Mahmoud Ahmad
FOLLOWING my previous article more than two weeks ago titled, “How many expatriates will leave?” in which I questioned how many will be leaving the Kingdom soon, following the imposition of fees on expats from the latter half of this year, I received many emails from readers who shared their fears, frustration and uncertainty. The common intention of all of them was that they would either leave for good or send their children back home once these fees become a reality.
I am sharing some of the messages they sent to me here in this article, and what emerges from their expressions is that circumstances may force them to take the ultimate decision to leave the Kingdom for greener pastures or their home countries.
A reader wrote, “I read your article in Saudi Gazette. Thanks for considering the expat’s situation. People like us are going to be impacted a lot. We hope the government will take a wise decision to tackle this issue. It seems that the government is only interested in taking care of the citizens, while expats too have a major role in building the economy of this country.”
Another reader said, “I totally agree with your viewpoint as I am one of those expats who is sending a very low percentage of money home and spending most of it in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on my family here. Dining out, travel, shopping etc. is real fun here but with this new rule, I have already made up my mind to either leave or send my family back home.
“My family expense per month in the Kingdom is about 8k riyals, excluding one off gifts and other entertainment expenses. Once I send my family back home, I can live comfortably here by spending around 2k and send the rest back home and eventually will leave this country.
“I came here five years back. I am engineer by profession and at that time, I had the option to either apply for immigration to the West or get a job in KSA. I didn’t opt for the West because of the (non-Islamic) lifestyle but now it seems that I made a wrong call. My friends who went abroad have got nationality in these five years and here I am, forced to go back from the ‘blessed land’.”
Another friend of mine who read my article said that in the event the fees are imposed than it would be worthless for him to keep his wife and three children here. He said although the decision to send his family back home is painful, he would be forced to do it and live here on a bare minimum while sending the bulk of his salary back home.
He was laughing when he told me that he would relive the life of being single again, just like when he was at the university and squeeze himself to live with his friends in one apartment and share electricity, food and other bills. He told me that our economy would be hit because he would not be spending much money here, except on the bare necessities.
In the past, the only reason why he sent money back home was to his parents and he was hoping to bring them on a visa so he would end up spending most of his money here. Now it looks like he would keep only 10 percent of his salary and repatriate the rest.
After reading these samples and the many other messages I got and read in response to my article, I concluded that a good percentage would be giving it a maximum of two years before leaving for good. Let’s be honest here, the main purpose of expatriates coming here to the Kingdom for work is to earn money and support their families back home.
The added value here that made a good percentage of expatriates to choose Saudi Arabia is the two holy mosques and the relative low cost of living compared to neighboring and many other countries.
Skilled expat workers who learned a lot in our country and contributed positively to the economy will leave with their experience and skills and will use what they learned to benefit either other countries or their home nations. Those who decide to stay and bear the fees, like I said, would end up increasing the cost on the end consumer and we will see that when the prices of services and products increase.
There are those who still hold out hopes that the new fees maybe reviewed in the future because they have great love for this country and their people. Some of them have lived here for more than 30 years with their children growing in this country and consider it their own, while feeling like strangers when they return to their homes.
To all expats we thank them, we thank the teacher who taught us and the doctor who cured us and simple workers — electrician, plumber, mechanic, carpenter and so on — who provided us with services. We thank the engineers who helped us build our projects and roads. We thank the expat neighbor and co-worker who together shared with us the good times and bad times. Your services and love will forever be appreciated and cherished.
The writer can be reached at mahmad@saudigazette.com.sa
Twitter: @anajeddawi_eng
