Expatriates in Saudi Arabia

Essay # 58094

Economics > International
Economics > Labor
Ethnic Studies > Middle East

Examines Saudi Arabia's mistreatment of its foreign community and how the problem should be dealt with.

1,529 words () | 7 sources | MLA | 2004

Paper Summary:

This paper argues that Saudi Arabia may need expatriate professionals, business people, and house servants, but instead of treating them as humans who have the right to practice their religion or to have a social life, it persecutes and abuses them. Even the treatment it offers the uppe- class expatriate group is unsatisfactory, as they are virtually locked up, in addition to running the risk of arrest for false charges of prostitution if they socialize. The lower class of expatriates is also completely vulnerable. The paper argues that a high income might be a strong motivation for many to look for employment in Saudi Arabia, but the treatment and the risky consequences of doing so are too high. The paper concludes that all groups of expatriates, Arabs, Africans, Asians, and Westerners, should be detracted from employment in Saudi Arabia until the attitudes towards foreigners, which lead to exclusion from society and abuse, changes dramatically.

From the Paper:

"Immigration from Arab countries to Western and Asian ones is a popular phenomenon while immigration to Arab countries is practically unheard of. The same factors that push Arabs to leave their countries, lack of democracy, poor economic opportunities and low quality public services, are the same factors that discourage immigration from the West or Asia to the Middle East. While few people from Western or Asian countries would consider leaving their countries to live in the Middle East permanently, many do seek career opportunities in the area, especially in Arab Gulf countries, noted for their wealth. The economic wealth of Gulf countries makes them an attractive magnet for expatriate Western and Asian workers. As stated in "Kingdom of Saudi Arabia," published by the U.S. Department of State, the expatriate community in Saudi Arabia has reached the figure of 6 million and foreigners form almost 70% of the Saudi Arabian labour market. The expatriate community is an extremely important factor in Saudi Arabia's path to economic and industrial development, because they transfer the knowledge and technology of the West to this desert, but rich, kingdom ("Kingdom of Saudi Arabia"). It is not an exaggeration to state that were it not for this foreign community, Saudi Arabia would have taken a much longer time and found it much harder to develop both its oil and its non-oil industries. Saudi Arabia knows this and pays its expatriate community and foreign workers who are involved in its economic and industrial development, very high salaries. Therefore, the economic motivation for both Westerners and Asians to work in Saudi Arabia and become a part of its expatriate community is strong. However, the economic factor is one of the only positive aspects of working in Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia's foreign community is prevented from associating freely with Saudi citizens, from moving freely in the country, are a target of terrorist intentions, and are prevented from publicly practicing their non-Moslem religious beliefs."