CAIRO: An Egyptian working in Saudi Arabia has been unable to leave the country for three years after a dispute with his guarantor reached the courts. "I was working at a hotel for two years, from January 2004 until November 2006, when my guarantor reported to the passport authorities in Saudi that I escaped despite the fact that I was still going to work, the Egyptian, who preferred to remain anonymous, told independent daily Al-Masry Al-Youm. He took his case to the primary committee at the Labor Office, which ruled in his favor. However, his guarantor did not carry out the verdict and took the case to a higher authority in Riyadh. Three years later and still no verdict has been reached. As a result, the Egyptian worker cannot leave Saudi Arabia because his guarantor has his passport. The Egyptian reported the case to both the Egyptian embassy in Riyadh and the Egyptian consulate in Jeddah, who he said have "worked really hard on my case, but to no avail. Ahmed El Quenssy, assistant minister of foreign affairs for consular affairs, condemned the issue which was brought up, along with five other similar cases, in the previous meeting at the Egyptian-Saudi Consulate. He said that it is a violation of basic human rights, however, there is nothing they can do as it is a sovereign matter. Meanwhile, human rights activists are furious with the situation - which happens often to Egyptians in Gulf countries - and the inaction on the Egyptian government's part. "We believe that the guarantor system is a favor-like practice and we have repeatedly called on the government to take a firm position with the Gulf states that apply this system in order to protect the rights of Egyptian migrant workers, Hossam Bahgat, chairman of the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights said. However, he added, "the government has consistently failed to even raise the concern at bilateral political meetings with governments of these countries. According to Bahgat, in 2003 Egypt became bound by an international treaty at the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers, which places a higher legal obligation on the government to protect the rights of Egyptian migrant workers abroad. The treaty, which was enforced in July 2003, is meant to prevent the exploitation of migrant workers and put an end to the illegal or clandestine recruitment and trafficking of migrant workers. In addition, it sets out to provide a framework for their welfare and safeguards their rights. Last May, Egyptians in Lebanon expressed their disappointment at the embassy there for failing to assist them in evacuating the country when Hezbollah took control of the capital in response to government attempts to curb the group's power. "When the clashes started I told other Egyptians let's call the embassy, they all looked back at me and said, 'The embassy will be the first to shut the door in your face,' Pakinam Agha, a master's student at the University of Saint Joseph in Beirut told Daily News Egypt at the time.
