Burmese refugees to receive job training in Saudi Arabia

March 25, 2013

Burmese_refugees

Jeddah, Mar 25: Makkah Gov. Prince Khaled Al-Faisal yesterday distributed free residency permits (iqamas) to the first applicants of the Burmese community in a historic move to legalize the status of nearly 500,000 refugees in the Kingdom.

“This is one of the beautiful moments in my life,” said Prince Khaled while addressing a ceremony at Kudai near Makkah. He thanked Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah for issuing his instructions to correct the residency status of a huge group of expatriates who have been living in the Kingdom for several years.

“It was one of the first proposals I presented to King Abdullah after becoming the governor of Makkah,” Prince Khaled said to the applause of the large gathering including OIC Secretary-General Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu and Burmese community leaders. “King Abdullah ordered the formation of a ministerial committee for the development of disorganized residential districts in Makkah to improve the situation of Burmese Muslims living in those districts,” he said.

“This is one of the unique experiments in the world,” the governor said, adding that the Kingdom has taken drastic measures to tackle the problem. “We are not just building new homes to develop these districts. We also rehabilitate some 400,000 to 500,000 people living there,” he pointed out.

Prince Khaled said the government would provide Burmese community members with health care, social services, education and develop their residential areas as part of a comprehensive program. “We’ll also train them to get jobs,” he pointed out.

Under the Labor Ministry’s Nitaqat (naturalization) program, the employment of four Burmese is equal to one foreigner. This incentive was given to encourage private companies to employ more Burmese to meet their labor requirements. “You cannot see such a comprehensive rehabilitation program anywhere in the world,” the governor said.

“This is an unprecedented incident in the world,” said Mohammed Tayeb, director general of the Foreign Ministry’s office in the Makkah region, while commending the government’s efforts to issue four-year iqamas to Burmese citizens free of charge and provide them with educational, health and social services.

Mohammed Rauf Rafi, secretary-general of European Rohingya Council in the Kingdom, said there are about 350,000 Burmese Muslims in Makkah, Jeddah and Madinah. Saudi authorities intend to issue iqamas to all Burmese within four to six months. He disclosed plans to open a media center for the Rohingyas at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

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News Network
July 18,2020

Dubai, July 18: An NRI student who passed away in Dubai shortly after shortly after attempting his Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) Grade 12 papers in March, has scored an impressive 91.4 per cent on his board examinations, including 100 in his media studies paper.

Ahmed Ziyad, a student of GEMS Our Own Indian School in Al Qouz, Dubai, died on March 19, suffered a heart condition called Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) that stopped him from being active in sporting activities.

Ziyad's parents, teachers, and classmates remember him as a very ambitious pupil, who wanted to launch his own business and achieve great things in his life. His board results are - mass media studies 100, Marketing 97, English 84, Entrepreneurship 82, and Home Science 94.
 
Ziyad's father, Shanavaz Manangath, a real estate professional who has been a resident of Dubai for over two decades said, "Six months ago, he had collapsed while playing with his friends. Since there was an irregularity in his heartbeat, he could not take part in any strenuous activities." He added, "Ziyad had just started playing with his friends on March 19 when he suddenly collapsed and died shortly after. My family has not been able to overcome his loss."

Unable to hold back his tears, an emotional Manangath said Ziyad wanted to do his BBA and launch his own business, "He was very ambitious. Honestly, I haven't looked into his board exam results, but, I know he had studied very hard for the exams."

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News Network
April 20,2020

Sharjah, Apr 20: Air Arabia announced on Monday it will operate new repatriation flights from four cities in India to Sharjah carrying UAE nationals back home.

The special flights will operate from Mumbai and Delhi to Sharjah International Airport on April 20 while special flights will operate from Kochi and Hyderabad to Sharjah International Airport on April 22.

Air Arabia remains committed to bring stranded citizens back home as well as supporting requests to operate repatriation flights and is working closely with UAE authorities in this regard, the airline said.

Air Arabia announced earlier that it’s operating a mix of repatriation flights as well as cargo flights during the month of April to multiple destinations.

Further information about the repatriation and cargo flights is available on the website or can be obtained by contacting the Air Arabia call centre on 06 5580000 or respective travel agent.

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News Network
March 28,2020

Mar 28: Just hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to the Abu Dhabi crown prince on the Coronavirus Pandemic, India “thanked the UAE authorities for accommodating the 19 Indian nationals who were stuck at Dubai airport for past several days”.

The Indian mission in Dubai tweeted, “They got stranded due to various restrictions to deal with Covid-19 pandemic. Hotel rooms have been given to them inside the airport. Our Consulate had been in constant touch with the Indian nationals and UAE and Indian authorities. We had also provided some financial help to enable our stranded passengers to buy food. The situation was tough due to the pandemic situation.”

During their conversation last evening, Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed Al Nahyan had “assured Prime Minister Narendra Modi about the welfare of the over two million Indians living in UAE and contributing to its economy”. PM Modi “thanked the Crown Prince for his personal attention to the health and safety of Indian expatriates in the present situation”.    

A statement issued late on Thursday night by the MEA said, “The two leaders exchanged information and views on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the situation in their respective countries, as well as the steps being taken by their Governments. They agreed that the next few weeks would be crucial to control the spread of the virus, and required concerted and coordinated efforts by all countries. In this context, they appreciated the organisation of a Virtual Summit among G20 Leaders earlier in the day, to discuss the pandemic.

Both leaders emphasised the importance they attach to the strength and richness of the bilateral relationship. They agreed to maintain regular consultations between their officials in the present situation, particularly to ensure continuity of logistical supply lines.”

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