Thursday, December 15, 2005
Treat Us Like Human Beings, Saudi Reporter Tells US Ambassador
RIYADH, 8 December 2005 — Omar Al-Zubaidi, a well-known reporter for the Arabic satellite channel “Al-Arabiya”, ripped his visa application and other papers in two in front of the American ambassador at a press conference. He had been told to submit the application and other documents to the US Embassy in Riyadh but he tore them up, saying, “We do not want your visa!”
The reporter complained to the ambassador about the abuse and humiliation he experienced when he went to apply for a business visa to the US. He said that he and another colleague were called “animals” by an embassy employee at the front gate. He told the ambassador that Saudi citizens were often mistreated and dealt with rudely when they applied for US visas. He demanded that they should be respected “as human beings.”
“One of the employees told my colleague and me while we were waiting in line to enter the embassy grounds, ‘The animals go back,’ referring to Saudi citizens,” Al-Zubaidi said. “Thank you Mr. Ambassador. We do not want your visa,” he said, before he ripped the papers in two. “I can do my business elsewhere. I can go to Europe; I do not need to go to the US.”
Al-Zubaidi then went on to address a sore point with many Saudis who have been accepted for study at American colleges and universities. “What is happening is a pity and a shame. Many Saudi students from remote villages and towns have had to come to Riyadh to apply for their visas. The Jeddah visa section is closed and no one knows when it will reopen. These students dream of studying in the US and returning to the Kingdom with a degree. Some of them have had to sleep in mosques because they have no money for hotels. And after all this, they are then abused and humiliated at the US Embassy.”
The US ambassador, James C. Oberwetter, apologized to the reporter for what happened and said that such a thing was “unacceptable. I deeply regret hearing that you were badly treated. This is something we will not tolerate.” He promised to investigate the matter.
During the press conference, the US Ambassador and the US Consul General explained to the press the problems of issuing visas to large numbers of Saudi students and the immense pressure on the embassy to process them.
In a press release the US Embassy said that up through Dec. 1, the embassy processed almost 700 student visas for study in the United States; in the entire year of 2004, only 647 student visas were issued. The total number of visas issued to Saudis increased from 16,004 in 2004 to 27,657 so far in 2005.
In a statement released to the press, the ambassador said, “It is unfortunate that at a time of increased visa demands, the Consulate in Jeddah had to suspend visa services on Nov. 13 due to security concerns. We have asked the Saudi government to help us address these concerns.”
At present, no visas — either student or tourist — are being issued in Jeddah.
The ambassador said that Saudis “should be patient and plan well ahead” when applying for US visas. A request for an interview for a visa takes eight weeks and beyond that, another week is needed to obtain the visa after the passport has been collected from the applicant.
The statement said that students who had not yet received visas for their academic studies in January 2006 should request delayed admission to the US.
Replying to an Arab News inquiry about the questions Saudis are asked in the personal visa interview, the ambassador said that everyone was treated the same, without exception. “The questions that are being asked are because of new procedures. We realized that our old procedures did not work,” the ambassador said, referring to the Saudis who entered the US and carried out the 9/11 attacks. He said that the US Embassy, along with the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education, was seeking ways to “smooth” the way for the large number of Saudi students who have been accepted for study in the US.
In response to a question about the number of Saudis who had complained that they had had to wait longer than usual for a visa because their names were similar to those of the 9/11 terrorists, the Consul General said that normally the process of evaluating papers takes two weeks after submission.
Via Arab News
The reporter complained to the ambassador about the abuse and humiliation he experienced when he went to apply for a business visa to the US. He said that he and another colleague were called “animals” by an embassy employee at the front gate. He told the ambassador that Saudi citizens were often mistreated and dealt with rudely when they applied for US visas. He demanded that they should be respected “as human beings.”
“One of the employees told my colleague and me while we were waiting in line to enter the embassy grounds, ‘The animals go back,’ referring to Saudi citizens,” Al-Zubaidi said. “Thank you Mr. Ambassador. We do not want your visa,” he said, before he ripped the papers in two. “I can do my business elsewhere. I can go to Europe; I do not need to go to the US.”
Al-Zubaidi then went on to address a sore point with many Saudis who have been accepted for study at American colleges and universities. “What is happening is a pity and a shame. Many Saudi students from remote villages and towns have had to come to Riyadh to apply for their visas. The Jeddah visa section is closed and no one knows when it will reopen. These students dream of studying in the US and returning to the Kingdom with a degree. Some of them have had to sleep in mosques because they have no money for hotels. And after all this, they are then abused and humiliated at the US Embassy.”
The US ambassador, James C. Oberwetter, apologized to the reporter for what happened and said that such a thing was “unacceptable. I deeply regret hearing that you were badly treated. This is something we will not tolerate.” He promised to investigate the matter.
During the press conference, the US Ambassador and the US Consul General explained to the press the problems of issuing visas to large numbers of Saudi students and the immense pressure on the embassy to process them.
In a press release the US Embassy said that up through Dec. 1, the embassy processed almost 700 student visas for study in the United States; in the entire year of 2004, only 647 student visas were issued. The total number of visas issued to Saudis increased from 16,004 in 2004 to 27,657 so far in 2005.
In a statement released to the press, the ambassador said, “It is unfortunate that at a time of increased visa demands, the Consulate in Jeddah had to suspend visa services on Nov. 13 due to security concerns. We have asked the Saudi government to help us address these concerns.”
At present, no visas — either student or tourist — are being issued in Jeddah.
The ambassador said that Saudis “should be patient and plan well ahead” when applying for US visas. A request for an interview for a visa takes eight weeks and beyond that, another week is needed to obtain the visa after the passport has been collected from the applicant.
The statement said that students who had not yet received visas for their academic studies in January 2006 should request delayed admission to the US.
Replying to an Arab News inquiry about the questions Saudis are asked in the personal visa interview, the ambassador said that everyone was treated the same, without exception. “The questions that are being asked are because of new procedures. We realized that our old procedures did not work,” the ambassador said, referring to the Saudis who entered the US and carried out the 9/11 attacks. He said that the US Embassy, along with the Saudi Ministry of Higher Education, was seeking ways to “smooth” the way for the large number of Saudi students who have been accepted for study in the US.
In response to a question about the number of Saudis who had complained that they had had to wait longer than usual for a visa because their names were similar to those of the 9/11 terrorists, the Consul General said that normally the process of evaluating papers takes two weeks after submission.
Via Arab News
