Reprieve can be a first step toward improved cooperation
A problem that has taken years to develop cannot possibly be solved overnight. That’s why it is probably a very good thing that Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah has announced a three-month delay on the crackdown on illegal foreign workers in Saudi Arabia. Despite the delay, there are sure to be disruptions in labor–dependent businesses, but hopefully not like the total chaos we have already experienced in some sectors.
We’ve all heard the stories of private schools closing because teachers, mostly foreign workers whose papers might not be in order, chose to stay home and avoid investigation. It was even more serious when the port in Jeddah could not function because it was missing the majority of its workers. These temporary absences due to fear of deportation gave us all just a small taste of what things would be like if these workers are forced to leave en masse. As it is, they now have three months to try and resolve any irregularities in their work permits, at the end of which, undoubtedly, many will still have to go — much like the 200,000 foreign workers that have been deported in the past few months.
It is understandable that these illegal foreign workers came here — and it is equally understandable that our government is now asking them to leave. From the point of view of the foreign workers, our Kingdom is a veritable land of opportunity — a place where they have a unique chance to make some money to send home. Our relative prosperity in comparison to many of our neighboring states makes us an attractive objective. At the same time, given the high rates of unemployment among Saudi nationals and the fact that the vast majority of private sector jobs are filled by foreign workers, many of whom are working illegally, it would be irresponsible to let the situation go on unchecked. Hopefully though, there will be a way to remedy matters without throwing whole economic sectors into chaos.
That’s why the three-month warning period is such a good idea. Those who can do something to fix their work visas and continue working here will be highly motivated to do so. We won’t end up entirely bereft of foreign workers — but the situation will shift enough to ease our unemployment situation — or so it is hoped.
It is to be hoped also that the crackdown on illegal foreign workers, when it does happen, will be gentle and humane, and won’t take on the characteristics of a witch-hunt. Collectively, we have to realize that we have co-created this situation by looking the other way as it went on.
Now it’s time to correct matters and to give our own people a chance to work in those newly vacated private sector jobs. Then stricter immigration laws clearly need to be put in place, not to keep foreign workers out, but to make sure that they are here in an orderly, equitable and cooperative capacity. It’s going to be an interesting three months while we all figure out how we’re going to be able to do that.
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