Hundreds of Indonesian overstayers, mostly women, gathered at the their consulate in Al-Rehab District Sunday demanding officials' help in getting them deported. The overstayers, predominantly runaway maids, came to the consulate after spending several days under the Al-Kandarah Bridge waiting for the Passports Department teams to pick them up and send them back to their country through deportation center. “We decided to come to our consulate after waiting under the Al-Kandarah for about three months,” said Mohammed, one of the gathered men. “We have sent four men inside the consulate to find a solution soon,” he added. Saturday was not the first time the overstayers have camped outside their consulate; they have been coming here in groups off and on to draw the officials' attention to their plight. The overstayers normally come to the Kingdom on Umrah visa and do menial jobs as housemaids and drivers. After earning enough money they gather under the Al-Kandrah Bridge to be picked up by Passports Department personnel to get arrested and deported to their county without paying for tickets. Just before Ramadan police picked up several Indonesians outside the consulate and handed them over to the Passport Department, sources said. Consulate officials told Saudi Gazette that they can do nothing for the overstayers. “These are Iqama violators and the Passports Department is the only government department to deal with them,” said a security official at the consulate. “The consulate can only talk to the Passports Department about them and be just a mediator between the two parties.
