Please note that all my criticism is directed towards the governments and big corporates who are responsible for the abuses and exploitation (which exists in one degree or another in most places in the world) and not towards any country.
Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Middle Eastern countries have huge populations of expatriate workers most of them from the poor countries of South Asia.The number of Indian workers in these countries has become so large that they rival that of the citizens of these countries.However they don’t pose a threat as unlike liberal countries of the West,the Middle Eastern dictatorships don’t allow them to get citizenship,own land/businesses and impose onerous conditions for living there.Despite gaining massively from the skills of the foreign workers,most of the unsilled workers are treated like shit.However,for the poor,the Middle East is still a popular destination despite all the hardships they are put though.The reason is the lack of enough opportunities at home making them highly vulnerable to the lures of the riches of the Middle East which they can never achieve.The way low skilled workers are treated by companies of the Middle East would make even Scrooge cringe.They are treated like bonded labor and have little recourse to the law as most of the Middle Eastern countries justice systems are a complete joke.Even in the most advanced state Dubai,the legal system had made a mockery of the contract law when many of the foreign buyers of real estate were faced with bankrupt developers.Note most of the policies followed by Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries related to Climate Change,Human Rights etc. is shocking , so it does not come as a big surprise that they continue to condone the human right abuses of unskilled impoverished workers from South Asia and other poor countries.Molesting of domestic help from Phillipines and other countries is so common that it does not make headlines any more.However their home country government are no better as they continue to allow these abuses as they don’t dare antagonize these rich regimes.
How Middle Eastern Countries Screw Indians and other South Asians in an Institutionalize Manner
The whole immigration system to the Middle East is one of institutionalized corruption where the worker is exploited.The whole process in long, cumbersome and used to facilitate corruption.The racket also involves dummy companies who hire workers through false documents for a fat fee from the workers who are left holding the can in case they are caught.The legal and police system of those countries heavily favor the domestic citizens while the expatriates are treated as third class citizens.The Westerners are not treated as crudely as they have powerful government/embassies backing them.The South Asian countries on the other hand are submissive and pliant as they can’t protest the regular abuses their citizens face as they get huge remittances from the workers.Note these countries benefit greatly from the foreign workers as most of their citizens don’t have the skills and education and little motivation to gain them as well.Most of them get cushy government jobs where they don’t have to work and get most of the life’s essentials free from the government (courtesy the huge oil revenues).What I am writing in this blog post will be nothing new for the millions of foreign workers in the Middle East ,however the absence of media coverage on this is quite galling.Note not all countries are as bad with Dubai being highly liberal and fast becoming a great place to live thanks to great policies.But less said the better about the other regimes like Saudi Arabia,Kuwait the better.
Super Rich Middle East still has a Medieval Culture and Society
Saudi Arabia is the biggest and richest Middle Eastern country but its social and cultural systems are still medieval with laws like an eye for an eye,lashings for looking at females,beheadings for small infringements etc.The ruling Saudis control the kingdom with an iron hand akin to Mubarak and Gaddafi of Egypt and Libya.However unlike those poor dictators,they enjoy the support of the West.This means that they can happily go and invade Bahrain and kill the citizens of that country trying to overthrow the repressive regime there ,without any western media outrage.Note its only the billions of dollars of oil riches that has made these autocratic regimes survive this long.But its only a matter of time before these regimes end as Egypt,Libya and Yemen would testify.These countries have huge numbers of young people looking to gain a voice in the ways things are run.Though the richer countries can throw money at the problem,it does not solve the fundamental causes.While the poor countries like Yemen have already succumbed to the democratic urge,the richer ones too should ultimately go down.
Saudi Arabia is looking to restrict the terms of foreign workers to 6 years to control abuses.Note this will completely screw the lives of the workers as they will have to rethink how to make a livelihood.However the countries there care a hoot about the plight of these workers as they think that the high unemployment amongst domestic citizens could be solved.I doubt that it will considering that citizens have little incentive to work hard and earn since they are given most of the necessities and luxuries without sweating.
Saudi Arabia plans six-year cap on expatriate workers
Saudi Arabia may soon impose a six-year cap on the residency of foreigners in the country as part of its programme to regulate the local labour market, a move likely to affect a large number of Indians working in that country.
Companies hiring expatriate workers will be given five months after the implementation of the labour reforms programme to regularise their situation, the country’s Labour Minister Adel Al Faqih said.
The reforms will also help tackle the black market for employment visas to the rate of 99 per cent. The ministry would go ahead with the programme and that there would be no leniency in its application, Al Faqih said, according to Saudi daily Al Watan.