No Fingerprints

Hello. I'm blogging from here in the Philippines where the scorching summer heat is constantly killing my patience. Oh well, that's tropical summer! Whew!

It's my second annual vacation with my present company and I am again going back to Saudi after 40 days. And soon after I bid bye-bye to my homeland I am going to have another fingerprinting session with electronic scanners from immigration. That means another problem for the person taking my fingerprints, and another episode of here-I-go-again-explaining-why-it-is-so-difficult-to-take-my-fingerprints. Urgh.

Why is it difficult to get my fingerprints? There are two reasons, one is I have palmar hyperhydrosis or sweaty palms or better known to many Filipinos as pasmado. So literally, I have wet hands and fingers whenever I'm in a hot environment or simply my sympathetic nervous system (fight or flight) is activated. More sweat can be seen when I have lotion or clay on my hands and it suddenly gets hot. In fact, one can observe the release of sweat from my fingers from a close-up view! And it continues to sweat until the trigger is gone.

The other reason is my seemingly fingerprint-less hands. It is very easy to spot that observation as my hands are almost flat! You could see prints but they aren't easily visible on paper (after applying ink) or almost nothing from a finger scanner! Fingerprint personnel from immigration counters and police stations attribute that to constant application of lotion or alcohol, or simply, you don't work much that your hands are very soft, free from fingerprints. Uhm, I apply lotion at times to moisturize my arms but just for the arms, not for the hands. By the way, the problem is only my right hand which is my dominant hand. In contrast, my left hand has got no problem. It is sweaty also but fingerprints are present. Weird eh?! Haha.

When I sent my application to California Board of Nursing for NCLEX last 2007, they returned my fingerprint cards to me twice and I had to repeat the process at NBI Carriedo back then. In the immigration counter of King Abdulaziz International Airport they had a problem taking my fingerprints as well. My prints were also taken from my Saudi company and as usual, they had a difficult time using the live scanners! Good thing they had an alternative and used the fingerprinting cards instead. Also when you take the IELTS, they will need your fingerprints to make sure you are the same person who will appear on the next exam (in case you have different exam dates/times or venue. Of course, fingerprints are also taken here in the Philippines for NBI, and you know how the NBI centers are extremely hot! And oh, before you exit Saudi or any place where you stayed for at least 6 months, you must have your fingerprints taken for clearance purposes.

A side story to the no fingerprints subject is sweaty hands; this condition has emotional and psychological impact to many. Isn't it very awkward to shake hands with people with your hands wet?! For nurses, it is a must to put on gloves before touching patients or you'll just wet your patient's hands or whatever you are touching. In fact this is one reason why I declined a post to be in surgical nursing although I aced my surgery rotation when I was a nursing student!

For sweaty hands, the only way to go on with the fingerprinting is to wipe each finger with a dry tissue or cloth. If it won't work, rub some alcohol and let the alcohol dry up and try again. If not, the proven effective way is to rub powder (baby powder) on your hands and start the process. Mind you, all these steps were done at LTO for my driver's license renewal yesterday, and the last option was truly a success! If you opt to find a permanent solution, you may have medicated solutions or gels to be applied on the palms/hands as directed by a physician. There are also anticholonergic drugs which could be taken by mouth to stop the excessive sweating but you just have to be extra cautious with the side effects. Injection of botulinum is another controversial solution (botox). Lastly, you have the option to have surgery called sympathectomy which, according to Wikipedia, relieves 85-95% of excessive sweating of patients.

Ciao!

Filipino Nurses Bound to Saudi Arabia: What You Should Know (Part 2)

This is the second part of my entry about what Filipino nurses should know before moving to Saudi Arabia. It took me quite a long time to finish this entry due to curricular requirements and other stuffs - good thing the semester is almost over. Anyway, below is Part 2 of the two-part blog-series for nurses wanting to move here in Saudi.

The Saudi way of life is greatly based on the teachings of the Quran. In order to live a seemingly ‘good’ life they have to toss away temptations and follow the writings of their bible. That sounds very good, right? But the goodness in that sometimes have different interpretations to some. While points below will discuss my thoughts about their ultra-conservative culture, most are general way-of-living perceptions and stuffs. Again, these are just MY observations and thoughts, and of course, do not necessarily reflect that of my fellow countrymen. Just open your mind, and remember, to each his own.

