Tragic Kingdom – Reflections on Saudi Arabia

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By Alex Doherty
Source: teleSUR English
February 2, 2015

Personal observations about the country.

In October 2011 I traveled to the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh to teach English as a foreign language to university students. Intending to stay for two years, I eventually left after a year and seven months. During my time in Saudi, I worked at the Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University in Riyadh and the Institute of Public Administration in the coastal city of Jeddah. Teaching positions in the country are well paid, and like most western teachers, I was in Saudi to save money and pay down university debt. In my first week in Riyadh, a Pakistani cab driver jokingly asked me if I was in the city for business or pleasure. The joke being that nobody in recorded history has ever visited Riyadh for the purpose of enjoying themselves. Inevitably, my view of the country was partial and colored by own cultural background and political persuasions. As a consequence, I have been reluctant to write about my personal experiences. However, a number of friends have encouraged me to write about my time in the Kingdom and the recent death of Saudis “reformer King” seemed to provide an occasion for setting down my thoughts. Due to the efforts of human rights activists (coupled with the contradictions of the increasingly uneasy alliance between the Kingdom and the West) the oppressiveness of the Saudi state is now quite widely understood. For this reason, in the following remarks, I have tried to confine myself to aspects of the country that may not be so commonly known.

The Richest Poor Country in the World

I had thought that I was going to Saudi with my eyes open. I was quite aware of the repressiveness of Saudi society, the appalling second-class status of women, the unjust treatment of the Shia minority, and the dire conditions faced by many migrant workers. What I hadn’t been prepared for was the poverty of the country and the decrepit third world character of her cities. Foolishly I had imagined Saudi to be more akin to the Gulf emirates, where a surface sheen of modernity overlays the repressiveness of the social structure. However, in many respects, Riyadh is a very typical third world city — with pockets of extreme wealth surrounded by crumbling slums. The quality of most housing and road infrastructure is poor, the streets are strewn with litter and beggars are a common sight. Although there is poverty amongst Saudis, a large proportion of the Saudi poor are migrant workers, mostly from South Asia.

The migrant population is at the mercy of the kafala system. This system requires that migrant workers have a Saudi “sponsor” who is responsible for their visa and legal status in the country. It is common for employers to confiscate their employees passports, fail to pay them some or all of their wages, subject them to various forms of abuse, and all with little fear of repercussions. The system is practically an invitation to exploit and abuse workers.

Aside from the more devout students recognition of the bizarre character of the modern Saudi state seems to be common to most young Saudi men. Having not had the opportunity to talk with them, I cannot say how Saudi women view their country. The atmosphere in the country is akin to what I imagine the last years of the old German Democratic Republic must have been. There is a palpable sense of the chronic injustices of the society, recognition that the domestic media is a complete sham, and widespread understanding that alternatives to the present system abound. In spite of state repression and the steadfast support of the West, it is hard to believe that such a society can endure for much longer. One of the most repressive societies on earth may well be living on borrowed time.

Full article: https://zcomm.org/znetarticle/tragic-kingdom-reflections-on-saudi-arabia/

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1. The Kafala system is literally state-sponsored trafficking and modern legalized slavery

Immigrant workers in KSA/GCC countries have few if any rights and may not change jobs or leave the country without the employer's permission. Impermissible human rights violation.