Fikri Abdel Raqeeb says that he became unemployed, after he used to work in a bakery in the city of Mecca in Saudi Arabia, before he was sacked of his job and deported from there without any reason to do so.
Here, Fikri tells his story to “Khuyut”: “One day, I was shocked by Saudi security forces who came to my workplace, and they asked me: “Are you Fikri?” They shortly took me blindfolded, and I was taken to a nearby police station and they did not allow me to see a lawyer or ask about my accusation. They called my sponsor, who came to sign the papers of my deportation, which did not take place until I spent 7 months in prison.”
The repercussions of the demobilization and deportation of Yemeni workers from Saudi Arabia continue day after day. The stories of expatriate oppression and their suffering with the sponsor and the strict measures taken against them are increasing, as their demobilization from the place of expatriation with such intensity leads to the loss of many Yemeni families, who lost their only source of income on which they depended.
Many expatriates face forced deportations as if they are being pushed into the middle of the Holocaust back in their country; to live in starvation, poverty, lack of services, high prices and manipulation of Yemenis’ sustenance, wide social changes, and complete loss of security, in addition to the catastrophic effects on the Yemeni economy, in light of the silence of the internationally recognized government in dealing with their cause by the official media.
Nonstop layoffs
Al-Anoud Saleh talks about how she and her family were forced to leave Saudi Arabia, following the dismissal of her father from his job in a company in southern Saudi Arabia, and their having to return to Yemen last February.
Al-Anoud explains that her uncle, "brother of her father", traveled to a European country only four years ago, and currently two of his sons have obtained the citizenship of that country and live under a fair law that treats them well. However, she was born in Saudi Arabia, grew up and studied there for twenty years but when her father was released from his work, they were all forced to return to Yemen.
The Saudi authorities have been dealing with Yemeni workforces with extreme sensitivity since the beginning of this year in particular, and any mistake, no matter how simple, and any violation of the residency and failure to comply with the renewal laws, strict, arbitrary measures have been taken against them that often end up with immediate deportation, unlike the situation in the past years, according to Yemeni expatriates.
Thus, many Yemeni families were forced to leave Saudi lands after their employers and dependents lost their jobs because of the abuse of the sponsor, the increase in levies, the raising of residency fees, and the restrictions practiced by the authorities there on expatriates and harsh arbitrary measures that are implemented in the labor market under the pretext of settling professions and businesses. Consequently, the Yemeni expatriates are the most affected by these procedures and abuses, as if these measures were carried out only to target them in particular.
Fahd Sultan, a journalist and activist, told "Khuyut", that the Saudi authorities began implementing these measures in 2017, and it seems - according to circulating information - that they intend to reduce the number of Yemenis expatriates in KSA to only 250 thousand by 2030, which is obvious by the measures currently taken against Yemeni expatriates that prove this undeniable fact.
Moreover, the contracted Yemeni workers in the southern Saudi governorates adjacent to the northern border of Yemen have been subjected to continuous sacking since last year. On the other hand, Saudi authorities have not issued any clear official decision in this regard, but rather left the matter to the electronic platform “Qawa application” managed by the Saudi Ministry of Human Resources, which issued a statement last July instructing Saudi companies to reduce the proportion of their workers from foreign nationalities, including 25% as a maximum for Yemeni employment, in a project called the nationalization of careers.
Fahd Sultan marvels at Saudi Arabia’s dealings with the Yemenis expatriates on its lands, pointing out that other neighboring countries to the coalition countries are committed to a moral responsibility in receiving displaced people fleeing death, establishing refugee camps, allowing international organizations to work on their lands, and providing refugees with financial grants and various humanitarian aids; unlike Saudi Arabia which go otherwise, and did not give the Yemeni any slight advantage, but rather impose them to obtain a working entry visa, which is purchased with thousands of Saudi riyals, in order to be allowed to get a job on their land.
Moreover, the Yemeni expatriate pays a permanent renewal fees of residence and the unfair sponsorship obligations, while the Yemenis there depend entirely on themselves, and no facilities are provided to them. In addition to being a productive group in the Saudi society, and have contributed a lot to reconstruction and development, Yemenis are rewarded with denial, not to mention about KSA being one of the most important parties to the conflict in Yemen.
Major change in dealing with Yemenis
The Saudi authorities have been dealing with Yemeni workers with extreme sensitivity since the beginning of this year, and any mistake, no matter how simple, and any violation of the residency and renewal laws, will result in immediate deportation, unlike the situation in the past years, according to Yemeni expatriates.
Further, a Yemeni academic, who was working at a university in one of the southern regions of Saudi Arabia, confirms to "Khuyut", that the entity he works for notified him that it would not renew his work contract, indicating that they have dispensed with his services.
For his part, Mohammad Omar (a pseudonym), an expatriate worker in southern Saudi Arabia, says that his sponsor told him to quickly transfer his work to one of the regions in the north of the Kingdom within months, and if he could not find a job there, the sponsor would submit an escape report on him, and then if the authorities caught him, he would be deported immediately without entitlements or end-of-service rights, noting that he is working hard to transfer his work to a region other than the south, and if the matter does not work - according to his statement - he will be forced return to Yemen.
Tens of thousands of Yemeni families live at home on the remittances of their expatriate relatives abroad, of which Saudi Arabia hosts the largest proportion of them. It also contributes to the Yemeni economy in light of the disruption of many of the resources that used to supply the state budget.
Wafiq Saleh, an economic researcher, confirms that remittances from expatriates represent a tent stake for Yemen's economy, and constitute a relative factor in the balance between the Yemeni currency and foreign currencies. According to the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation in Yemen, remittances of the Yemeni expatriates in Saudi Arabia constituted 61% of the total remittances abroad in 2018.
He added that the layoff of Yemeni labor means raising unemployment rates and increasing pressures on the already collapsing Yemeni economy, in light of the continuing war between the conflicting parties.
On the other hand, Saudi Arabia always announces the provision of financial grants to Yemen, as well as humanitarian projects, especially in southern Yemen. It always tries, in international forums and conferences, to show the extent of support it offered, and seeks to obtain a good image in the international community, but these measures plunge thousands of Yemenis into hell and into the flames of the raging war, according to human rights advocates.
On August 23, the General Union of Yemeni Communities denounced what the Saudi authorities are doing against Yemeni expatriates in the south of the Kingdom.
In turn, Human Rights Watch criticized the Saudi measures, saying: "Yemeni workers are at risk of mass layoff."
Noting that Saudi Arabia has not signed any agreements related to the rights of workers and migrants, including the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families 1990, and the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.
In his interview with Khuyut, lawyer Anas Abu Hadi believes that the suffering of Yemeni expatriates in Saudi Arabia is an important issue that must be raised and turned into a public opinion issue, and intensified calls for the intervention of the United Nations and the new UN envoy to Yemen, to shed light on the suffering of the Yemeni expatriate there.
The lawyer also stated that the deportation there is based on sovereign laws implemented by the executive authorities, whose articles are drawn from the Crown Prince, according to what serves his projects and strategies, and the judicial authority does not interfere much in this issue. He noted that deportation decisions are an internal matter in which the Yemeni expatriate is subject to the laws of the country in which he works, but with regard to Saudi Arabia, there are agreements concluded between the two parties, including the Taif Agreement 1934 and the Jeddah Agreement 2000, in which the two sides agreed to provide special facilities for Yemeni labor.