Why Leave Saudi?

Language barrier. You cannot provide efficient and effective nursing care if there is ANY barrier to communication. Obviously, the most logical way to deal with the language barrier is to learn the foreign language. I know some Filipinos who speak very fluent Arabic but most of them are the veterans in this place, most of which have stayed for more than 10 years. Actually, it is greatly dependent on the person if he/she will consider the language barrier a problem, some are very enthusiastic to learn Arabic and others don’t see the importance of learning the language. And I must admit that I’m one of those less willing to learn.

Hygiene practices. Let me get this straight, not all people here put little importance to hygiene practices. In fact, I admire the youthful and the older locals who are very neat looking and very hygienic. In my workplace, we have Saudi friends who are very specific to cleanliness and sanitation but there are others who give no importance at all.

Just like in every nation elsewhere in the world, hygienic practices vary among individuals. In my first few months in Saudi, I claimed that the educated are exceptions to the “amoy araw generalization” but it turned out I was wrong. Even in the high class malls and hospitals you’ll come across the most awful smell of the no-shower-since-Friday men (and worse, women). That is when you'll greatly appreciate how your parents took care of you in the Philippines when you were a child as they imparted to us the importance of taking daily showers. 

Jeddah houses a multitude of nationalities and those coming from the neighboring countries are those, in fact, who have lesser regard to hygiene. Of course I have learned to identify the locals from the expatriates and it’s a must for me to give you a warning: you can never escape from the dreaded smell. As a courtesy, just ignore the smell, don’t say foul, belittling words, and get out of the scene right away. Again, you have been warned.

Cultural stagnation. This is a personal opinion: I will never wish, in my entire life, to be limited of my freedom. It is very difficult to have a normal free life in here because you are not free to mingle with the opposite sex. Good thing we belong in the healthcare field and that can be an exemption to the rule. Also for women, inequality is evident between the guys and the gals. Girls can’t drive, girls have less opportunities for available jobs, and girls are always covered. Just like how the westerners describe Saudi Arabia, it remains “a country left by civilization.”
 

Unsafe for females? Most likely, you have heard of horrible stories of people from Saudi getting raped or sexually harassed. That does not apply to women only, in fact, men are also sexually harassed here. There are actual stories that you could read online about nurses (or any other profession) getting raped and left in the middle of the desert. Most comments from colleagues attribute that due to extreme limitations of their locals to sexual expression. Unlike elsewhere in the world, guys here can never go first base (and beyond) not unless they are married or they engage in sexual practices in a non-consenting victim. Also, I have a colleague who is a muttawa (religious police) and he explained that women’s hair and skin, once shown to the public, could provoke sexual urges in men; according to him, if a woman shows her hair or her skin, she is actually welcoming sexually hungry men to harass her anytime. Remember how Mama Mary is depicted on images with her hair cover always on? They consider Mary's contribution (as the mother of the prophet Jesus) part of their religion too! And that is how they want their women to dress like.

But again, the city, just like every city in the world, is a jungle. You'll never know when a tarantula, a boa, or a croc would pick on you... So just be safe and always be vigilant.
 
Pork is banned! Aside from gender inequality, restriction to food (specifically pork) makes me sigh in sadness every now and then. Food restriction is based on their religious belief that certain animals are dirty and should not be eaten. They also have a special ritual during the slaughtering of cows, chickens, camels, and other animals. When animals undergo that special ritual before they are slaughtered, that practice passes the Halal (the ones you see on the can labels). Anyway, I have learned to live without pork and substitute beef and chicken instead. Now, I can safely say that I’m a beef and seafood lover. :)
 
Drinking Water is expensive! According to my colleagues (their opinion), water is quite expensive (2 Riyals per liter). For a 5-gallon potable water container I pay SR 6. Sodium content is an issue to some as regular water here have very high sodium. I don't see that as a threat to health unless your kidneys are failing. Some low-sodium water bottles (Nestle) cost SR 6 per liter.
 
You cannot own a house and lot. Just as explained earlier (post about Why Stay in Saudi), expatriates cannot own properties. The same explanation goes for the item below.
 
No chance of acquiring citizenship regardless of the years of stay. Simply because you're an expatriate.
 
