Keeping in touch

It has been over nine months since I left KSA. In these nine odd months, a lot of changes have happened globally, and many in the Kingdom as well. Their strategy of undercutting international oil prices has backfired on them so badly that the country is reeling under losses and has moved on from a budget with profit to a budget with deficit. Petroleum prices have been raised, a lot of expatriates are being sent back home or are languishing in the Kingdom without wages or without a job, and the monarchy is considering other ways of raising capital and doing business with the world. 

In such circumstances, many doctors are also reconsidering their options. Those from India and other upcoming nations are already contemplating return to their homeland. In the construction industry, people are in so much trouble that some are left to fend for themselves by resorting to begging. There is a sense that Saudi Arabia may be in more trouble in the years to come. The Nitaqat movement started by King Abdullah has urged companies to substitute expatriates with Saudi citizens. Many thousands of semi-skilled and unskilled workers have been issued exit visas and have been and are being deported.

Doctors' jobs are, for the time being, secure as Saudi doctors are few and far between, but it is estimated that their numbers will grow as more and more Saudis graduate from medical schools. The coming decade may see many Saudis displacing general practitioners and resident doctors in the hospitals. Over the ensuing few decades, there will be a run on posts of specialists as well. Saudi Arabian tertiary medical centres will, however, need super-specialists for a long, long time to come.

The writing is on the wall. Beware.

About what is happening in Saudi Arabia since November 1

I write this with a heavy heart. I feel so sorry for the so-called "illegal" expatriates who are now at the receiving end of the full force of the Saudi police and armed forces. To explain this, I would have to go back a few months in time ... nay, try and trace the root of the problem.

To be fair to the Saudis, they have had a steady infiltration of foreigners since the past several decades. Their modus operandi is simple: if possible, "disappear" from the scene when you arrive in the Kingdom for performing the Umrah or the Hajj. However, these disappearing Hajjis form just a small fraction of the problem. The bigger problem is caused when conniving and cunning Saudis sponsor people from the poor countries to come to Saudi Arabia on a free visa, then allow these people to work anywhere they want in exchange of an annual fee (which becomes their business - they don't need to work at all), and then, when a year has passed, declare these people as having "absconded" from their control and make their further stay in the Kingdom illegitimate.This happens because at the end of the year, the residence permits (Iqamas) of these expatriate workers expire. 

The poor workers continue to work wherever they want. If they want to renew their Iqama, they have to go back to their sponsor, who will then "oblige" in return for a hefty fee. Now comes the interesting part: this year, the Ministry of Interior started a "legitimisation" program where they have the right to expel all illegal expatriates, and also they can enforce a new rule whereby the employee can only work in a place that belongs to their original sponsor and not elsewhere. 

The last date of amnesty for this program was on the 3rd of November, and lakhs of illegal expatriates, whose only crime was to trust their Saudi sponsors in the past, had to leave the country. Millions of expats are still here ... and their status is illegal. Effectively, bread-earners have now become criminals in this country. Most have gone into hiding as the MOI has unleashed a huge force of policemen who are empowered to detain, arrest and set into motion all the steps needed to expel whoever they find with an improper residential status or work permit. As a result, many restaurants, convenience shops (bakalas), repair shops, etc. have closed down all over the Kingdom. In Al Muwayh, I personally know that both the Kerala restaurants have shut down, many car-repair shops have closed as well, and many small eateries (known here as "buffiyas") - where talented cooks worked their as@ off, preparing simple snacks for their customers. 

As I write this on the eve of my departure to India for my annual vacations, my heart goes out to these poor men and women who are in a state of despair - and most are, in fact, looking for a way out of the Kingdom.

Even one person matters: Ambassadorship

I have always maintained that even one person matters in the scheme of things. Every person who goes to another country - whether as a tourist for a few days, a businessman for a few weeks or a worker for a longer period, becomes an ambassador for his/her own country. Let me explain this. 

Imagine that you are in India, and happen to be an Indian citizen. One fine day, you meet a tourist from, say, Yugoslavia. You and he meet each other frequently, perhaps at work, or because he takes up a paying guest accommodation with you in your house. The way you behave with him, and the way he behaves with you not only make you (and him) assess you as an individual, but also, you represent your country and he, his. During the frequent interactions the two of you have with each other, you form a mental image of the country he comes from, and size up the people of his land, just as he makes a similar assessment of Indians, and of India.

Thus, when you are an expatriate, and you are working with people from various other nationalities, it behoves you to act and do things in a way that enhances your image in the eyes of all these other people. Indirectly, this is how they will see ALL the people from India, because you represent the other 1.2 billion people of your country in their eyes. If you are kind, soft-spoken, helpful, humble and generous, then the image they carry with you for a long, long time will be a good one for you as well as for the people of India. 

And this is where I come in. It is all very well to say that one must ALWAYS be kind, soft-spoken, humble and generous; the crux of the matter, though, is that what you do when you are among people of OTHER nationalities matters EVEN MORE. Even if you are prejudiced against the nation or nations they represent, you MUST  behave cordially, nay, more than just cordially - in fact, in the most friendly manner - with them so that they form a positive image about you. 

My interactions with all the people I am in touch with has been, even if it seems as though I am blowing my own trumpet, a matter of pride for me. I have bent over backwards to accommodate the requests of my co-workers, whether they are doctors, nurses, helpers, or peons, whether they are Egyptians, Filipinos, Indians, Pakistanis, Sri-Lankans, Saudis or Sudanis, whether they are young, or old, man or woman, easy-to-get-along with or not, and basically good or bad at the core. My friendly and helpful manner and attitude has found me friends in the most difficult situations. For this, I am grateful to Allah, as is natural. 

That's it for now. If you are reading this, and if you are an expatriate working in another country - other than your own, you will probably find this post interesting. If so, please do leave behind your comments. 

Thanks.