Mohammed Assaaed
Okaz
IT seems like going back to ones origins, and being patriotic is not something related only to the West. This phenomenon has already started to grow in our cultures.
One sees Egyptians who have coined a new expression “Egypt is only for Egyptians”. It was coined largely because of the Syrian role in sprucing up Egypt’s economy, and the successful taking over of commercial opportunities by Syrian businessmen and investors at a time when the Egyptian economy was facing some difficulties.
Because of the economic woes in some Gulf countries, low resources, and the shift from being a rentier state to a state that manages her own resources, this led to a lack in job opportunities.
The only solution before the governments was to restrict the employment of foreigners and give a chance to their citizens. So will we hear the expression “Saudi Arabia is only for Saudis” or “Emirate is only for Emiratis”, and so on?
Even if this was true, it is risky because our countries are not like the US, and some other Western nations. We don’t have efficient domestic employees capable to run own countries. Since our countries are still considered as emerging economies we need cheap labor and qualified ones. We can do away with foreigners occupying intermediate positions, but Dispensing with all foreigners will cause an economic disaster.
In my view, in the next five years about 10 million foreigners will leave the Gulf, because of the procedures, fees and taxes that have been imposed or are being discussed.
Half of them are in Saudi Arabia which will make 5 million jobs available for Saudis. It is a good chance for the citizens, but it means giving up high salaries, and accepting any kind of job.
The golden era has passed where foreigners used to dream to get a job in Gulf countries. The jobs will be hard to get.
Gulf countries are not detached from the globe, but what happens in it is in a global context. To understand the reason of the election of US President Donald Trump, the rise of the national state that seeks to offer jobs to their citizens by dumping people overtaking jobs from their citizens, we first need to look it in the global context.
Great Britain, for example, once dominated two-thirds of the globe and was very powerful. Under the changed economic circumstances and to provide jobs and services to its citizens, Britain has been forced to fall back and withdraw from the European Union. Moreover, it was noticed that labor was cheap in certain East European countries and the labor market extended its open arms to them.
In the US, Americans have elected right-winger Trump over Hillary, the Liberal left-winger because she favors universal values and supports immigration.
We are facing radical changes, but our vision toward foreigners must be rational and logical. What we require is a pragmatic solution to the changing landscape and create a labor market that meet the needs of our citizens, based on professional efficiency and nothing other than that.
