I think I have recently read more than a hundred features in our papers about young Saudis doing jobs usually considered menial or demeaning. The reports informed us that these young people have courageously accepted jobs that they once would have shunned and been ashamed of. The youth were evidently happy with their jobs, which they say are very profitable and satisfying. The jobs they are doing include cashiers in supermarkets, attendants in laundries, mechanics, salesmen and various kinds of construction work — builders, welders, carpenters and decorators.
It is unfortunate that the media portrays these jobs as something that shames those who do them. Its articles seem to ask how Saudis could agree to accept such jobs. The articles imply that the young people are shaming themselves and others.
In interviews conducted with these youth, the stress is on how these brave Saudis have managed to free themselves from social constraints and chosen to work in jobs considered low-status. The emphasis is always on the shame and disgrace that such jobs can bring.
Why on earth should reporters think that certain jobs are unsuitable for Saudis? Why do they keep telling us that working in a supermarket, bakery, laundry, petrol station, workshop or a restaurant serving others is degrading for Saudis? What is wrong with those jobs and many others as long as they provide an honest and decent living for whoever does them?
Such reports as these will never help us overcome the problem of unemployment and if the media continues to write such articles, we may see many Saudis refusing to accept those jobs. Some people evidently still think they can live as we did during the boom when it seemed that the sky was raining gold and silver upon us.
A few years ago amid the unprecedented enthusiasm that accompanied the move to Saudize the vegetable and fruit market (halaga), a writer sought to encourage young people to work there. He told the story of the son of a millionaire who worked in the halaga for 24 hours and earned more than SR1,000. Many who read the report rushed to the halaga, dreaming of striking it rich in a short time. Within a few days, the flood of young people at the halaga came to a halt when it was found that the writer had simply made the story up. The media must stop dealing with these important issues in so naive and narrow a fashion. Root causes must be addressed in plain and simple language without exaggeration.
Arab News From the Local Press 20 October 2003
