COVID19: I feel safer in Saudi Arabia than my country

Husband works at Aramco

This is a story of an expat’s wife who has settled to Saudi Arabia since 2013. They belong to the UK and have settled here since her husband is providing his services at the John Hopkins Aramco as a Family Medical Consultant.

They settled in Jeddah when they arrived at the Kingdom, however, the husband was transferred to Abqaiq and had to move. The family could not move as they were well settled in Jeddah and their movement would have affected the children’s studies in their vital academic years.

They started living in Jeddah

The family, therefore, decided that the husband would pay a visit during weekends and the rest would live in Jeddah. The family is extended to 3 children, the eldest being 17 years old and the youngest being 14 years old.

They live in a compound, which is up to their standards and fulfills their needs. Things are not the same since lockdown for the family. The husband cannot visit them for two main reasons: he is a frontline doctor and there are travel restrictions.

The husband is stranded in Dhahran

The husband’s holidays have been canceled and the family does not know when they would see him. However, the better part of the story is that the father of the wife had come for a visit and since the lockdown and travel restrictions, he cannot go back.

Moreover, he is much safe in KSA than in the UK as he is 80 years plus and the COVID-19 is at its worst peak in the UK.

The life is peaceful in Jeddah

Commenting how life is in Jeddah, the expat’s wife narrates that she had been living a peaceful and joyful life. Her kids go to a British school, they get to visit the Haram, they get a free supply of Zamzam water and have made valuable friends.

However, the lockdown has created certain problems such as grandfather’s visa extension issues, the zamzam supply cut off and others.