On June 10 Arab News published a report, which made disturbing reading.
The disturbing aspect of the report was not so much related to the chronic water shortage in the city of Jeddah, as much as it was related to the evident discrimination against foreign residents in the city.
In the report titled “As Temperatures Rise, Water Lines Grow”, the author highlighted the story of an elderly Pakistani building-keeper who had waited for hours to purchase a truck load of water from the city’s main water distribution plant but was eventually rejected under the basis that only Saudis could be serviced first.
At a time when our visionary leader, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah is working night and day to build bridges with the international community in the hope of making Saudi Arabia the destination of choice for foreign investors, thinkers, innovators and scientists, our local authorities are defeating that purpose by applying discriminatory practices against foreign workers.
It seems as it were, that the discrimination our Pakistani friend experienced is based on independent practices carried out by some individuals and institutions and not, as I chose to believe, based on any formal or documented regulation or policy.
Not only does such a behavior defy the core teachings of Islamic justice and equality, but it also violates the basic tenets dictated by the “International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families” that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 1990, ratified by 21 nations thereafter, and finally came into force on July 1 of 2003.
This convention takes into account the core precepts of international labor standards that are stated in several international agreements such as UNESCO’s Convention against Discrimination in Education; the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials; the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women; the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment; the Convention on the Rights of the Child; and the Declaration of the Fourth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders.
In Part II of the convention (on nondiscrimination with respect to rights), Article 7 notes that “States Parties undertake, in accordance with the international instruments concerning human rights, to respect and to ensure to all migrant workers and members of their families within their territory or subject to their jurisdiction the rights provided for in the present Convention without distinction of any kind such as sex, race, color, language, religion or conviction, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, nationality, age, economic position, property, marital status, birth or other status”.
Furthermore, in Part VI (on the promotion of sound, equitable, humane and lawful conditions), Article 70 also notes that “States Parties shall take measures not less favorable than those applied to nationals to ensure that working and living conditions of migrant workers and members of their families in a regular situation are in keeping with the standards of fitness, safety, health and principles of dignity”.
World statistics estimate that there are over 150 million individuals (around two percent of the world’s population) residing in a country other than the one in which they were born. Out of that number, Saudi Arabia’s share is seven million (one third of the country’s total population head count). Don’t they all deserve to be treated with the same dignity and respect owed to Saudi nationals?
Last week in response to the call of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah to promote world peace and communal harmony, over 500 Muslim male scholars, media personalities, academics, and intellectuals from around the world met in our heartland, the holy city of Makkah for a 3-day summit to figure out how Muslim nations are to engage in dialogue with people of other faiths.
In his address to the press, Dr. Abdullah Al-Turki, secretary-general of the Muslim World League, said that Islamic scholars across the globe welcomed this call, by saying that it is the best way to silence those who launch smear campaigns against Islam and Muslims, as it will also help promote common values such as truthfulness, justice, and the protection of human honor. No matter what is said or done, the cementing of relationships between peoples of different faiths, color, and nationalities can never hold if the preacher does not abide by his sermon. No amount of dialogue, explanation, justification or referencing to past Muslim glories will silence those who launch smear campaigns against Islam — so long as we Muslims don’t teach by example.
And the report published in this newspaper last week proves that unfortunately, here at home, we are consistently sending out the wrong message.