No booze! If you’re that after-work-Friday-night-monster type of guy, you can’t be in Saudi. They don’t have liquor in here. And drinking alcohol is extremely against and punishable by law. Jail time, public flogging, and deportation would be the consequence once you’re caught in the act drinking, carrying liquor, or roaming in public drunk. I know a few who have been jailed (two of my colleagues) for 3 days and 2 nights and they are currently on hold (not allowed to leave Saudi Arabia) for the next 6 months while their investigation is pending, also, the police confiscated their iqamas for some time. So paano na sila gagala?! Well, the fact that booze is illegal here doesn’t bother me at all as I don’t drink. The point is, you stay in their country, you respect their customs and laws. Period.
 
No public party - Philippine style! Well, I am talking about the freedom to hold a party wherever you want (of course, not literally ANYwhere) without thinking of somebody reporting the party and the host to the police. Friends claim that there are locations free and far from the police wherein you could hold parties. For example, Obhur, the near-the-beach compound near Jeddah is a more popular place where public, only-Filipinos-allowed parties and gatherings are held.
 
No cinema! I have mentioned the observation of how their locals are deprived of the ‘real’ entertainment in Part 1. However, who needs a public cinema if the rich locals could set-up their own home theatre system?! TVs here are huge (just like in the Philippines) ranging from 40” to 60” smart television units and they are way cheaper here than in the Philippines.
 
Very conservative culture for women. Women are covered from top to bottom. They wear the abaya and tarja to hide their skin because of their belief that skin and hair exposure is tantamount to sexual provocation. And if a muttawa calls your attention, be prepared to be shouted at and receive his short lecture (in public) on the importance of observing their cultural ways. For some ladies, that rule actually saves them a couple of Riyals since there is no need to buy expensive clothing - unless they need to prepare and dress up for an all girls party.

Photo by Photograph: Fayez Nureldine/AFP/ Tue, Nov 27, 2012

Challenge of courtship among Filipino men and women. Only married couples are allowed to roam around or you’ll risk getting jailed or shouted at and criticized in public. Some would choose to illegally get a fake marriage certificate just for them to go around without worrying. That's so wrong, right? Anyway, they are adults, and they should know and be prepared to experience the consequences of their actions. Also, some women simply 'can’t lock their knees,' a number of women I know got pregnant without getting married to their partners. Talk about unplanned pregnancies. Urgh.

Weather. Saudi is a desert so people should expect a dry, hot weather all throughout the year. And just like what is told in Earth Science classes, it gets very cold in the night and hot hot hot during the day. There have been a number of recorded temperature fluctuations ranging from 0 degree Celcius during the cold nights of December (Riyadh) up to 50 degrees Celcius at Summer.
 
Very limited and expensive public transportation choice. Most common is the taxi but unlike in the Philippines wherein there is a "flat rate," in here the driver or the passenger agrees with a verbal contract, and the minimum charge is 5 Riyals per ride. From where I stay in Jeddah, the usual cost per taxi ride from my flat to Balad is SR 10. They also have the SAPTCO or Saudi Arabian Public Transportation Company that travels to different areas to and from the small towns and cities. I have never tried riding any SAPTCO vehicle but I have seen a lot in Jeddah. They look like the regular air-conditioned buses that we have in Manila. By the way, SAPTCO is for men only. And since you ride in somebody else's vehicle, the risks that come with it are countless (read the sections Unsafe for females? above and Road safety is a constant threat to life! below).

Housing issues. If in case you decide to live out from your company provided accommodation, you have plenty of options. People prefer to live out and find an apartment to avail of the much desired privacy. In general, if you opt to live out, the company will give you a housing allowance and that is a huge sum for some. Apartments can be expensive (in Jeddah it costs 500 to 1000 Riyals per room per month [shared bathroom, living room, kitchen] excluding electricity, water, and internet).
 
Food choices. Food may have different taste not appealing to the general Filipino tongue (you’ll get used to it anyway). But Jeddah is considered a food haven for food enthusiasts as it houses numerous restaurants offering different specialties. A local magazine called Destination Jeddah (search their Facebook site for more!) is a very nice read if you want to know and explore the reviews of restaurants or the city itself. Another great food blog for the Jeddawis is Jeddahfood.com. Of course, the fast food and local neighborhood kabsahan will never be excluded in the list! Jollibee is also here! Have a Jolly-weekend to de-stress!
 
