JEDDAH — The Tarahum Committee, which extends assistance to family members of people imprisoned in the Kingdom, helped 1,183 relatives of prisoners to find employment in the past two years, Makkah newspaper reported.
Head of the Tarahum Committee Yahya Al-Kinani said the committee cooperated with the private sector and the Ministry of Labor to ensure the rights of sons and relatives of prisoners.
“We made sure that the family members of prisoners were employed based on official contracts. We supervised the employment process and contracted with several private companies to ensure that the rights of prisoners or previous prisoners are protected and that they have an equal chance in employment,” said Al-Kinani.
He also said many family members of prisoners face hardship and discrimination because of the negative reputation brought on them as a result of the crime their relative had committed.
“These people may have low self-esteem and face discrimination at workplace. They may be more susceptible to exploitation because they find themselves in an abject state. They have the right to make a decent living especially that their financial provider is in prison and cannot provide for them,” said Al-Kinani.
He also said the committee is ready to receive any complaints or accounts of injustice from the family members of prisoners.
“We have a procedure to follow when it comes to being exploited or discriminated against. Our purpose is to protect the family members of prisoners. One of the committee members is an official in the Ministry of Labor. His involvement in the committee proves that the rights of these people are of paramount importance,” said Al-Kinani.
He said the committee has 2,076 members of families of prisoners enrolled in its database as service receivers.
“We offer workshops and training programs to give them language skills such as English and technical skills as well. The committee supports the family members in many ways. We receive donations of food from big supermarkets and businessmen. We distribute the food in packages to the families of prisoners on a monthly basis. We also give monthly financial aid to them,” said Al-Kinani.
