Saudi Arabia: Expats shocked by unfair sponsors’ tactics

May 19, 2016

Riyadh, May 19: Despite the many regulations put in place by the government with the aim of protecting expats, many continue to suffer at the hands of their Saudi sponsors and employers.

expatFor Ahmed Mahsoub, an Egyptian driver, the trouble started when he asked his sponsor, which happened to be an educational institute, for a salary certificate in order to buy a new car. As soon as he got the small family van, his sponsor asked him to use it to transport their students but he refused to do so since he had bought it for the use of his own family and not for work.

Mahsoub said they stopped him from working and suspended his salary until he handed over the car. One of his friends then advised him to lodge a complaint with the labor office.

Surprisingly, the labor office staff claimed that he would be deported because he had allegedly insulted some employees. Mahsoub noted that his current employers are not his original sponsor; therefore, he questioned how they could possibly force him to leave if he did not comply with their demands.

The case of Ahmad M., a Pakistani taxi driver, is equally shocking. He said that his sponsor asked him to pick up some luggage from the airport, but the flight with the luggage was delayed. Angered by the delay, his sponsor sent him an SMS containing information of a final exit visa for him.

He was deeply shocked and asked some friends to intervene in order to ask his sponsor to cancel the final exit visa. Despite all this, Ahmad says that the important issue here is that it is very easy for an employer to ruin someone’s life without considering that the person has a family to support.

A female expatriate, who requested anonymity, faced a similar ordeal. When she and her daughter who both worked for the same sponsor told the employer that they wanted to leave their positions and that they would continue working until a suitable replacement is found. However, the sponsor would not agree to this and instead told them that if they left, he would have the woman’s daughter deported.

Comments

Muthhu
 - 
Thursday, 19 May 2016

This is not What our Prophet peace be upon him taught us in ISLAM .....but unfortunately this is happening in his own birth place

S.A.
 - 
Thursday, 19 May 2016

Same thing happened with me. I have many years experience in saudi arabia but when I went to saudi on a new visa to a new sponsor I suffered a lot. He is a Syrian national doing business in saudi arabia. I went to labour court also but no use since he is having contacts with big shots. Whoever comes to work with him suffers a lot. I to india on a vacation but dod not go back to saudi. Now I can not go there for three years. His name is Abu Sulaiman of Sony Mobile in king fahd street in al khobar 11th cross. He calls himself an engineer but he is an uneducated person. He submitted false documents to become an aramco contractor.

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News Network
April 5,2020

Ajman, Apr 5: A bakery worker in Ajman has been detained for spitting in the bread dough as he prepared bread at the bakery, police said.

The General Command of Ajman Police arrested the Asian worker in coordination with Ajman Municipality after investigators suggested that he intentionally spat in the dough while preparing bread at a bakery which is located in Ajman.

Lt. Col. Muhammad Mubarak Al-Ghafli, Director of Al-Jarf Al-Shamel Police Station, said a team from police had immediately gone to arrest the worker after receiving a report from the municipality confirming that the man spat in the bread dough.

Officials said a customer had filmed the Asian as he spat in the dough while preparing the bread at the bakery during the evening.

The customer then filed a complaint to the municipality with the supporting evidence of a video as the worker was doing the buzzer act.

Police said the man was taken for for psychological examination as he's being prepared to be referred to the public prosecution.

Meanwhile, the bakery has been shut down by the municipality for violating food hygiene and public health rules.

Lt. Col. Al-Ghafli has appealed to the public to report persons or any acts that could harm the health and safety of the public.

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Agencies
May 26,2020

Dubai, May 26: An Indian expat, who recently recovered from COVID-19, fell to his death from a building in Dubai, police said.

The 26-year-old Indian national identified as Neelath Muhammed Firdous from Kerala, fell from the seventh floor balcony of his building where he stayed with six others including his uncle, Naushad Ali, 33.

A Dubai Police official confirmed the incident to Gulf News on Monday and said it had been a suicide.

"He was suffering from a mental disorder and there is no criminal suspicions behind his death," said the official.

"The incident happened on Sunday," the official confirmed.

The victim's relative said: "(He) awoke early to perform prayers and everyone was getting on with their daily morning chores when he walked to the balcony and jumped.

"He was suffering from a mental disorder and had been disturbed for some time. He thought everyone was out to attack him and had stopped eating his food as he thought people were feeding him poison. He was refusing to even take water from us."

The victim had tested positive for COVID-19 on April 10. On May 7, he was discharged from a Dubai hospital after clearing all tests.

The relative told Gulf News that he had registered the victim in the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) last month in order to repatriate him, however he was unsuccessful in procuring a ticket.

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News Network
June 5,2020

New Delhi, Jun 5: As part of global efforts to combat COVID-19, the UAE has provided more than 708 tonnes of medical aid, personal protection kits and supplies to 62 countries, including India, with direct beneficiaries exceeding 708,000 health workers, a UAE Embassy statement said.

The UAE is regarded as the main lifeline for the logistic operations of the international organizations' strategic warehouses in Dubai's International Humanitarian City (IHC) where the UAE is the first responder to the global crises, especially in providing assistance in relation to the current COVID-19 pandemic, it said.

Dubai's IHC has dispatched more than 132 shipments to 98 countries around the world so far since the beginning of this year, and is working as a central hub to distribute the personal protection kits, the statement said.

While the UAE continues its constant work of supporting the global efforts aimed at curbing the spread of the COVID-19 disease, it has provided more than 708 tons of medical aid, personal protection kits and supplies to 62 countries worldwide to date, with direct beneficiaries exceeding 708,000 health workers, it said.

In addition, 65 million indirect beneficiaries profited from the UAE's global efforts in combating the spread of the virus, the statement said.

Meanwhile, Etihad Airways, effective June 10, said it will link 20 cities in Europe, Asia and Australia via Abu Dhabi.

The new transfer services will make it possible for those travelling on the airline's current network of special flights to connect easily through the UAE capital onwards to key global destinations.

Etihad recently launched links from Melbourne and Sydney to London Heathrow, allowing direct transfer connections to and from the UK capital via Abu Dhabi.

Easy transfer connections via Abu Dhabi will now be available from Jakarta, Karachi, Kuala Lumpur, Manila, Melbourne, Seoul, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo to major cities across Europe including Amsterdam, Barcelona, Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Geneva, London Heathrow, Madrid, Milan, Paris Charles de Gaulle, and Zurich, the airline said.

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