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The diary of a Saudi man, currently living in the United Kingdom, where the Religious Police no longer trouble him for the moment.

In Memory of the lives of 15 Makkah Schoolgirls, lost when their school burnt down on Monday, 11th March, 2002. The Religious Police would not allow them to leave the building, nor allow the Firemen to enter.

Tuesday, March 23, 2004

Saudization failing 

...announces the Arab News, although that's obvious to all of us as we drive around town and go shopping.

Saudization Fails to Stem the Tide of Foreign Workers

However I didn't appreciate the scale. Only 8% of workers in the private sector are Saudis, which is an amazing statistic. All the rest are imported from the Third World (although there are a few from the West in executive and professional roles, the ones that haven't been driven away by the bombs, that is.)
Ask any Saudi boy where he wants to work when he grows up, and he will say:
Saudi Airlines
The Armed Forces
The Police
(although he will only get into those if he comes from the same tribal group as the Royal Family, that's to ensure loyalty)
The Civil Service
A Bank
and failing that,
A shop (but taking the money, not actually selling things)
Anything else is considered to be demeaning, and suitable only for Third World expatriates. They certainly don't want to work as Nurses, which is extremely demeaning, and Womans' work (although women aren't allowed to do it). If the Filipino nurses all went home, the Health Service would collapse in a heap.
This country will only get Saudized when the government stops paying people to stay at home. It needs a major change of attitude. As it says in the article:




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