Future uncertain for Saudi students at MUN

Following diplomatic tensions on Monday between Canada and Saudi Arabia over Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland’s statement criticizing the arrest of women’s rights activists in that country, and the subsequent freeze on all trade with Canada, the approximately 15,000 Saudi Arabian students in Canada find themselves in an uncertain position.

Saudi Arabia, as part of the freeze on trade, has announced it will withdraw all Saudi Arabian students being sponsored in Canadian universities, colleges and other schools.

There are 23 Saudi Arabian students registered for the fall semester at Memorial University, 16 of whom are graduate students, according to the university’s Internationalization Office.

“So far, Memorial has not been contacted by either the Saudi or the Canadian governments, but we anticipate this will occur,” MUN spokesman David Sorensen said. “Saudi students on the St. John’s campus have alerted us they are receiving notices from the Saudi staff in Ottawa to return home as soon as the spring semester is over, generally mid-august.”

Students who have received such notices have contacted the Internationalization Office, which is working with them on a case-by-case basis. Some of the affected students are nearing the end of doctoral programs, making a sudden demand to leave the country extremely detrimental to their future.

Additional pressure has been created by the announcement that the Saudi Arabian state airline will suspend its operations in Canada on Aug. 13.

“Memorial is doing what it can to support all Saudi students as we await clear directions from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Bureau, the branch of the Saudi government that supports Saudi students in Canada,” Sorensen said.

“Memorial University is very concerned about how vulnerable the Saudi students are at the moment, worried for their own careers and futures, and trying to figure out how to comply with their own government directives. We will continue to do what we can to support them.”

Universities and colleges across the country are in communication with each other and doing what they can to determine the best way to help Saudi Arabian students, and new information is arriving hourly, Sorensen said.