JEDDAH, 10 June 2003 — Illegal immigration has always been a major headache for Saudi Arabia. The problem began with some Third World pilgrims staying back in Makkah or Jeddah because they had little or no reason to go back home once the pilgrimage was over. It was aggravated by the oil price boom of the 1970s when millions of foreigners flocked here in search of a better life. And so many of them — Yemenis, Egyptians, Indians, Pakistanis and Africans — never looked back; they stayed on illegally.
The problems attributed to these illegal immigrants are legend. They sow the seeds of crime in an otherwise peaceful society — which once prided itself on being the safest on earth — and spread alien cultures and decadence that encourage wayward Saudis to take to crime in order to make easy money. Drugs and alcohol were only a natural corollary and the social problems caused by addicts have become insurmountable over the years in spite of a deterrent punishment regimen — decapitation and amputation of limbs included. Strict application of the Shariah, often the butt of Western criticism as “primitive” and without recourse to due judicial process, has not deterred criminals. Murders, thefts, drug trafficking, bootlegging and smuggling are daily news.
But the blame for the crime boom cannot be put squarely on illegal expatriates; Saudis are as much to blame. The presence of an estimated one million unemployed foreigners in our midst, when millions of nationals are jobless, and so aimless, is a severe strain on the country’s utilities and its economy. That is not to argue that Saudis are going to do the menial jobs that the so-called illegals do to sustain themselves. But if a million people can be made to leave, the country would be spending so much less on national security, prime utilities and resources. Even if Saudis have to wash their own cars or water their gardens, that would certainly be a worthwhile exercise. The police would be able to concentrate on their jobs rather than chasing illegal immigrants in the markets or in the rundown alleys of urban areas. The municipality would have much less filth to handle. The jails and detention centers would be so much less stretched. The government would have so many fewer mouths to feed and care for in its jails.
The Haj Ministry’s recent decision to have pilgrims of certain nationalities cough up a substantial deposit before embarking on Umrah — a common pretext for visitors to come and stay here illegally — has already yielded positive results. There are now fewer Umrah visitors from such countries. This translates into fewer immigrants staying back in the Kingdom. Umrah is for Muslims who come here with a religious purpose, and people should not misuse it as a conduit to illegal immigration.
The Kingdom is in the grip of an acute unemployment problem for its educated male population. The problem is compounded by an emergent female work force for whom new avenues are being opened up. And foreigners have to give way so Saudis can occupy positions that are legitimately theirs. How well they fit in and how speedily they evolve a work culture is another matter. But their time has arrived.
All good things have to come to an end. Expats have to leave sooner than later. If government projections are anything to go by, by 2013 expats will be only 20 percent of the work force, and 12 years later the work force will be totally indigenous. With a million unemployed foreigners out of the way and thousands of legally employed immigrants replaced, the nagging problem of joblessness among Saudis could be alleviated to a certain extent.
As part of a cleansing process, why not have another three-month amnesty for the illegals to leave? The exercise in the late 1990s was a resounding success. Giving it another shot, as the UAE has just done, might be a good idea.
