Stipend not enough, say Saudis in America

By Mohammed Al-Kinani

JEDDAH – Saudi students on foreign scholarships in the United Sates are preparing to send a petition to King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, seek his directives to end their suffering due to increasing cost of living.“What could be worse than being an alien is starving for daily needs,” Abdullah Al-Huzaimi, media representative of the Saudi Forum in the USA, told Saudi Gazette in a telephone call. “Many students here have recently moved the US Food and Drug Administration to receive monthly aid. The federal government has classified their salaries as low-income and therefore they consider themselves eligible for monthly subsidies,” Huzaimi added. “The students are suffering because of the high inflation in US and the diminishing value of the dollar. This has led many students to enroll in the local aid programs,” he said.Students are feeling the pinch of high gas prices and a steep increase in house rents, Huzaimi said.Hassan Abu Al-Saud, who is studying in Indiana for two years, said he has to shell out a big chunk of his income on crèches. It costs him some $700 per month whereas an affiliate child gets only $270 per month.He added that of late there has been a sharp increase in prices of foodstuffs. “I used to buy the 20-pound sack of rice for $12, but now I need to add six more dollars to get it. Not only that, but toll on highways has also increased. For example, a round trip journey on Indiana would cost me $15. In the past I had to pay only $9,” he added.“Everything is getting costlier and we are seeking help from the Ministry of Higher Education,” he said.Likewise, Mansour Al-Fawaz, a student in Kansas, said the tuition allowance they receive is not enough.“We are determined to go back home with the highest credentials from the most recognized universities in the world as soon as we can,” Al-Fawaz added.“We are here to later help in the development of our country, but some may not know that the payment we receive is not enough for housing costs, books and bills,” he added.Al-Fawaz said what they receive effectively puts them below the poverty line.“We don’t receive more than $1,349. We have been suffering from exorbitant prices for housing, bills and books. This has distracted our minds at a time when we should focus only on learning. Perhaps some may think that the amount made available to us in riyal is sufficient, but when we exchange the currency, we face a lot of problems,” he said.Students mainly blame the Ministry of Higher Education for ignoring what they see as their legitimate right.“The Ministry of Higher Education has snatched our happiness when it misapplied the Royal Decree on 15 percent salary increase,” Abu Abdul-Wahhab, another student said.“The Ministry of Higher Education misinterpreted the decree as it excluded all bonuses to cover only the basic allowance, without wife and children, as if they were second-class citizens,” he said. “Kuwaiti students are now receiving $1,800 while students from UAE get $2,000 in addition to their dormitory expenses,” he added.Students are now calling for their monthly income to be increased by 50 percent at least. They are also looking forward to having allocations for their children raised from $270 to $700 per child.