Eyeing deportation, Filipino illegals erect tents near consulate

Undocumented Filipino workers have resorted to setting up makeshift camps near their consulate in Jeddah’s Rehab District with the hope that they would be picked up by the Saudi authorities and deported.
The development follows the Philippine Consulate’s successful coordination with Saudi authorities earlier in arranging for the deportation of a group of visa violators.
After high-level coordination with local authorities, the Philippine Consulate was able to arrange for the detention of the earlier group, which is now lodged at the deportation center in Shumaisy, near Makkah.
The number of Filipinos camping out in the makeshift camps increased on Tuesday.
The campsite has been set up in a vacant plot opposite the consulate and is witnessing an influx of undocumented Filipinos seeking to be repatriated.
Many women come by taxis in the morning and stay throughout the day before returning home in the evening. Some, however, stay put in the night in the hope they will be arrested.
With so many fresh arrivals, officials are clueless about the actual number of violators.
Unlike other nationalities, Philippine visa violators are better organized and possess basic supplies in their stay with many of them following their progress on the Internet.
Citizens in Rehab are complaining about the traffic congestion arising in the area, especially with the presence of several schools located in the vicinity of the consulate.