By DIANA AL-JASSEM | ARAB NEWS
Published: Jan 23, 2012
JEDDAH: Expatriates considering visiting their home country for a vacation, have reported facing substantial financial claims. Relatives would ask for luxury gifts and money, steering the expatriates toward financial difficulty.
Such requests are quite well-known among expatriates from different social levels and backgrounds. Electronics, clothes, perfumes and jewelry are in high demand. The relatives and friends seem to not give the financial situation of the expatriate much consideration and just want to take as much as they can.
“When we go home for a vacation, our relatives become a big problem. They think we have lots of money and we won’t know where to spend it. Directly and indirectly they will ask for it,” said Hanan Riyad, an Egyptian woman who has been living in Jeddah for twenty years.
She added, “One time, we arrived in our apartment in Cairo and my husband’s brother came to stay with us for the whole vacation. He brought his daughters and sons along and made sure they could all share our food, get more gifts, and take part in our picnics and journeys to a summer resort.”
According to Hanan, her brother-in-law also encouraged his wife to take as many of Hanan's suitcases as she could. “They took our own luggage when we went to a resort, leaving us without bags or suitcases. Such behavior forced me to put my daughters clothes in plastic bags,” she said.
Rima Abu-Karam, a Jordanian housewife, has been living in Jeddah for thirty years. She complained about her mother-in-law, who likes to borrow items from her home, but does not return them.
“My husband’s mother would regularly come to my house in Amman to clean and check the condition of the home. Unfortunately, every summer vacation I discovered that much of my stuff had disappeared. When I asked her, she said she needs these things and cannot find them herself in malls,” said Rima.
She added, “At the beginning of the previous summer vacation, I discovered my husband’s mother had taken our fridge. She claimed she took it only temporarily and would give it back very soon.”
Rima spent three months in Amman, but her mother-in-law didn’t return the refrigerator. “When I asked her to do so, she said we have another fridge in use and that should be enough for our small family,” said Rima.
Carolina Haddad only came to live in Jeddah two years ago. “My husband and I have lived in Syria for the past 40 years. There, I was also rich and my husband’s salary plus mine made a good income. Now my sisters in Syria are treating me like never before. They are trying their best to get money from me,” said Carolina.
She added, “In the past I would travel to Europe and they would ask for simple gifts. Since my husband started working in Jeddah, they have asked me to bring expensive gifts, such as certain brands of watches, perfumes, mobiles and other electronic stuff.” Carolina’s husband decided not to let her sisters visit them in Jeddah anymore, as every visit would cost them up to SR10,000 in gifts.
Sara Abdulhamid has been living in Jeddah for twenty years. She experienced similar problems when visiting friends and family in Lebanon.
“When I joined my friends and relatives to a café or resort, they all expected me to pick up the tab. They believe I am the richest among them, because I live in Saudi Arabia. But I am still young and don’t have money. I only have an allowance from my father,” she said.
Abdulhamid’s friends would frequently take her perfumes, make-up sets, accessories and watches, saying “You can get a new one once you return to Jeddah.”
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