Saudi Gazette

 

JEDDAH — The body of 65-year-old Ali Hussain, an Indian carpenter, has been lying in the mortuary of Al-Ahsa government hospital for more than five months awaiting repatriation.

 

His son, Saddam who works in Jubail as a laborer, has been striving to fulfill his 55-year-old mother’s wish to see her husband one last time.

 

Although the rivulets of briny liquid flowing from the eyes of his mother and six siblings have by now dried, the hope of having the mortal remains of their husband and father has not faded.

 

“All paperwork to repatriate the body has been completed, but the sponsor is dilly-dallying,” Saddam told Saudi Gazette.

 

“The last time I managed to talk to my late father’s sponsor was about a week ago. Since then he has stopped answering my phone calls,” he said.

 

The Indian Embassy has taken up the matter with the authorities concerned, said Hifzur Rahman, first secretary, political, information and education.

 

“We issued the no objection certificate in October. We have asked the Al-Ahsa police chief to expedite the process and to either repatriate the body or bury it here,” he said.

 

When Ali Hussain died of a massive heart attack in Hofuf on June 17, he along with 13 of his co-workers had filed a case with the labor office against his sponsor, who had not paid their salaries for four months. His iqama (residence permit) had also expired.

 

Sources say that clearance for repatriation or burial cannot be given until and unless the case is settled. 

 

Ali Hussain came to the Kingdom 17 years ago. He joined a contracting company based in Al-Khobar as a carpenter. He worked in various projects in Al-Khobar and Khafji. For more than four years he had been working in Al-Ahsa.

 

He was the lone breadwinner of a family of seven. Then his eldest son, Saddam, joined him in the Kingdom. Now Saddam looks after the needs of the family which includes his younger brother who has to go to school and three unmarried sisters.