No holiday season (no Christmas lights, New Year celebration with less fireworks). If you spend the holiday season here, be prepared to miss Philippines big time. The Christmas spirit, of course, is not felt here, no Christmas lights, no colorful gifts, no Christmas carols in the malls, etc. But of course, if there are Filipinos around you could always celebrate the Noche Buena and Buena Noche with them. You have to celebrate it with the Filipinos or else you’ll lose your insanity! Haha.
 
Road safety is a constant threat to life! Road traffic accidents top the list of common causes of death here. Reckless drivers are EVERYWHERE! If you want proof, just look around the cars in the city, full of bumps and flaws from scratches and vehicular collisions. Add the sandstorm to the reckless drivers left and right, *and boom!* be prepared to see The Light (look up!). The government, however, makes sure the roads are wide and flat. Also, always wear that sinturong pangkaligtasan (seat belt) to protect you.
 
Limited clothing sizes for the Filipino physique. If you have a small built, buy and pack lots of shirts and pants while in the Philippines! Small sizes here are equivalent to medium sizes in our country. And it is extremely difficult to find the right size for the average Filipino body.
 
Text messaging is expensive (25 Halalas per text for same network; for different networks, 35 Halalas). Promotional offers are available so it is up to you to avail. I own a smartphone that has 3G so I just use Viber or Skype to communicate with whomever I want to reach. For me, subscription to 3G saves me a lot of money. Currently, I am subscribed for a SR 200 for 3 months of 3G with limitation of 1 GB per month under STC.
 
Limited 24-hour friendly tambayan (the likes of 7-11, Mini Stop, Select, etc.). In Manila, we have that usual tambayan which most of the time serves as the regular meeting place for meet-ups. This is where we could buy refreshments, simple snacks or microwavable meals, basic toiletries, magazines, batteries, and even condoms! Harhar. In here, you don’t have those or if there is, very rare.
 
Women cannot drive a car. They just won’t allow them.
 
Salaah 5 times a day. An excerpt from the Part 1, "Also, you have to get off the mall stalls and restaurants once the 'saalah' or the prayer time starts – that means, interrupted shopping and eating time." The prayer time breaks normal working hours of establishments (restaurants, stores, malls, etc.) So if you're hungry and in a hurry during salaah time, then suffer!!!

But then, if you are of sound mind, you should have anticipated salaah hours, right? Good. That's how an expatriate thinks.
 
No nursing regulatory board (and no official statewide nursing association). Reason? Perhaps, because the nursing leaders here are non-Saudi? Roam around the leading hospitals (government and private) and do a survey of the nationality of their top level nursing administrators, I bet they are westerners, or Asians. One thing more, Nursing is not a popular profession amongst the locals as they view Nursing as a domestic job. Also, the shifting schedules (especially night shifts) of nurses are not appropriate to the locals. Here's an excerpt from my pre-thesis work:

The country has been reliant to expatriate nurses that occupy almost 95% of the nursing positions state-wide (Bozionelos, 2009). This can be attributed to the country’s regard to nursing as a low-paying, physical and domestic type of job (Gazzaz, 2009) that requires irregular working hours, thus, not appealing to the Saudi population. A strategy adopted by Saudi Arabia to fill the missing nursing positions is through recruitment of nurses coming from developing countries such as the Philippines (Aldossary, While, & Barriball, 2008; Almalki, Fitzgerald, & Clark, 2011).

If you are looking for a chapter of the Philippine Nurses Association in the Western region, then you're lucky, there is! 

Education is expensive. If you have a child, you have no choice but to enroll them to an International School. I don’t have the details here; I don’t know any Filipino who has a child studying here in Saudi. According to an expatriate physician, he pays around SR 50,000 for his Grade 7 child who goes into an International School. But in an article that I read, Saudi Arabia tops the list of countries with very high budget for education (for their locals). That's one thing I admire in the Saudi government, they aim for an educated society and they would really support a student who has high hopes and dreams by funding his education locally or abroad.
 

Free television and Internet is regulated. No intimate scenes can be seen on free TV; nothing sexual in nature. Perhaps that is their way to protect their people from worldly things, thus, protecting the general tao from committing crimes of various natures.
 
Internet charges vary. Jeddah's connectivity is at the forefront. They come next after the developed Western countries when it comes to connectivity. They have the same speed and subscription rates in the Philippines so I can't tell more about that. You can always choose different packages to suit your internet usage.
 
