Goodness gracious me, I’ve got NO love for the gulf today. First the barbaric evil that is ab-using little boys for Camel-racing, now this?
In a bid to create more jobs for its nationals, Saudi Arabia has passed a new law banning the employment of non-Saudis as security guards at private companies and organisations.
Huh. I wonder…who…might…be affected.
No, really, what I should be wondering is “whom are they going to look down on and abuse, if they aren’t importing brown people for that”?
It’s so gut-twisting (though that could also be the OJ I just had)– I refuse to visit family members in the gulf, because there’s so much odious injustice going on there…even as my cousins swear that it’s worth all the hardship and anxiety, since the opportunities are so plentiful. If laws like this continue to be passed, then that’s one way to ensure that Indians aren’t getting shat on. You can’t get mistreated in Saudi Arabia if you aren’t allowed to work there.
I want people in India to have a chance at the material success we all crave, but I can’t stand the second- and third-class…hell, no-class treatment we get in oil-y places. I can’t wait for India to become really successful; then my cousins can just stay home, and the Saudis can keep their damned jobs.
In my pleasant daydream, right after India becomes that kind of powerhouse, Pakistan grows a set and gives would-be Arab hunters the bird— and I don’t mean the beautiful ones with feathers which they already shamelessly and hypocritically provide.
exactly my sentiments. great post. I will not even take a flight that has a transit stop in any oil-y country.
The abuse is horrific, but responsibility is also shared by those politicians so focused on looting that they don’t design policy to create jobs at home for their citizens.
Anna, maybe you shouldn’t visit relatives in the States either, since there are some pretty awful things happening in the States, when you look beneath the thick layer of degrees and credentials from the post-Hart-Cellar crowd.
News like this always makes me laugh!
This is probably some upstart bureaucrat trying to make a name for himself — Indian expats in the Gulf are used to getting notification like this, only to have it revoked when the government realizes what the consequences of sending away experienced, qualified, expats with good work-ethics could be.
I remember reading about an earlier plan in Dubai to replace Indian teachers with local Arabs in secondary schools — I think that lasted a week!
I couldn’t have said better myself. Thanks Anna.
That would be like the UK saying no more Indian Doctors, or no more call centre work to India.
Everyone knows that the Uk saves money training doctors and just imports them from poorer but highly educated countries.
And as for outsourcing, its just a way to keep Indians as wage slaves whilst growing the western businesses. What will happen when the good Indian engineers develop completley automated call centres, yes thats right 20% of India will be unemployed overnight, no union, no rights, no pension.
Are we sure the British have left 🙂
Anna, maybe you shouldn’t visit relatives in the States either, since there are some pretty awful things happening in the States
oh, i don’t know…i think i’ll take the “pretty awful” that goes down in the states over the outrageous bullshit that passes for “acceptable” in the middle east, any day. the western world isn’t heaven, but for those of us who lack a penis, have a tan and love to drive, there is no choice.
:+:
rd, GA…thank you. i appreciate your appreciation. 🙂
Anna – don’t know. I’ve seen a lot of nice houses, hospitals, and beach resorts built in Kerala with money earned in the hard labor and thankless human mills in the Middle East. Of course, perhaps I’m just talking from a position of privilege, and limited information to make comparisons.
I mean – your authority comes from not visiting your cousins “because there’s so much odious injustice going on there”. How can I compare with that?
I have been in Dubai for a year (this is after a combined two year stint in Shanghai, Athens, London and SF). Yes people are being mistreated here. It’s 40 minutes past noon here and 45C degrees outside, there are people woking on construction sites now for US$150 a month. The government imposed a law that forbids work between 1PM and 5PM due to the extreme heat. But this law has been ignored. It does upset me that this place has also become very ‘skin colour’ sensitive, the arabs mostly. Fewer Indians are coming to the Gulf now. There is a boom in India and the payscale/cost of living index is in favour of a career in India. I got a year more to do here and like Anna, I too am waiting for pay back.
brownsuitbluetie says
“…maybe you shouldn’t visit relatives in the States either, since there are some pretty awful things happening in the States, when you look beneath the thick layer of degrees and credentials from the post-Hart-Cellar crowd.”
And pray, what exactly are these “pretty awful things”.:-) Need to make sure I look out for them, the next time around!
I’m an ignoramus — what exactly is the post-Hart-Cellar crowd?
brownsuitbluetie, the ‘pretty aweful’ difference between the Middle East and countries such as the US, UK, Singapore etc is that there are no labour rights here. You can’t strike and the press is not free. So, for the construction labourers especialy, this is a modern version of slave trade. Object and you lose your job, no questions asked. You cannot change your job, if you do the company will ban you from the country for a period ranging from six months to two years. Although illegal, the companies here hold employees’ passports so that they don’t ‘runaway’ 🙂
brownsuitbluetie:
ANNA has moral authority– i’ll take that to your mocking authority.
she rightfully takes issue with the treatment indians must endure in order to build those huge houses in kerala. what’s wrong with that? do you actually think that being mistreated, abused and exploited is a necessary trade-off for opportunity? you really are privileged then.
again, the point of this was, she’s upset that people are suffering. if she doesn’t want to visit a place due to her beliefs, that’s her business. you don’t have to agree with her, but you should ask yourself why those shiny buildings in kerala excuse the abuse highlighted in the links to this post.
Facts for bluesuitebluetie, Highest unemployment in India: Kerala – 19% Highest Foreign reciepts ($$$): Kerala
If it weren’t for the Malayalees abroad, Kerala would have been worse than Bihar, Orissa and Chhattisgarh combined.
The sacrifices made by who working abroad for their chidlren and families back home have to be respected.