the roads, being far away from their families and difficulty of living without a “mahram.” They appealed to concerned authorities to make their dreams come true by uniting their families and transferring them to places near their homes. Care for family Amal Bint Ayish Al-Hirz, said she has a five-year-old disabled son suffering from Down syndrome, besides four young daughters among whom, is a two-year-old. Her husband has undergone an open heart surgery. Al-Hirz said she has not been able to get a transfer, despite her female director having approved her transfer and has sent a letter to the Social Supervision Department in this regard. She mentioned that the transfer of Al-Hirz will not affect the course of work. The department wrote to the undersecretary for family care, but he refused. Without a mahram As to Nouf Muhammad Al-Fowzan, she said they have become victims of people who do not fear Allah. As she is staying far away, alone without a mahram, she has become a target for weak-spirited people. She is supported only by her belief in Allah and patience. She said her children have started suffering from psychological problems, including depression and loneliness, as she is not present between them most of the time. Her family is suffering from instability and marital life has become tepid because she is far away from the family. The hardship of traveling Manal Mubarak Farhan Al-Dhufayyan, a social researcher in the Ministry of Social Affairs said, “Transfer has become a problem for which I have not found a solution, amid unfulfilled promises by my ministry. I want to be transferred to Riyadh. I'm a divorced woman and I have an 11-year-old daughter living in Riyadh. Her father is refusing to allow her to travel to Al-Qassim. So I'm enduring the journey to Riyadh every week.” Harsh circumstances Unaizah Hissah Nasser Al-Azzam, works in a nursery and said she has been working as a social supervisor for the sixth grade since February 12, 2011. Three years have passed now. She is going through very harsh circumstances. She is unmarried and provides for herself and her mother, who is disabled and very old and sick, and is suffering from diabetes, blood pressure, osteoporosis and convulsions. There is nobody to take care of her. Khadija Al-Dahnain, a citizen from the Eastern Province, said, “I was appointed by the Civil Service Bureau in Madinah region three years ago. I'm married and my husband works in the Eastern Province, specifically, in Al-Ahsa governorate. I have two sons – one is four years old and suffers asthma. He gets asthma attacks frequently and needs oxygen sessions urgently. I'm forced to go out carrying him late at night with his one-year-old sister with a taxi driver who is a stranger and without a mahram. My husband lives in Al-Ahsa close to his work. You can imagine the constant suffering that I'm going through.” Life away from home As to Siham Abdullah Al-Buhassan, from Al-Ahsa governorate, she is an employee of the Ministry of Social Affairs at the comprehensive rehabilitation center, in Jazan since 2011. She said, “Life away from home is a great suffering, but this is for the sake of serving the nation. I live alone in Jazan. There is no family member with me. My father is very old. My mother and father suffer from chronic diseases.” Social Affairs Spokesman for the Ministry of Social Affairs Khaled Al-Thubaiti said there is a lot of care for all male and female employees. There is a mechanism that is implemented on all, in case of a request for transfer. It depends upon the current job location, the work's need for the employee and approval of the official in charge, as well as the completion of less than one or two years since appointment in the job. It also depends upon the center's need for the employee and the need for the employee in the new location.