No religion other than Islam. You can’t freely practice your religion. And one must know that fact. Anyway, I believe that's one of the topics in the PDOS. There are households that conduct regular worship/praise sessions and I don't see a problem with that; As long as they hold it in a private place then it's fine. Other than that, you could always tune-in to online Sunday mass via internet.
 
Discrimination is widespread. Salary is according to passport (a local driver would earn 4,500 to 5,600 Riyals, compare that to the salary of an experienced Filipino nurse with salary range of 2,200 to 4,600 [for at least 2 years experience]). Filipinos' rate is way very low as compared to the Westerners' rate. Sometimes people would joke, you're doing the same job yet they are earning 4-5 times more than what you get. In here, employers would check out your passport then start computing your salary. That’s so unfair, right? Also, in public places and offices, they always make sure the locals are given the full attention and the others are always deemed second class citizens. Well, I think discrimination is a worldwide issue, however, in other countries it is covertly done unlike here that it is a pretty common sight in your everyday discourse. This is one of the most disturbing reasons why I would like to leave Saudi soon.
 
Company keeps your passport. That is their way of saying, “We get it for safe keeping.” Anyway, you can’t go somewhere (out of the country) unless your company applies for your exit visa. So I guess you have no choice but to surrender your passport to them because a visa-less passport is useless. 

Racism. Locals (some) are extremely racist, and with very poor work ethics. I understand that all countries have different upbringing of its people, with different sets of moral and ethical behaviors, and different levels of education, but all people should treat other people with respect. Talk about good manners and right conduct, eh?! But again, racism is a worldwide issue. In fairness to my Saudi workmates, they are very cool and we have good working relationships.


These, among many cultural practices, are very much different to the social and cultural freedom that Filipino nurses experience in the Philippines. These differences may be perceived and interpreted in various ways by first-time nurses. Being strangers in a foreign land is almost starting from scratch as geographical, biophysical, psychological, social, and spiritual problems with adaptation may arise.

I urge you to read and re-read the pros and cons to help you decide. Why don't you read Part 1 again to give you a better picture of what to expect. Anyway, Saudi has a lot to offer to any person, it really depends on how the person accepts what's given to him/her.

Sa akin lang po... you have many options where you could further your career. One way to explore your options is to learn more about the country where you want to stay. If you could tolerate the things I have mentioned above, then go to Saudi, if not, then move on to another country.
 

Good bye 2012, Welcome 2013!

While Facebook allows us to view our biggest moments for the past 12 months, status posts alone and some most-liked photo albums and videos are not enough to recap the past 366 days of our lives (remember, it's a leap year!). Facebook used a simple algorithm to show our “20 biggest moments from the year including life events, highlighted posts and your popular stories,” and I must agree with how the social networking giant presented some of the bests of my 2012. However, not all events and special days are openly shared to Facebook, right? In my entry today, I’m going to visit the greatest events of my year and go chronological from January to December.

I started the year with a bright outlook, that I must welcome opportunities and live each day to the fullest. We (Pinoys at work) actually welcomed the year with a blast! The boys (workmates) won a simple contest, an entertainment presentation, ate sumptuous New Year foods, and jumped very high while shouting Happy New Year!!! Thereafter, I can’t recall some big events that happened post the new year welcome in January. Siguro I just had exams at the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah, some random restaurant tryouts around the city, and the usual days at work.

February and March passed by so fast and again I could not remember anything very special about those months. Most likely that’s because countdown to days and weeks were masked by my excitement to go back to the Philippines to have my first annual vacation. Also in those months, I met my Saudi-based sister for a number of times for some catching-ups and food-trips. I also finished some courses with the Open University and as usual, ‘got satisfied with the grades. Urgh.

The last week of March marked the start of my vacation. I left Jeddah last March 23 and I landed the Philippine soils on the following day, March 24, close to midnight. During those moments I really felt Gary V’s message from his song Babalik Ka Rin. Well, I’m that typical balik-bayan who came back home after some months of staying abroad. This might be so much of a cliché but truly, after months of being away from my homeland, I breathed (and even swallowed) Manila’s air, and indeed, it is a breath of fresh air (?!).

