Hassan Cheruppa

Saudi Gazette



JEDDAH — With Eid Al-Fitr around the corner, remittance centers all over the Kingdom saw huge crowds of expatriates trying to send money back home Wednesday and Thursday before banks closed for the holidays.



ATM machines have been drained quickly when people flocked to the cash machines to withdraw money for Eid expenses.



In addition, with many Saudis and expatriates alike flying out to spend their Eid holidays abroad, high demand for American dollar and regional currencies such as Egyptian pound, Indian and Pakistani rupees, Philippine peso and Bangladeshi taka was quite evident. So much so that exchange centers in many parts of Jeddah ran out of dollars and the Egyptian pound, leaving a Saudi ruing the fact that he had left the purchase of dollars and Egyptian pounds till the last minute.



“It was just too much, every money exchange spot I went to, from Balad to Sharafiyah or Al-Musadiyah, I was met with a shake of the head and  statements like: ‘no dollar or pound, we’ll buy it from you if you have any’,” said M. Ahmad, who was preparing to celebrate Eid in Jeddah before embarking on a family outing to Egypt.



A large number of expatriates thronged remittance centers such as Tahweel Al-Rajhi, Al-Amoudi Exchange and TeleMoney, and almost all of these centers registered record transactions.



Speaking to Saudi Gazette, Abulrazak Edavanakkad, an employee at Al-Rajhi’s Bawadi branch, said more than 1,300 customers visited the branch Wednesday alone.



“Normally, we handle around 500 customers a day during the last 10 days of every month. However, this month we witnessed an unprecedented rush of customers,” said Edavanakkad.



When Saudi Gazette visited Al-Musadiyah branch of Al-Amoudi Exchange on Wednesday after the Isha prayer, the courtyard outside was already bustling with a crowd of around 500 people. They rushed inside as soon as the doors opened and several serpentine queues were formed within minutes.

The exchange employees and security staff had a tough time handling the unprecedented number of customers.



Abdul Rouf, a Bangladeshi who works as operations in charge at Al-Ihram Travels, said he was waiting outside the exchange for several hours hoping to get inside as soon as it opens because he had to complete the transfer before rushing to the airport to catch a flight to Dhaka later in the night.



“I am so much excited and impatient to join my family back home and celebrate Eid with them. It is a great experience to spend Ramadan in the Kingdom in a spiritual mood and then celebrate Eid with family members back home,” he said.



Arcy Acuna, project manager at Bank Al-Jazirah, said even though he stays back in the Kingdom with family members during Eid holidays, he wanted to send money to parents and other close relatives in the Philippines to meet their requirements on this festive occasion.



Acuna, who hails from a predominantly Christian province, said he enjoyed the unique experience of Ramadan while living in the Kingdom over the past 20 years.



“Ramadan is a wonderful experience for non-Muslims, too. Workers enjoy reduced office hours and more time to spend with family while housewives enjoy late night shopping,” he said, adding: “There is one handicap, however, as people are generally less productive in Ramadan.”



Abdul Hadi, a bachelor from Hyderabad working with Al-Misbah Trading Co., said that he is sending money to enable his parents and close relatives to celebrate Eid with festivity.



Muhammad Saleh Sado, a Pakistani domestic worker, said he has a feeling of being with his family in Karachi during Eid celebrations while sending them money.



Sado said he is blessed to be in the Kingdom especially in Ramadan and working at the house of his Saudi woman sponsor, who has given him a special festival allowance and gifts.



“Even though all Muslims feel sorrow and pain over the bloody Israeli aggression against unarmed Palestinians in Gaza, there is a joy for all Pakistanis that they are celebrating Eid without any sectarian violence in the country this Ramadan.”



Ahmed Izza, an Egyptian working at Elaf Red Sea Mall, said he would celebrate Eid with family in Jeddah. He said he came to send money to parents to share happiness with them on this festive occasion.

Almost all ATM counters witnessed unprecedented rush over the past few days.



At Al-Musadiyah branch of Saudi Hollandi Bank, security guards arranged facility for customers to sit inside the bank waiting their turn to take money from the teller.



“You have to wait around half an hour for your turn to withdraw money,” one guard said.