Saudization and the economic crisis

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.

Migrant Workers: Returnig Home Causes Problems

Human migration in Saudi Arabia has recently become an interesting situation given the recent worldwide economic crisis and its impact on the price of oil. The article in Jacque's post by the Guardian described migrant workers in Saudi Arabia as household laborers, but in my research I have discovered that a large portion of the migrant workers are also employed in construction and oil companies. Workers in these industries from Asia have recently been sent back to their home countries because of the current economic crisis having reduced oil prices so drastically and devastated the real estate industry. Saudi companies have responded with lay-offs that send the migrant workers home, where, in the case of Bangladesh they are not always welcome. In this article, the fact that migrant workers are, in large numbers, leaving Saudi Arabia and the UAE is described as causing big problems in their home countries. Check out the article and tell me what you think about the idea that migrant workers in Saudi Arabia returning home is causing big problems.