Hundreds of Indonesian workers have been squatting in front of their consulate in Al-Rehab District here since Sunday morning awaiting deportation. Most of these workers are illegal overstayers. Many of them are runaway housemaids and some are drivers holding valid residence permits. But they all want to be sent home as soon as possible. They had been living for months under the Sitteen overpass in Kandara District. But when they lost hope of an early deportation to their home country, they began to gather around their consulate. “We at the consulate cannot deport them as most of them are either illegal or have valid visas but are not registered with the consulate,” a public relations source at the Indonesian Consulate General told Saudi Gazette, Monday. “What we can do is to issue one-way passports in coordination with the Passports Department here so that they can be sent home,” the source said. But the process may take months. Until then, these workers have no place to go and no option but to sleep on the street in front of their consulate and depend on food provided by residents of the area. Imam is an illegal driver who came to Jeddah on an Umrah visa in 2003. Now he wants to go home. “The consulate said that we have to wait for two months to be sent home. I don't have any money in my pocket. I am surviving on food and water provided by passersby,” he said. Noryah, a housemaid, also came to Jeddah on an Umrah visa last Ramadan. “I am homesick as I miss my only child. I am only asking for deportation,” she said. Ahmed Sam used to work as a driver for a Saudi family. But he claims that his sponsor never paid his SR1,000 salary on time.
