Jasir Al-Jasir Al-Jazirah Yet again, officials in foreign countries abuse, humiliate and beat Saudi citizens. In the latest such incident, a Saudi family, a woman and her four children, was abused at Ataturk International Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Developed countries welcome tourists with respect and help ease their traveling procedures. But in Turkey, as appeared in a video that went viral on social media, Turkish passport employees at the airport battered the Saudi family and fractured one of the children's legs. The reason was that the Saudi family was standing in an area designated for people with special needs unaware of the signs that were written in English and Turkish. Instead of receiving polite guidance from the passport supervisor, he hit and pushed the Saudi woman and verbally abused her. When the children interfered to save their mother, security officers came in large numbers and started beating them up, then shackled them and escorted them to the police center at the airport. The Saudi family spent nearly 40 hours in prison and then was deported to Saudi Arabia. The Saudi Embassy responded to this incident by saying that they were following up on the matter and that they released the Saudi family after 40 hours. The length of their stay in prison is proof intentional negligence. This incident must not be taken lightly especially that Saudis flow to Turkey during every vacation supporting its tourism industry by spending excessively. Instead of welcoming them, Turkish police and passport officers disrespect and abuse them. Tourists who visit Turkey feel that Turkish people look down on Arabs. Yet Turkish people are respected and treated well when they visit Saudi Arabia. However, Turks do not seem to value this treatment because of several reported incidents of Saudi tourists in Turkey being humiliated and subjugated to violence and abuse. The country does not seem to care about what happens to Saudi tourists because our embassy officials do not follow protocol in voicing complaints against such attitudes.
