An objective look at the issue would, however, show that expatriates, the majority of them housemaids, could not totally be justified or blamed for the present dilemma. 

The expatriate worker is clearly to blame if his presence in the Kingdom is illegal, if he cheats in his work or is engaged in criminal activities. We, Saudis, do not want such people in the Kingdom, even if it means our work would be stalled in their absence.

On the other hand, foreign workers are most welcome, provided they are legitimate residents, hardworking and law-abiding.

No unfairly treated worker, especially if his employer delays paying his wages and forces him to work in the simmering sun, should be left without help to get his right. Not only government agencies, but also fair-minded Saudis should come forward to help such workers. Muhammad Abdul Latif Al-Sheikh stressed in a recent article in Al-Jazirah daily the need for a commission to ensure the rights of expatriates. I was happy to read his article, because it underpinned what I wrote four years ago calling for a “Friendship Society for Expatriates under the Saudi Human Rights Commission.”

There is a genuine need for an organization to maintain brotherly and affectionate relations between Saudi sponsors and expatriate workers, I wrote in that article.

Now I suggest to the HRC that it draws the members of the friendship society from the Shoura Council, intellectuals, businessmen, doctors and journalists besides human rights activists who are known for their humanitarian activities. They should be entrusted with the task of drawing up plans to popularize the willingness of Saudi people to continue their acceptance of expatriates in their midst.

In fact, Saudis used to treat their workers in a humane way. Families that treat housemaids and drivers as their own family members are not a few.

The proposed friendship society should also organize annual events to honor workers who are meticulous in following regulations, discharging their duties with honesty and reliability and not even committing traffic violations.

Society should also popularize practices such as a Saudi smiling and greeting when he comes across a worker. Even if this is a simple act, it would have a magical effect in making a worker, who is away from his relatives and friends, feel at home. You can see how the expatriate workers are pleased when some Saudis enter with a greeting and join a “fast-breaking event” in street corners or mosques in Ramadan.

The friendship society can also undertake campaigns, organize seminars and lectures on the obligations of the sponsor and worker, sponsor-worker relations, and events in which both parties recount their experiences.