RIYADH, 5 October 2004 — Saad Al-Ounaizi, 22, is a Saudi with ambitions and dreams. Circumstances were such that he did not have a chance to hold a formal job. He is from a village in the Hafr Al-Batin province. He came to work in the fruit market in Al-Outaikeya because he had no other choice. His great ambitions to find a good job did not prevent him from working as a carrier of date boxes in the fruit market east of Riyadh.
When he began to work, a fellow Saudi tried to ease him out of the market. He was surprised at the move because it defied logic for a Saudi to work against the interests of another Saudi who should actually be supporting him. Many shop owners sympathized with young Saad and tried to keep him in the market by helping him the way people do in small villages.
They were also surprised at the way big businessmen of the market behaved.
The big question is why businessmen are trying to stop a Saudi youth from working in such a small simple job? Is it because he is a Saudi or because he can read and write?
Saad told Al-Eqtisadiah that he earns SR120 a day. He wants officials to look at the job situation in the market where foreigners are given preference over Saudis.
He said, “They hold sway in the market and we cannot complain about it because I do not know where to complain.” He cannot find an answer to why people fight him. His family’s finances are in a shambles and that is why he needs any job he can hold on to, to earn an honest living.
A businessman in the fruit market said that as Ramadan is approaching this is the best time for Saudis to come out and work because they know the market best. He said, “Foreign workers sometimes harm our business by going on strike if we do not agree on wages. I support Saudis and am willing to stand by them if they come to work in the market.”
