Nawwaf Affat Okaz / Saudi Gazette RIYADH — None of the children of Saudi families abroad have joined terrorist groups, Tawfiq Abdulaziz Al-Suwailem, chairman of the board of directors of the Saudi Charitable Society for the Welfare of Saudi Families Abroad (Awaser) said. "We have no reports to this effect. The children of Saudi families abroad have complete loyalty and a strong sense of belonging to the Kingdom so they cannot do anything against its policies," he said. Al-Suwailem said the society deals with Saudi families in Iraq and Syria through the Saudi Embassy in Jordan. "As for the Saudi families in Yemen, we are working on a new modality with the Foreign Ministry to send them assistance," he added. He said the society is taking care of about 8,000 Saudi families in 31 countries around the world by providing them with financial assistance, medication, education and social care. The chairman said the society is currently studying requests for assistance from Saudi families in Egypt, the Philippines and India. "We have special committees and researchers who will visit these three countries to collect information about the stranded Saudi families," he said. Al-Suwailem said the society is currently working on plans to cut down the number of Saudis stranded abroad. "We bring families back to the Kingdom if they wish to move here and follow the affairs of others through Saudi diplomatic missions in the countries in which they are living," he said. Al-Suwailem said the Ministry of Social Affairs has increased its annual financial aid to the society to SR7 million. "We have also received SR10 million as a gift from the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman. We now have enough funds to take care of the Saudi families abroad," he said.
