working conditions in Saudi Arabia

[reepicheep]

NaSra:


It certainly seems to me that, in Saudi Arabia, many foreign workers (especially maids and unskilled workers) are treated with brutality. And neighbouring countries such as Qatar, Kuwait, and UAE are almost as bad.


But I have seen a faint glimmer of hope emerging, over the past year or so, regarding this situation. Every day, I read the on-line version of the English language newspaper "Arab News" which is based in Saudi Arabia. I bet, over the past year, that I have read at least 100 stories and opinion columns in the Arab News, written by Saudi citizens, which complain about the way Saudi's treat their foreign workers.


Here are some examples. I'm sure I could easily provide another 100 stories which are similar:


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Rights Groups Demand Effective Action to Protect Foreign Labor

Recent strikes by foreign workers in the Gulf demanding unpaid wages and better conditions have highlighted the need for effective legal measures to ease their plight, officials and rights activists say.
“The labor strikes are the warning bell that the International Labor Organization (ILO) had long ago cautioned Gulf countries from,” ILO country representative in Kuwait, Thabet Al-Harun, said. “It’s time Gulf states understood that it is no longer acceptable to adopt anti-labor policies. ... They must issue labor legislation that is in line with international standards and human rights,” he said.


Hundreds of Asian workers demonstrated in luxury-laden Dubai on Monday, thousands have staged a series of protests in Kuwait over the past few months and 600 construction workers went on strike in Qatar in August.



In all cases, the poorly paid laborers complained of not receiving their salaries for several months and of poor living conditions.

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Why Is There So Much Hate Inside Us?

In the shop next to my house, there is a home delivery service which is run by an Indian. He is a good man, hardworking and devoted to his job. I talk to him whenever he delivers something to my house and he talks to me about the time he spent working in Abu Dhabi and of his dream to live in London.
Last week I asked him to deliver a newspaper to my house. When he delivered it to me, he asked me whether I wrote in it. I told him that I did and he asked me to write about why young Saudis hate foreign workers, particularly Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis. He asked, “Why do they throw rocks at us when they see us in the street?” He said that in India they were taught to love others because that is the teaching of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). I was moved by his words and promised him that I would write on the subject.


I took his question to my students and started a discussion in class. The students agreed that they had harassed foreigners, particularly South Asians, in the street. One said that seeing a worker in the street was a perfect chance for them to beat him up and then run away.
Some admitted searching for foreign workers to beat up, throw eggs at and generally abuse. I asked my students why they behaved in this way, what was the reason. Some said it was just fun, nothing more or less. Some said it was because those people were weak and unable to fight back. Some said that their favorite pastime was to catch cats, kill them and skin them.
I was shocked and disturbed by all this violence and wondered what was causing it.

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When Did You Last Smile at Your Maid?

When was the last time you saw a Saudi lady smiling at her maid while out shopping or anywhere else? This is a question that always springs to mind when I’m out at a shopping mall or an amusement park.
Saudi and Gulf women generally have a ridiculous habit of walking happily in shopping centers with their perfume lingering in the air a mile off. Trudging closely behind is usually a tired looking maid, feeling unhappy and smelling of onions and generally carrying fat crying babies not to mention the shopping bag. Scenes like these have created a generation of Saudis that lack discipline, a generation that has been raised to treat those who look after them with contempt.



So it shouldn’t come as a surprise for us when we read newspaper stories of maids and children fighting, after all such relationships do begin the wrong way. Fortunately there are some homes where maids are treated with respect and dignity but sadly such homes are few and far between.

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The Cattle Run: Foreign Workers Deserve Compassion

A friend of mine was visiting from the United States and during his trip we spent many hours discussing our image in the Western media. As always, I was quite forthright in my opinions and what was even more refreshing was that he agreed that there were some very basic ways in which we could exert damage control. He called me from the airport on his way out of Jeddah in a very agitated mood.
“The flight has been delayed yet again,” he began, “and I can’t believe the way they treat people here.”


“What do you mean?” I asked earnestly.


“Lubna, it’s absolutely terrible. These poor workers are abused at our airports, ‘wallahi’. They are treated worse than animals.”


“Actually,” I corrected, “they afford animals in the Western Hemisphere a great deal more respect and courtesy.”


I cringed at the mental images that flooded through my mind of all the times that I had been at the airport watching impotently as expatriate workers were screamed at, herded together, shoved around, insulted and berated in a language they had no comprehension of.


“You have to write about this,” ordered my friend. “I am disgusted at the mistreatment of these people. It’s all part of the same problem though,” he commented.


“What problem?” I inquired wanting him to be more specific.


“The fact that for decades now we have entertained this false nasty arrogance thinking that we are entitled to look down on other races and nationalities because we are the chosen people. What we never realized is that we are not. We can’t seem to understand that we have no right to treat other human beings in such a shabby and derisive way.
If we want to command respect in the international arena we have to start cleaning up our act.”

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The glimmer of hope I spoke of is that some thoughful, caring Middle Eastern citizens are finally starting to recognize how horribly most foreign workers are treated (although, paradoxically, "white" foreign professionals who work in the oil patch and medical field are actually treated quite well in the Middle East).


Middle Eastern citizens need to come to the realization that non-Arabs are human, too, and deserving of dignity and fair working conditions. But, sadly, I fear that this problem will not be solved in our lifetimes.


Still... some Arabs are starting to show signs of compassion. And that's a start, anyway.