What if the Foreigners Fled?

With war clouds looming over the region, I find it extremely difficult to understand that we have until now failed to draw up emergency plans in the event of a mass exodus of expatriate workers from the Kingdom if war breaks out.

What would happen if these workers, without appreciating the county’s need for them to stay to keep things going, suddenly decided to leave? The country’s interests would no doubt be greatly harmed.

I am amazed that at a time when we need the service of every single Saudi, many of our people remain jobless while private firms continue to bring in more workers from foreign countries. While we face the threat of war and all its terrible consequences, the authorities have not taken any action against those firms.

It is natural that foreigners should start leaving the country if the American government launched war against Iraq. If this happened, the people of this country would be put to a real test. We will see who comes to save the day and fill the gap left by departing foreign workers.

Will there be a repetition of what happed in the first Gulf War in 1991, when foreigners fled, leaving it to Saudi citizens to deal with those difficult times? People then rushed to volunteer, putting themselves at the disposal of the authorities, ready to provide whatever assistance was required of them.