I could still remember the excitement on my mom and dad’s faces when they saw me from the arrival area of NAIA. Though I am wet with sweat due to the humungous number of people at the Arrival Area of NAIA plus the scorching heat and humid environment, they still hugged me like a teddy bear just like how other parents longing for the return of their OFW child did. 

We attended the mass the following day. At long last, I stepped into a Catholic Church after almost 16 months of viewing Sunday masses in front of my laptop. After the mass, I requested to pass by Duty Free in Parañaque. I just wanted to feel what my brother felt before when he came back from the States for his OJT as a marine engineer. Darn, ako na ang sabik na maramdaman ang pagiging balik-bayan. I spent a couple of hundred US dollars for the groceries and a little shopping. And I realized I shouldn’t have bought so much goods from Saudi as almost all the items were also available in Duty Free. Anyway, lesson learned.

After Duty Free, we roamed around the Metro to take a good look at the newest addition to Manila's establishments and high rise buildings. I saw the Ferris Wheel at MOA, the new buildings at Filinvest Corporate City, some establishments that weren’t there when I left last 2010, and so much more. Idagdag pa ang Skyway from Alabang to Makati! 

Of course, I ate a lot of pork, pork, and pork. But the craving for pork lasted only for 3 days. Pagkatapos noon, just the regular Pinoy meals. I realized I was eating and cooking the same food in Jeddah. Wala lang talagang pork. Haha.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

April is a combination of vacation plus studies for me. At the first week of April, I had my clinical practicum at PGH, and darn, I was extremely nervous as if it was my first exposure to patients. Remember the RLE days in the undergrad years? Parang first time lang ulit lahat. But then I thought, I am very used to interviews and clinical assessment, so why should I get nervous. Di ba?! Then the days passed by, *and poof!* tapos na ang practicum. There were other clinical requirements that must be passed within the practicum week but I did not manage to pass on time, nevertheless, I got a pretty decent grade, something which I believe I truly deserved.

 

After the practicum, I had all the free time to roam around and see friends. Among my activities were meet and greet with Open University friends, visit to my previous hospital in Alabang (nothing changed!), meet some high school friends, and return to the malls around Muntinlupa, Parañaque, Makati, Las Piñas, and the cities along EDSA. Most metro-roaming times were spent with the car (darn, I missed driving!), while some meet-ups especially along EDSA were through the common public transportation like tricycle, jeeps, buses, taxis, and MRT.

My visit to Isabela after 5 years is what I called Back to Basics, where I got to experience, again, the rural life and nature at its finest. I had photo sessions in the rice field, the farm animals, the kuliglig, went trecking to see a nearby waterfall, and lots and lots of deep breathing sessions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right after the Isabela trip, I went to see Baler. 'Such a historic place! The place is not yet developed but I just know it has the potential to be a major tourist destination. A classmate at the Open University invited me and other classmates to see their place, and I must say, I enjoyed nature so much. He was an excellent host! He made sure his visitors were attended all the time. I’m missing Baler now. 

Next, we travelled down south, to Cebu and Bohol. This time it was a family affair. More views of the mountains, waters, wild animals, picturesque sceneries, churches, and excellent local foods. Whew!

Also while in the Philippines, I took advantage of the time to process my documents for my next destination, the Middle Earth. I just felt that the Middle East may not be the right place for me and I have to move out of it to find the most suitable country for me where personal and professional growth could be achieved. But honestly I have already learned to love Saudi Arabia (I say I learned to love Saudi probably because I am lucky enough to be with a very generous company). But again, we seek for greener pastures, right? We aim for a better life for the future, so I decided to move out soon. I just hope I would succeed in the coming years. 

After coming back from vacation, I had some huge amount of money left in my ATM, that’s almost two months worth of salary, so I decided to buy a new phone. I really wasn’t planning of buying a new phone as I was really contented with my 3-year old touch screen phone. Anyhow, I still bought a new phone, a Galaxy S3. I just thought of it as a birthday gift for my self. And since then, I could not imagine living a day without a smartphone. I specifically chose the Android system from Samsung as I am a big torrent user and I download a lot. All those downloaded apps, music, and videos go directly to my phone and I could view and listen to them just as if I’m using my laptop! Having a smartphone is indeed a necessity for the modern day professional.

