Training is the key to development

I don’t know how officials calculate the number of unemployed citizens in the country, but one thing I can point out is that there is something wrong in the employment process. Most advertisements in the media are related to either consumer goods or telecom companies. They do not reflect the state of unemployment in our country. In my opinion, growing unemployment in our country should promote the business of training and capacity building.

The issue of unemployment cannot be resolved just by imposing Saudization. Identity cards are not certificates of skills. I would like to see banks joining hands to establish institutes to train Saudis in the banking sector, tourism and recreation centers coming together to set up training centers to meet their requirements. Hospitals and medical centers should also do the same in order to remove the gulf between the labor market needs and people’s capabilities.

I see Saudis prefer to have jobs with government departments. This comes from the socialist thinking that it is the government’s duty to employ and feed its citizens. We can see 10 people being employed for the job of a single person and nine people while doing nothing obstructs the work of others through backbiting.

The Labor Ministry should try to transform the Kingdom into a big workshop for training in collaboration with international organization. I also propose that our banks provide training loans to Saudis and the state introduce scholarship for training abroad.

We can ask private companies to participate in the training program but should not force them to employ unskilled workers. Training not only help people acquire necessary skills required for a job but also encourages them to love their profession and remove their socialist thinking about profession from their minds.

Jobs are not just to make a living. It’s the best means for production and it enables a person to realize his ambitions and contribute to the country’s development. A car mechanic should be proud that the world is running because of his efforts while an electrician should think about his role in enhancing people’s comfort and safety.

If a person gets employment by force he/she would become a burden for himself and his employer. A Saudi should be prepared to work not only in the Kingdom but also in Japan or India. Skills are international products. If a Saudi were not acceptable in international market it would not be advisable to impose him/her on the local market, as it would have a negative impact on the national economy.

— By Abdullah bin Bakheet

Downfall of nations

The US Senate Intelligence Committee’s report, which was published recently, exposes the CIA’s human rights violations against 9/11 terror suspects, including torture, unlawful custody and application of unlawful methods to obtain information.

The report came in 6,000 pages but only 500 of them were published and the rest were kept secret on the advice of the committee that took five years to prepare it. The report contains a lot of information, which could be summarized into four points:

The agency’s interrogation program was not useful as claimed; CIA lied to the Congress on the program and its result; it violated human rights and legal, administrative and intelligence rules; the CIA also lied about the brutal techniques it used to gather information.

Some of the techniques used by the agency included waterboarding and preventing suspects from sleeping for a week, threatening them to kill, sexual harassment and keeping them naked. The defendants suffered not only physical but also mental torture.

Had these incidents occurred in a Third World country, there would have been big hue and cry over the violation of human rights. This all happened in a country that claims it is the protector of human rights. This is the fate of all countries. A country will be strong in the beginning and then becomes weaker and weaker, discarding its values and principles.

— By Salim bin Ahmed Sahab

Gulf summit in Doha

The main achievement of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Doha was that the GCC leaders succeeded in holding the annual conference in the Qatari capital as scheduled without delay. The summit showed that the GCC countries were able to overcome the biggest diplomatic and political crisis in the six-member group’s history.

The conflict between three GCC countries and Qatar was continuing for about eight months without reaching any solution. Finally, the member countries realized that they are brothers and neighbors and they have to stand united against the powerful storm that downgraded the strongest Arab country to a position it was hundred years back.

The GCC conflict had threatened the group’s very existence. So, holding of the summit in Doha itself was a big success. The credit goes to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah who hosted an emergency summit last month to end the crisis. Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmed Al-Sabah also deserves praise for his efforts to reconcile the member countries.

The holding of the annual summit in Doha shows the determination of GCC leaders to open a new chapter in their relations. Although they met in Doha only for a couple of hours, it sent a message to the GCC people and the whole world that the days of conflict are over and they will stand united to confront challenges.

The GCC countries should set aside their differences and should not allow any issue to obstruct their progress. The GCC reconciliation became a reality as a result of cooperation and coordination among the six countries during the past three decades. The GCC countries and people should understand that they are blessed by the presence of this strong political, economic and social organization. We don’t have any other support. The Arab League has become a heritage while the US is no more a dependable ally.

— By Khalaf Al-Harbi

Law of the jungle

Several years ago I had left the Middle East, to be specific Yemen. I purposefully wanted to keep away from this region of pains. I told myself that this region would not find it difficult to live with its pains and problems.

While I was going to office in London, the taxi driver asked me what happened to the Middle East? I kept quiet without being able to give an answer. Thousands of painful scenes have been passing through my mind and my head was about to explode.

Pictures of people being killed and slaughtered, video clips that evoke nightmarish thoughts for us and for generations to come. We have seen old cities in Syria with historical sites getting destroyed.

What happened to the Middle East? That question from the taxi driver is still haunting me. It was a painful question and made me ashamed of being an Arab. The bloody incidents in different parts of the Arab world raise questions about a bleak and uncertain future.

We used to say that the dark tunnel will take us to light but in this region we come out from one tunnel to enter yet another long tunnel. It seems we are living in cities of dark tunnels made of frightening ideologies.

What was the reason? Was it because of our wrong understanding of our religion or because of our wrong practice of politics or because of a wrong combination of religion and politics? Is it because of the greed of western and global powers to grab Arab wealth or because of the strategic location that makes us clash with international interests? Is it because of our failure to cope with modernity?

What is the motive that prompts a person to take a knife to slaughter his brother or explode himself in a crowd of people? We have to find an answer for the question of that taxi driver as we watch horrible scenes on Arab streets everyday.

— By Mohammed Jumaih

New ministers

Citizens pin great hope on new ministers appointed by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah as part of a recent Cabinet reshuffle. They hope that the new ministers will bring new thoughts and vision as well as new energy to make changes and boost national development.

People consider new ministers as windows toward a brighter future, saving them from years of depression and disappointment. Making drastic changes is not an easy thing. For every good work there will be enemies because of vested interests. Even some citizens resist change, as it would change their way of life.

The problem facing new ministers is that people expect quick changes. They believe that the new ministers can make changes within a day or two as if they hold a magic wand.

Some people consider a minister active by just seeing them making superficial changes like appointing new assistants and department directors or changing office furniture. A minister’s performance should be assessed on the basis of improving the quality of services to the public.

The new ministers should prove their capabilities in addressing the pressing issues facing citizens, introducing innovative methods and establishing transparency in financial dealings.

— By Dr. Adnan bin Abdullah Alshiha

Children of terrorism

People who sympathize with begging children should think where is their money going and what are the difficulties suffered by a child by taking up the job of a beggar.

A few years ago, I visited a shelter being run by a charitable society and met with a number of children who were pushed to adopt the job of begging by their merciless parents.

Ever since they left their parents, these children have been facing horrendous difficulties. They told me how they were smuggled into the Kingdom by land through the southern border and how they were sitting under the legs of criminals to hide from police. I still remember one girl told me that they had broken her backbone by kicking and that she still felt pain. They had to collect SR500 everyday to get food. If not they will be tortured and sexually abused.

We have read reports in the media that some of these children are utilized to collect money for the Houthis and other terrorists. So the government should take this issue seriously and the agency to combat beggary should be brought under the Interior Ministry to make its more effective. We should also enlighten the public against showing sympathy toward these begging foreign children.

— By Samar Al-Muqrin