Saudi Affairs
‘Wasta’ at US Embassy
By Syed Rashid Husain
Jun 15, 2003, 22:24

Unlike the residents of Riyadh and Jeddah, obtaining a visa for visiting other lands by those living on the east coast of the Kingdom in Dammam, Al Khobar and the adjoining areas, has never been an easy experience.

They are not as fortunate, compared to those living in Riyadh or in Jeddah as most of the countries maintain embassies and consulates in those cities respectively.

Until some eight years ago, if I recall correctly, the US Consulate in Dhahran used to receive and process visa applications, but then, even prior to 9/11, the consulate was downgraded for austerity reasons, so we were told.

Hence the consulate stopped accepting visa applications at its premises in Dhahran. And in the meantime, the US Consulate in Dhahran has been transformed into a fortress, indeed for obvious reasons.

With summer approaching and the schools about to close after annual examinations, people all around are looking forward, some very eagerly, to their annual vacations.

Until the events of 9/11, the tide of the Saudi and expatriate tourists from Saudi Arabia and most of the Gulf states was toward the US and major Western tourism centers.

This, many say, is no more the reality. New destinations such as Malaysia, Egypt, Dubai and Pakistan have replaced the US and major western tourist spots for a number of obvious reasons. There is also a growing emphasis on domestic tourism.

Saudi Arabia is trying to promote itself as a tourist destination, especially in combination with religious tourism. However, it does not mean that no one is queuing up for American visas.

The facts to a great extent stand contrary to that. My next-door neighbour, a pediatrician by profession, is leaving for good to the US on an H-1 visa. One day last week, he traveled to Riyadh to get his visa endorsed on the passport.

On day one when they reached the US Embassy in Riyadh by 7.30 in the morning (in order to be there in time they had to leave Alkhobar by 3 in the morning), they were told that the embassy was allowing only 70 applicants to enter and that the 70 people had already been allowed in.

Hence there was no possibility of them being entertained on that day. Being from Alkhobar, some 500km away, they had no choice but to spend the day in Riyadh.

The next morning, they moved to the Diplomatic Quarter by 5 o’clock. The security at the entrance did not permit them to enter or even stay in queue to enter the area.

They were asked to leave the entry point for security reasons. Hence they had to wait just outside the Diplomatic Quarter and by 6 they again approached the security, when they were finally allowed to enter the area.

By the time they reached the embassy premises, they were the 28th in the queue. However, as time passed, many new faces, through connections, managed to get in and this created panic among those waiting at the end of the queue. In fact at one point the embassy security staff had to ask the police to come and control the situation. The processing of applications was stopped because of the emerging situation for the day, it was initially told to them.

However, later when things calmed down the process resumed. And in the meantime, due to the entry into the queue of many with connections, the doctor from Alkhobar was pushed to the 70th and last position to be entertained that day by the embassy staff. He was indeed fortunate that he was not the 71st.

“Wasta” or connections, it seems, definitely works even at the US Embassy and despite all reports to the contrary, it seems there are still people willing to travel to that part of the world from this part of the world.

The number of those traveling to the US during summer may definitely have gone down, but if one can hook onto a wasta, one could get into the queue of applicants without having to get up early in the morning. So I believe. That’s called the culture.

© Copyright 2003 by ArtArabia.com