Yemenis feel pinch of reform

The Yemeni expatriate community, known for its savvy business skills, has been severely affected by the new labor laws issued by the Saudi Ministry of Labor, especially given the turbulent social and political conditions in their native country.
The recent crackdown on foreign workers with expired residence permits and sponsorship violations has had an impact on most manpower exporting countries. However in the case of Yemenis, the issue has taken a more severe turn, sparking street protests in some parts of Yemen.
On a recent visit to the Kingdom, Yemeni Foreign Minister Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi met with his Saudi counterpart Prince Saud Al Faisal in Jeddah and handed over a letter from the Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, according to Yemen’s state news agency SABA. The communiqué also revealed that the visiting minister met with the Saudi Interior Minister Prince Mohammed bin Naif, to discuss means of rectifying the work status of Yemeni expatriates in the Kingdom.
An estimated 800,000 to 1 million Yemenis live in the Kingdom, remitting about $ 2 billion annually, which is a major source of revenue for the ailing country’s economy. Yemen is the poorest and least developed country in the Arab world, running out of oil and water, while facing grave internal security challenges and a tense “dialogue” on national reconciliation. The Yemeni community is feeling the pinch of the labor reforms, especially since they previously enjoyed special treatment from the Saudi authorities by being exempted from sponsorship until 1991.
According to a report there is an estimated 300,000 Yemenis working and living in violation of Saudi Arabia laws.
Reuters reported by quoting Rajeh Badi, adviser to the Yemeni prime minister that the “Saudi Ministry of Labor’s move to reform the job market will cause significant damage to the Yemen economy.”
For last two months, the diplomatic missions of Asian countries witnessed an increased rush, as their nationals sought to leave the country, however there was no such rush at the Yemeni Consulate in Jeddah.
The situation changed, however, after the ministry announced guidelines on Friday. The Yemeni Consulate in Nuzlah district, which is considered one of the largest diplomatic missions in Jeddah, was suddenly overcrowded with applicants, seeking various consular and passport services to rectify their status.
Unlike Asian countries where the majority of applicants are seeking assistance to be repatriated back home, Yemenis are seeking to rectify their sponsorships and trying to legalize their residency in the Kingdom. However, their dilemma remains and questions regarding the aftermath of the grace period continue to haunt many.
Dozens of women, who had arrived on Umrah and Haj visas, are lining up at the Yemeni Consulate in addition to hundreds of nationals from different cities hailing from the western and southern provinces of the Kingdom.
Some Yemenis are unable to avail the current grace period as they have entered the Kingdom illegally by crossing the southern borders.
Infiltration from the neighboring Yemeni border is posing a problem for Saudi Arabia. In the first quarter of this year, Saudi border guards nabbed 106,669 infiltrators, according to a report published by the Saudi authorities.