Saad Al-Dosari
Al-Jazirah
Most TV talk shows have lately focused on the increasing control which expatriate workers have over the retail sector. It is rare to find a program that does not talk directly or indirectly about this problem. It is evident that expatriate workers control grocery stores, shops that sell miscellaneous goods and many others in the market.
Sometimes I feel that the hosts of these programs bring up this subject just for the sake of it and just to talk about, and repeat, the same thing over and over again, without suggesting any real solutions to the problem. So far, I have not seen any positive steps or campaigns to resolve this issue, despite the fact that the problem has become more exasperating with the passage of time, as more retail markets are controlled by expatriate workers. The striking fact is that most expatriate workers in the sector are illegal or undocumented workers.
This inaction raises a number of questions: Why have Ministry of Interior crackdown campaigns not succeeded in eradicating this practice? Who is directly responsible for the problem? Where are the concerned authorities? Lately, a number of illegal workers were arrested when a secret terrorist cell was raided.
The ongoing control of this sector by expatriate workers kills any job opportunities that might be available to Saudi men and women and negatively affects our national economy.
