JEDDAH: Thousands of angry Indonesian expatriates attempting to process their travel documents set fire to a part of the Indonesian Consulate in Jeddah’s Rehab district on Sunday. The rioting mob set fire to wood, furniture and other combustible material at the entrance of the consulate, sending flames several meters high and dark smoke billowing well into the late evening sky. As the fire burned, the mob surged close to the consulate walls while several individuals attempted to fan the flames in an effort to burn down the building. Several injuries were reported, but details were still unavailable. “We are still checking if there’s any casualty or how many workers were injured,” Ambassador Gatot Abdullah Mansyur told Arab News. He said that all diplomats and consular staff were safe. Civil Defense crews, police, special forces and Red Crescent ambulances descended on the scene in an attempt to restore order as men and women chanted angry slogans against consulate officials cowering inside. Police officers, with arms folded, stood guard outside the consulate entrance. Roads leading to the consulate were sealed off. Eyewitnesses said the fire was still raging as of 10 p.m. and firefighters from the Saudi Civil Defense Department were battling the blaze, but Mansyur said the arsonists did not succeed in burning the mission. The incident followed a stampede on Saturday when Indonesian women stormed the consulate. At least three women were seriously injured and scores received minor bumps and bruises. Several women had fainted. The Indonesian diplomatic missions in the Kingdom are among those swamped with undocumented nationals trying to meet the July 3 deadline set by the host government for “illegals” to rectify their visa status. The confrontation between expatriates, police and consulate officials stemmed from Indonesian workers’ frustration over long delays and alleged lack of organization at the consulate. “We have been having problems with the consulate ever since we arrived two days ago,” said one Indonesian housemaid, who did not want to have her name published. “Yesterday I fell down and got hurt because the consulate didn’t know what they were doing and couldn’t control the crowd.” Another Indonesian, who said he works in construction, complained that he could never get inside the consulate to legalize his status, while his co-worker wanted to finalize his travel documents. “Believe me, now I just want to go home,” the construction worker said.
Posted on: Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:25:07 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015