The recent human rights conference ended on a positive note. It stressed the fact that all citizens are born equal, the right of people to express their individuality, and civil and political rights. It also stressed the point that there should be no segregation based on nationality, ethnic origin and that degrading human dignity is a crime.
Powerful and important recommendations — what is more, they are a part of our religion, as the declaration stressed.
Our Muslim culture embodies all these values. But a realistic look at this society will show those recommendations to be dreams for the future, something to strive for to close the huge gap between vision and reality.
We have to ask ourselves some basic questions: Do we treat all people equally without discrimination? Do we respect individuality? Do we respect human dignity? I don’t think we strictly follow any of these important principles. Just look at how some people treat foreign workers. How we treat each other and how we suppress any attempt at individual thinking and behavior.
The glaring case of foreign workers is one proof of our dual personality. We always talk about how our religion necessitates the fair, humane and respectful treatment of our fellow beings, but when it comes to practice many of us fail the test. Foreign workers are not treated with the respect they deserve, as human beings, as people who are doing necessary jobs. Their right to express their individuality is not universally safeguarded. Their sponsors are not afraid to delay their salaries, some of them withholding them for months.
Did not the Prophet (peace be upon him) say that we should pay the laborers before the sweat on their brow has dried? That means payment has to be fast and reliable.
These workers are given bad housing, which no doubt the sponsor himself would not even consider visiting, let alone living in. The problem here is not only individual sponsors, it emanates from big companies. I have heard about some big companies that delay salaries for months on end, and the poor workers have to stick around because they have no choice. And for those more fortunate foreign employees in the Kingdom, if they have better luck with employers, society does not give them a chance to enter it at all. Many people here think they are better than anyone else, and they behave accordingly and their treatment to foreigners is an illustration of that.
The tales of the abuse domestic helpers suffer are in the papers almost daily, but there is almost nothing done about it. Why can’t we have a watchdog observing those cases to ensure at least that they won’t become so used to reading about them that they don’t register anymore.
We discriminate against each other. The experience of a friend suggests that. She went to a posh store and asked to be served, but as she was obviously not one of the top clients of this place, the shop manager treated her as if she was asking for a favor. She left the store feeling offended, because she was discriminated against as socially unfit for this place. That is not the only case. At gatherings there are always stories about how people are mistreated in some offices, and how people’s social status gives them more or fewer rights than other people.
Unless we take some serious measures against those who damage our reputation, we won’t find many friends elsewhere in the world when their support is needed. And unless we learn to respect each others as equals, a society where all citizens live in harmony will always remain a dream.
