Migrant Workers in Saudia Arabia: Human Rights Violations

The most compelling news I found when searching for information about migration in or out of Saudia Arabia was news on the horrific human rights violations that have been committed in Saudia Arabia against many of the 8-9 million migrant workers from mostly from the Indian Subcontinent and South-East Asia.

The immigration visas are tied to the employers, which gives the employer control over the employees. The word "slavery" or "slave like conditions" was used in multiple articles I found. Many accounts of rape are reported on, but seem not to be reported in Saudi Arabia. The migrant workers who do speak out seem to be countered by the more powerful (in that situation) Saudi Employers. These sort of violations seem to be a trend seeing as immigrants in other countries have little agency. My experience in the United States has mostly been with Mexican and other Latin American immigrants. I worked for an immigration lawyer and learned about the fear of authority that is instilled in immigrants. Human rights violations seem inevitable in these situations as these people are easily taken advantage of, but the Saudi situation seems extreme.

Here is a story from the Guardian that gives a good backgroud on the situation.