Fastforward to September, I got the Best Nurse for 2011 award from my company. Something I believe I truly deserved. Haha. Well, that’s an honest opinion. At the time I was awarded that, I told my self, “Finally, your display of remarkable work ethics has been appreciated.” That award was given regardless of the staff's years of stay with the company, not like in my previous hospital in Alabang where you can’t receive such an award because you are a new staff. Weee!!!

I also had my IELTS renewal last September (initially scheduled in the earlier months but was moved to the 3rd quarter). As expected, I got lower scores as compared to my band scores in the Philippines, but still enough to go to US, UK, Australia, or New Zealand. IELTS here in Saudi is basically same as that in the Philippines. But there are some notable differences: before, legal IDs were enough as your identification, now, a fingerprint scanner and your actual photo on the exam day are required. Now, they’re making use of technology. 

It was October when I got my Advanced Trauma Life Support (ATLS) training. Something I have been aiming to get as soon as I started working here in Saudi. It was a nice course, but for emergency room nurses, it is just a refresher course of what you usually do in the ER.

November was the month when I spent almost all my rest days working on some legal papers for my application to register as a nurse to some cold place in the south. This is also the month where I was able to gather ideas and write my entry Filipino Nurses Bound to Saudi Arabia: What You Should Know. That entry took a pretty long time before finally being posted. Haha. May utang pa nga ako, wala pa yung Part 2. Haha. Hopefully, I’ll have time to finish and post that entry soon.

December is my most favorite month of the year because of the festive and joyful mood among Filipinos worldwide and on Facebook. It is actually my third time to miss the Christmas season in the Philippines, but thanks to the Filipino Community here I do not have to terribly miss the gift-giving season. Although parties here are good, one could not really deny the fact that it is better to spend the Christmas Eve in the Philippines; wala pa ring tatalo sa Pasko sa Pinas.

2012 for me is a year the essence of being an OFW was much appreciated, I have seen the value of hardwork, and enjoyed harvesting the fruits of my labor. It is also a year when I felt that I was actually a post-graduate student.

2012 is a year wherein opportunities kept flowing, and this coming year, I plan to just welcome and take advantage of more opportunities that may come, be more goal oriented, and keep a healthier lifestyle.

Good bye 2012, Welcome 2013!

How to Obtain a Saudi Police Clearance in Jeddah

Filipinos in Saudi may want to leave and migrate to another country for greener pastures. In my previous blog entries, I have mentioned that staying in this country is just temporary for many as they consider Saudi Arabia as a ‘stepping stone’ to their dream country. A police clearance has always been a requirement in order to obtain a work/residence visa or a permanent resident status in the OFW’s destination country.

I am working on my papers for my application to register as a nurse down south and one of the requirements is a police clearance. In my case, I have been in Jeddah for the last 2 years so it is mandatory for me to prove to the Nursing Council that I have not been convicted with any crime in my country of residence.
 
As usual, the pedantic me had to search for the exact details on how to go about the process as I don’t want to be hassled by unexpected events. And so I searched over the web, asked my colleagues, consulted some locals, and experienced the whole process itself *and poof!* I came up with the detailed steps on how to secure a police clearance in Jeddah.

1. Go to the Philippine Consulate to get a certification that you are a legal OFW. Here are the requirements:

• Duly-accomplished Application for Endorsement Certificate for Saudi Police Clearance for Filipinos in Jeddah and the Western Region with one (1) recent photo (1 piece, 2x2 size, colored and with white background
• Copy of valid Philippine Passport
• Copy of valid Saudi Iqama/Residence Permit
• Fee: SR 100

The Philippine Consulate needs at least 4 working days to accomplish the endorsement letter/note verbale. Or you can rush things up so that you could claim it the following day; however, that requires an additional sum of SR 40. Claim the letter on the specified date on your claim stub.

For those bound to US or Canada, I believe the US or Canadian Embassy will issue a different request form for police clearance.

