A big thank you!

  Hussein Shobokshi While there are a few “ugly” stories that keep coming up about some of the expatriate community in Saudi Arabia but on the whole the experience of millions of foreign workers who have been working in Saudi Arabia over the past 50 years has been a decent one to say the least. Not denying at all, by any stretch of the imagination, that a lot of important improvements in laws and regulations should be considered, however, I am judging by the overall experience. The issue I have here is a bit different; I am seeking to pay tribute in an institutional manner to say a collective thank you, which is well deserved to a very diverse, productive and important community. It is hard, if not simply impossible, to imagine Saudi Arabia today without the deep and most effective contribution of the international workforce that come from various countries around the world and worked in almost every job that was available. There needs to be a recognition of these efforts in a right manner as this was an important society transformative experiment and, was truly the first case of globalization or the dialogue between civilizations what the Saudis lived through. A museum that highlights by name and history the success and contributions of many people who earned a living in Saudi Arabia in a very brave, responsible and honorable manner could be considered. This apparently does not get mentioned or even highlighted enough because people simply are interested in bad and negative stories only. A big thank you from the Saudis for all of the expatriate community that served and worked in Saudi Arabia is not only overdue but it is the right thing to do. The Saudis by initiating such a move would send a great message to the world and that in itself is worth it.