The topic of migrant and foreign workers in Saudi Arabia reminded me of an article I read a while back about the migrant situation in Dubai. Essentially, foreign workers who have fallen into debt are fleeing Dubai at a stupendous rate in order to avoid debtor's prison. Others who have lost their jobs are being forced to leave by the government.
Since our country this week is Saudi Arabia, I found an article/interview from the Brookings think tank that discusses what may happen to Saudi Arabia's migrant workers as the economic crisis unfurls, especially compared to Dubai. About halfway through the article, the interviewer asks about the fate of non-national workers as the industries that employ them begin to decline. The interviewee, Hassan Hakimian, suggests that layoffs in those sectors may help Saudi Arabia's program of "Saudization". The government wants to reduce dependence on foreign workers, and may use this economic "opportunity" to replace migrant workers with Saudi nationals. It was interesting to compare the situation in Saudi Arabia to the one in Dubai, where the government also seems to deter foreign workers from staying in the country. The NYT article focused more on European and non-national Arab workers, so it would be interesting to see more specifically how Southeast Asian migrants are being affected and where they will go if they lose their jobs.
ok it's Iraq but it's interesting
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Here is a link to a blog put up by Morgan on a different Blog. There are a
number of entries that tie more to your topic than theirs. Enjoy.
15 years ago
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I think the Brookings interview was a perfect example of what the future may hold for migrant workers around the world. As unemployment rises, so does distrust and anger towards immigrant worker within populations with high numbers of working-age people. Since the effects of stimulus packages and the upswing of this global crisis may not be felt for some time, these workers are in danger of becoming targets by unemployed national citizens. This is a rising concern in countries like Spain, which has an unemployment rate right now at around 13 or 14%. A traditional receptor country of immigrant laborers because of low birth rates, Spain is in a similar situation, but has not yet pounced on the "opportunity" to expel migrants and empower its own citizens. I did find it interesting that they government has an agenda to "Saudize" their economy and that the current situation could be a positive chance fastrack that change. I believe the longer this economic crisis stretches out, there will be rises in nationalism and a general rejection of immigrant labor forces globally.
ReplyDeleteThis is an article I found from National Review .com, which compares a 2004 Bush "Guestworker" proposal to Saudi Arabia's situation. The author claims that such a loose immigration program would "saudi-ize" our policies, because of three common characteristics: large numbers, permanence, and lack of political rights. This would intensify a "permanent guestworker class" with no voice.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to consider what the ramifications of such programming would be today, as someone mentioned earlier in the context of the economic downturn and the recent exportation of the job market. It is especially important to consider as Saudi Arabia and the middle east are so intertwined in the global economy, even with little regard to the differences in policies. This brought to light for me how little attention we sometimes pay to policy changes in other countries and their (global) effects.
http://www.nationalreview.com/nr_comment/krikorian200401131130.asp
There are some very ineresting posts on the lack of rights for immigrants on Blog 1 the 'seedy underbelly group". Check it out!
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