RIYADH, 24 March — Employers abusing the rights of their employees, the harassment of expatriate workers at the hands of their recruiting agents, and labor complaints lodged with foreign embassies are all on the rise, prompting workers in many instances to seek diplomatic refuge. This phenomenon has led to intense frustration and depression among Third World expatriates, which in turn has resulted in an increase in the number of them committing suicide.
Asian missions here receive thousands of requests for assistance from distressed expatriate workers every year. Topping the list of complaints is unpaid or delayed payment of wages and benefits, comprising 70 percent of the cases. A total of 65 percent of workers — mainly from the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia and African countries — who complained did so about being made to work long hours without being given compensation.
Arab News has interviewed members of a group of two hundred contract workers employed by a single company who were forced to live on the streets after their employer disappeared, leaving them with accumulated rental and electricity bills. In another case looked into by this newspaper, a sponsor’s failure to pay his employees’ salaries and rent on time forced another 50 workers onto the streets.
The most widely reported case in the Saudi press has been the ongoing saga of the Al-Badra biscuit factory workers, who have been on strike for eight months, after their salaries were not paid for seven months. Since then, many of their iqamas have expired, meaning they have now become illegal “overstayers”. The experience of being in such legal limbo was already familiar to many of their colleagues, who claim that the company had previously failed to renew 120 of their iqamas. Now they are living from hand-to-mouth, many doing odd jobs. The stress has been greatest on the Asian (mainly Indian) workers.
This kind of work and social problems are compounded by the stress suffered by exploited expatriates who are responsible for providing an income for families back home often living on the breadline themselves. The result is that psychological disorders among them have rocketed, in many cases leading to clinical depression, violent mood swings and suicide.
Although suicide cases are rare and limited to certain foreign groups, their growing number has brought to the fore the issue of how to address the grievances of workers and how they can be assured of getting everything due to them by law from their sponsors.
In response to the growing public and official concern regarding this issue, the Ministry of Interior has undertaken a study of suicide cases among expatriates with the aim of preparing a comprehensive report on its causes among all the different nationalities represented among the Kingdom’s expatriate workers. The study will help government agencies map out a future strategy detailing how to combat this evil, which is haram (religiously forbidden) in Islam.
“The causes of suicide among expatriates are depression, drug abuse and family or financial problems back home,” said Dr. Abdul Raheem M. Al-Ghamdi, director general of the Crime Combating Research Center at the Interior Ministry.
The Ministry of Interior, he added, has been monitoring suicides reported by local newspapers and foreign missions.
A recent survey conducted in cooperation with Asian missions reveals that the incidence of suicide among Asian workers is rising, with 60 suicide cases reported last year alone by seven Asian missions (whose nationals form the largest expatriate group in Saudi Arabia). None of the European embassies reported any suicides among their nationals.
Referring to the suicide cases among Indian workers in particular, V.K. Sharma, first secretary and head of the chancery at the Indian Embassy, said that 43 suicides were reported to the Indian embassy in 2001. This compares to 40 cases reported a year before. The Indian mission has already been notified of seven suicide cases this year.
“These workers have mainly been suffering from depression. They have problems at home, financial worries, problems in the workplace and high aspirations that more often than not are unfulfilled,” the first secretary explained.
Sharma, who has won commendations from the community for dealing with problems encountered by his compatriots, said that the mission is fully geared up to deal with this new problem.
The Philippine Embassy also confirmed to Arab News that there have already been a number of suicides among the Filipino community reported this year, and that there were many over the past two years. However, embassy officials could not provide exact figures to this reporter.
Filipino workers approached for their opinion talked of a great litany of problems they are facing, the most common being poor accommodation provided at their work places. Some are of the opinion that Manila should limit sending to the Gulf states Filipino cleaners, hospital aids, farm workers, gardeners, domestic helpers, family drivers, nurses and dentists.
Ramon, who works as a tea boy for a local maintenance company here in Riyadh, claimed that the majority of local maintenance and service companies are gross violators of basic terms and conditions of work as laid down by the contract and the law.
A Bangladeshi cleaner, Shiraz Ali, said that he has no problems except his poor wages. He said that his company, which has contracted him out to another company on the basis of a labor supply contract. He receives SR1,500 a month.
“However, my parent company who sponsor me recruited me from Bangladesh, gives me only SR550,” he complained.
Although according to research about 80 percent of depression cases are curable, very few of those suffering from this illness even bother to consult a doctor or a psychiatrist.
Dissatisfaction on the job front and an inability to amass wealth in Saudi Arabia were mentioned as common causes of depression among the Filipino workers Arab News approached. They also mentioned being far from home, experiencing failed relationships, having trouble achieving orgasm, and marrying late.
