EXPERIENCE IN SAUDI ARABIA (Part 3)

EXPERIENCE IN SAUDI ARABIA (Part 3)

Exactly one week after the incident in Medina, My good friend who was sitting at back experienced a heart attack during the Medina escape was with me again. We were together at the public market in Jeddah, where many Filipinos gathered specially during Friday.

We were campaigning for our projects in Manila. We were talking to several Filipinos who were in groups. Some were in cultural groups coming from one Town or one Province, other were groups coming from one company.

We started our campaign 10:00am. We ate our lunch separately because we were with our new friends. At 4:00pm, i felt hungry so i have to talk to my friend so we can have some snacks. When i look at my wallet, i don't have the local currency which is
Riyal. All i had was $100.00 which was my first commission. I ask permission from my friend that i have to go to the bank to change my dollar into Riyal so we can have our snacks.

I went to the bank and approached the teller to have it change my $100.00 to Riyals. I gave my $100.00 to the teller. I was uneasy because i was so hungry and tired and it was more than 15 minutes already and still i did not get the money yet, so i approached the teller again and he was asking me my EQAMA. With out hesitation, i gave it. But to my surprise he told me to go upstairs to the managers' office. Again, with out any complain i went upstairs and talked to the Manager.

When i was inside the office of the bank manager, He politely said to me to sit down.
So i sat in front of him and i was waiting for the question. He pulled out my $100.00 and start throwing questions to me. First question was, where did i get the money?, second was how did i get the money? Since my mind set was we were there in Jeddah to sell Real Estate, and i know that we have the sponsor because no one can go there with out sponsor. My mind was clear and i answer the bank manager that it was actually my first commission. He looked at my IQAMA and looked at me with out saying any words. I did not know that what was written in my IQAMA since it was written in Arabic, It says that my visa was a mechanic! May be the bank manager was surprised how i get a commission since my job supposed to be was a mechanic? The investigation goes further with out me knowing that i was already trapped!

I was even exited to tell the bank manager regarding our Real Estate Business! I was more than one hour inside the bank, and i was so hungry! Until finally he told me that the money was a fake dollar! I was shocked, with mixed emotion, i could not understand what i fell! The bank manager told me, if he will call the Police which has an office just beside the bank, He told me that i'll go to jail for 20 yrs. for that fake dollar! Oh my God! i start to recall what had happen to me, barely less than a month in Jeddah but encountering so many problems! I told myself, My God, what will happen to my family left in the Philippines? I'm the bread winner, if i'll go to jail for 20 yrs., what will happen to them? Son many questions were asked deep inside!

The bank manager told me, you will be save if you can bring the person to my office before midnight. Since it was Ramadan and the office is until 12:00 midnight. He just issue me a travel document in replacement for my IQAMA. He kept my IQAMA and told me better be back before midnight, you can't escape! And that travel document is only up to midnight. He told me, If you're not back by midnight, i'll call the Police and your name will be blocked in all exit point of Saudi Arabia. That's how strict Saudi Arabia is.

So i went back to my friend who was left in one area where there were many Filipinos.
He was already wondering why it took me so long, but since he was busy briefing many Filipinos he just wait for my coming back. When he saw me coming back, i can read it in his face that he was exhausted already and hungry. I told him with some facial expression of anxiety, It's really a bad day! He asked me why? And i told him the story and told him him, let's go back to the villas, time to me is very precious. So we took a taxi and while we were in the taxi, Here comes again hi heart attack! I told him to relax and ask him to take his medicine. When we arrived at our villas, he was already relived. I did not put much attention on him because i was trying to think of ways on how to save myself. So many questions pop up my mind were an answered.

Back grounder of the fake dollar; I sold a lot to a Filipino who work at Sarawat Supermarket in Jeddah as a cashier. He paid that dollar to me as part of the down payment of the lot he purchased. He doesn't know also that the dollar was fake! Since the transaction was full down payment, i claim my commission from our office. Incidentally the fake dollar went to me as a payment for my commission.

We report the incident to our President who was with us in Jeddah to observe our operations. It was 5:30pm when we reported to him the incident, but to my surprise he responded to me to go on working first and solve it later. Remember, i was only given up to 12:00 midnight, and i have to talk to the person whom i got the fake dollar. My problem was, What if the cashier from Sarawat will not go with me to the bank to explain about the fake dollar? My President told me that he will be the one to talk to the cashier and he gave me the assurance that he can bring the person to the bank before midnight. But question again is what if the cashier will not go with my President? What will happen to me? But still since the President's command was to work until 8:00pm, we went back to the field and work again. This time, i was not in my presence of mind.

It was 8:00pm already so, we all meet at the Supermarket and i did not allow my President to talk to the cashier, Instead i do the talking. With full of prayers, the cashier promise me he'll go with me to explain. I was glad with his answer but still, questions pop up again to my mind, what if along the way he will change his mind, what will i do? The cashier will be off by 10:00pm, so we have to wait for him. At exactly 10:30pm the cashier was inside our car. We proceeded to the bank and but along the way it was so traffic. My heart was beating so fast every now an then, We finally reach the bank at 11:45pm. We Talked to the manager again and i presented to him the cashier explaining that he was the person who gave me the fake dollar as a payment of his lot he purchased from us. The manager explain to the cashier the consequence that he will go to jail for 20 yrs. if he will not tell the truth. The bank manager told me, your problem is solved, And let the cashier explain about the source of the fake dollar. Politely the cashier explain to the bank manager that there was one Saudi National who was begging for help to change his dollar for his taxi fare. The cashier told the bank manager that he was just so kind to help the Saudi with out malice on his mind. After knowing that it came from Saudi National, The bank manager told the cashier to burn the dollar in front of him so his problem will be solve. Immediately the cashier burn the dollar in front of the bank manager. While the dollar was burned, my President and four other colleagues started to look at the wall clock, and it's exactly 12:01am. They started singing birth day song to me. It was already June 15, 1985, and it was my 29th birth day! They started embracing me, the bank manager also sang with them and greeted me happy birth day!

See you in my next chapter, my Experience in Saudi Arabia (part 4) It's Full of of thrill! Don't miss it!

Thanks for your time,

Peter E. Cadorna
Author

Copyright ©2007 Pedro E. Cadorna All Rights Reserved.