Okaz newspaper

FIRST and foremost, and because we are living in a phase where some people are fond of mixing papers and taking the expressions out of their context, I would like to say I am inclined to support the opinion that says the interests of the homeland and the citizens must be observed especially on the issue of the expatriate workers.

Having said this, I am also against employers who prefer non-Saudi employees over Saudis for reasons which are not related to qualifications because such a conduct is against the system and may be harmful to the interests of the country.

Now that I have made this obligatory explanation, I can say that I am extremely surprised by this negative language which has become common among our youth against expatriates of various nationalities.

These expatriates are our partners in development and in the process of nation-building. They are living in the land of bounties and welfare. We should not, therefore, besiege them with these annoying utterances because they are part of our society even if their nationalities are different from us.

I see no expression which is worse than the word "foreigners" which is a clear call to seclude them.

Their real name which is adopted by the government is "expatriates". As they are benefiting from their stay in our country where they make good living and enjoy security and stability, they make unaccountable benefits for us. They participate in the nation-building and development. If we did not need them, we would not have recruited them in the first place. So the interest here is mutual.

I do not want to tell you about the experiences of some countries those who treated other nationalities with arrogance and and a sense of supremacy. These countries have secluded themselves and regressed in everything. They have become backward in respect of development and civilization.

Progress requires openness toward others, technology transfer and the exchange of knowledge.

There are some unacceptable practices by some random expatriate workers but this is not the fault of the honorable expatriates but the fault of the citizens who have recruited them in the first place.

These citizens have tampered with the rules and regulations so as to bring bad workers to our country. Some of these bad workers have competed with the qualified Saudis in companies and private establishments.

However, this is not the fault of the expatriates but the fault of the Saudi employers who neglected their duties of providing job opportunities to the citizens.

Some expatriate workers also compete with the Saudis in the government hospitals through the wasta (nepotism) of some influential citizens. Here again the fault is not that of the expatriates.

To summarize, I do not differ on the fact that the bounties of the country should be directed first and foremost toward its citizens before anyone else but the extreme attitude toward the people of other nationalities may turn with time into open racism which will greatly harm our country.

Some of these expatriates were born in our country. They love this country and feel that they belong to us. They may not know any other homeland than the Kingdom and its people.

The danger of racism is that it passes like winds causing harm and injustice to a number of the innocent people while the racists will come clear out of the wind without being affected by it.