Tension in Saudi Arabia

It all started simultaneously in all the big cities during the Holy Week (Ka Atoy Esguerra described it as huli week) when the Jawazat (Immigration) backed-up by the Saudi Police raided SME's (Small & Medium Enterprises) and big private companies to check the Iqama (residence permit) of the workers. Those without iqama were automatically hauled to deportation cells. Also arrested were those working for companies other than their respective sponsors, or whose job is different from that stated in the iqama. Dependents (of ex-pats) who were found working outside their homes were likewise arrested.

High on the list of establishments being inspected are restaurants/eateries/cafes; baqalas (sari-sari stores) and supermarkets; tailoring/dress shops & beauty parlors; all kinds of repair shops; construction companies; hospitals/clinics; and foreign-owned/operated schools and institutions. Even buildings under construction did not escape the attention of the authorities.

At this very moment in some areas, private residences and apartments (flats) are also being inspected, resulting in the arrest of more undocumented ex-pats as well as couples living as husband & wife without proper documents. Based on unconfirmed reports (and photos), thousands have already been arrested, mostly Bengals, Pakistanis, Indians, Yemenis, Africans and Egyptians. Just how many Pinoys have been caught could not be determined; neither the Embassy nor the Consulate have any idea.  

Not even big infrastructure projects are spared. Several buildings under construction inside the airport are almost bereft of laborers as more than 2/3 of the work force were either arrested or advised by their managers not to report.

Reason: The Saudi government wants to get rid of the 2M+ illegal foreign workers who "compete" with the locals for jobs - jobs that no local would willingly accept, jobs that the Saudis consider - based on their scale of values - undignified. I have yet to see a Saudi taking orders and serving customers in a cafe, or working as courier/delivery boy for an MNC, or bending steels and aligning hollow blocks in a construction site, or worst, sweeping the streets and emptying garbage bins. 

Just how long the raids will continue remains to be seen. How it will affect the local economy and the society is anybody's guess.      

Arman