Over 4,000 illegal expats have left the Kingdom since the start of the Easy Exit campaign. Spokesperson for the supreme committee tasked with tackling the problem of illegal labour, Waheed Al Beloushi, revealed yesterday that more that 4,000 labourers have left under the scheme at a rate of around 500 a week.

Speaking to our sister newspaper Al Ayam, Al Beloushi affirmed that the scheme has received great support from embassies and has also be well received by the different expat communities in the Kingdom.

The official praised the backing provided by expat associations and civil society institutions which have been organising awareness campaigns and road shows to help get the word out on the scheme.

He stated that such campaigns have been gaining popularity and between 500 and 1,000 labourers attend each of these meetings. He added that there has also been support from private companies which offered coupons and raffle draws to the labourers taking advantage of the scheme in order to provide them with added incentives.

Al Beloushi stated that as a result of such efforts the campaign has been successful in creating tangible results in a short term.

The official added that the scheme is being supported by an aggressive media campaign that has involved the setting up of electronic posters in Arabic, English, Urdu, Malayam, Hindi and Bengali across the Kingdom. Ads have also been posted on public buses and in restaurants, coffee shops and markets frequented by expat labourers.