ALKHOBAR: Most members of society want to work in order to provide a decent life for themselves and their families and be a productive and useful citizen. Work which provides a decent livelihood is welcomed but there may be obstacles in the community which deter people from some types of work.

A group of young Saudis are competing to provide on-the-go hospitality services on the airport road in the west of Dammam. Services vary to attract customers and include tea of different types and flavors, candy and some popular Saudi light refreshment.

Camps which are located in the area depend completely on the services of the young Saudis who suffer from competition from foreign labor in the absence of regulators.

Ahmad Al-Shehri sells tea on the way to Dammam Airport. He provides hot black tea with mint to travelers and, in so doing, provides sustenance for his family.

Al-Shehri has not allowed any obstacles to prevent him from working. “Any honest work in any field is no cause for shame, but sitting at home without work and without seeking to earn money for the family is,” he said.

He said: “I have been working selling tea for a long time; I am specialized in hospitality and its related services. I recently decided to provide the service in this area after I observed that there was an urgent need for it because the area is far from shops.”

He said drinking coffee and tea was an Arab custom, and the Saudis like to sit and drink them. He said he had many regular customers because he charges fair prices for his services.

He said the there was a need for some official organization of the job, particularly because of the large number of Saudi families who frequent the area.

Another young Saudi, Abdul Karim, said that he is there even in bad weather in order to earn a living for his wife and two young daughters. He wishes that the Eastern Province Municipality would allow them them to work in this area, especially since there is a large demand for their services and products.

He said, “This job in profitable and provides a decent life, I wonder if there are formal requirements in order to get an official business license and avoid problems.”

“The only logical solution is in organizing the region and preparing it as a tourist location, particularly since a large number of tourists and citizens come here to buy different types of goods sold on the road,” he said.