The expression “will never change” is pure fantasy. If there’s anything that history has proven, it is that injustices do not last forever. There’s always a breaking point, eventually, when people rise up and refuse to take any more. Then that injustice is replaced with a new, and different injustice.
Frank R Dana
Even expats in some government sectors are discriminated against and treated unfairly. They are not given two days off and overtime is not paid. Food allowances are far below the minimum of SR 500 per month while the price of basic commodities goes up every month. Transportation is difficult because there are no designated company drivers. Rooms made to house two people are now occupied by three or four persons. All of this makes the lives of expats miserable and chaotic. Corrupt practices are very rampant in all departments, and managers and those in leadership positions enjoy lavish salaries and benefits.
Augustine Balberona Mabotas
I thank the author for the sympathy he expresses. What he wrote is true; basically people just don’t care about what is happening around them. Most of us here just work for ourselves. We are here to work for money, and we have lost the ability to have any sympathy for others. Most of us here have lost our sense of social responsibility. We cannot do anything here, and can only hope that the leaders of the governments of expatriates’ countries, especially the Asian countries, will do something to protect their people before they send them here.
NeilBryan Aguila
It’s high time that Saudis realize that all over the world people think that the kafala system is nothing more than modern slavery. Working without a sponsor system is not a new strategy. Competition will create more business and talent rather than keeping people to work against their will. I believe that Saudi Arabia would remain stable without a sponsorship system. Until the kafala system is abolished, the government can insist that every kafeel must post and update his employees’ contracts online. In this way, the labor court can easily make judgements by studying the rights of employers and employees as per the contracts signed between them.
Meerashah Rafia
Saudis are getting a bad reputation because of this, even though it is not fair to criticize all of them because many Saudi scholars are respected around the world. Although we are in the 21st century, tribal Bedouin culture still exists in the mindset of many. The government must teach people skills and trades for the country to become self-sufficient. Although I have personally met Saudi people from Jeddah, Makkah and Madinah who are lower middle class and very likable; I have also met those from Riyadh and elsewhere who are from the upper echelon and who I felt were clueless and quite arrogant and who could not survive or maintain themselves or their environment if they did not have a Filipino or Indian servant.
Yahya Yasin