2. Have the letter stamped/authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Arabic is wazarat al khourijiya) in Baladiyah District near Ballad. The MFA is in front of the Juffali Mosque, the white mosque with beautifully crafted, described by many as marshmallow-like, top (see figure below). Entrance to the MFA is at the back at As Sadiq Street (see map below). Before entering, you need to deposit your mobile phone and laptop or any electronic gadget (iPad, iPod, etc.) that you have; a portion of their guard’s quarter is dedicated for all the mobile phones and other gadgets. As usual, you have to get through the security features of the building like scanners, manual search of items in your bag, and the guard palpating inspecting your body for any weapons (very similar to airport security). Upon entering the hall, you have to secure a ticket from a ticket officer for your customer number and your window (very similar to the system they have in the banks). It is a huge hall with many benches facing the counter. Along with the many benches are local and multi-national men awaiting for their number to be called. Once your number is called, go to your assigned window/counter and present the Endorsement Letter to the officer and have it authenticated/stamped. Each document costs SR 30. This process, from entering to exiting the building, only ate 15 minutes of my time. Oh, please come early in the morning, from 0800H to 1200H.

Map of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, just near Balad.

 

 

 Juffali Mosque (center) and part of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (right). Photo not mine.

3. Bring the authenticated Endorsement Letter to the Central Police Station (Police station is adela gina iya) near Al Television Street/Al Malik Khalid Street after Ballad, fill out the form, and have your fingerprints taken. FYI: The street is often times called Television Street because it is the location of the local television company’s building and where its huge satellite tower is standing tall. The police station is located at the back of Islamic Development Bank. You can never get lost locating the Islamic Development Bank building as it is the largest, most notable landmark along Al Malik Khalid Street. Your main target is the building at the far-left-end-side of the Police complex; the building’s paint color is pale-reddish-beige (see figure below). The finger-printing office (Bassamat is fingerprint in Arabic) is on the second floor for women and at the first level/floor for men. For the gentlemen, just after entering the main door/lobby, get a ticket (number) from the main lobby and tell the receptionist that you need to have your fingerprints taken for your police clearance. Then wait for your number to appear in the LCD screen (the fingerprinting room is the only room at the right side of the lobby). Show them your Endorsement Letter and provide the copies of your iqama, passport, and a piece of your latest picture. They will be the one to transfer the information written in your iqama to a fingerprinting card (very similar with that of the local NBI fingerprinting card when it used to be manually done in the Philippines). Right after completing the form, they will take your fingerprints. Everything is free, including the wipes to get rid of the ink on your hand. They will provide a claim stub and ask you to come back after 2 weeks (10-14 days) to get the police clearance. The whole process for the fingerprinting, from entering to exiting the building, ate only 20 minutes of my time.

 

 Building Color

Actual Police Station where you will have your fingerprints taken. Photo not mine.

Everything written on the claim stub is in Arabic, so make sure you ask the officer to translate it for you, and ask another Arabic reading/speaking guy/gal to confirm the claim date. Remember, the Roman Calendar is different from the Hijri Calendar. 

On your designated claim date, just go to the same office where you had your fingerprints, present them the claim stub, and voila!, you have your Saudi police clearance. Claiming the clearance took only 5 minutes of my time from entering to exiting the building.

Although almost everything written in the form (fingerprint card) is in Arabic, there are two words that they left in English, “No Record.” Hooray!

The letter ‘A’ in the red pointer above is where Central Police Station is.

4. Have your clearance translated to English. You will receive the fingerprinting card/form in Arabic and you need to have that translated to English from an independent translator. There are numerous translation services in Jeddah that offer the-same-date or after 2-days processing. What I did is I browsed over the internet for the Philippine Consulate General in Jeddah’s list of accredited translators and matched it to the list prescribed by the US Consulate; I just thought that if a translation company is prescribed by the US Consulate, then every other embassies or consulates would do the same. I chose Nusaiba Translation Services, the nearest from my place, and just in front of US Consulate. They charged me SR 75 and they did the job in just 5 minutes! For other translation services, they charge differently, some are cheaper or the other way around. If you don’t want to waste time, just pay an additional SR 20 for the same-date processing. Usual cost of translation service is SR 30 to SR 120 per document.

5. Have the translated document notarized/authenticated [OPTIONAL]. Have that translated document notarized/authenticated by the Philippine Consulate (of course, you have to pay SR 100 for that and wait another 4 days) OR at Saudi’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. I consider this step ‘optional’ as many of the bloggers around did not do this process. In my case, the New Zealand Council accepted my police clearance without the clearance authenticated/notarized. 

The validity of the clearance is 6 months from the release date. Although the validity is nowhere mentioned in the fingerprint card, different government immigration services prefer police clearances to be less than 6 months old.

Disclaimer: The steps mentioned above are based on personal experience plus a handful of details from helpful blogs.