Sharif, head of the National Society for Human Rights in Makkah region, moderates a discussion on discrimination at a workshop in Jeddah, Thursday. — SG photo JEDDAH — Discrimination against expatriates and women came up for heated discussion at a workshop organized by the National Society for Human Rights (NSHR) here Thursday evening. Zaid Al-Fadeil, a writer and member of the Saudi Historical Society and the GCC Association for History and Archeology, said discrimination against expatriates needs to be addressed and dealt with by enacting new laws ensuring them education, health and general rights. The word “expatriate” in itself does not have a negative connotation said Fadeil, yet it is now employed to “humiliate and underestimate” non-Saudis in the Kingdom. Al-Fadeil told Saudi Gazette that he hopes for a quick creation of rules that protect the rights of expatriates and bring about the cancelation of the sponsorship system. “We need a system for expatriates that goes with the flow of the 21st century not the 16th century,” Al-Fadeil said. According to him expatriates live a “depressing life with no rights,” adding that although some have been living in the country for 50 years, they are treated like a person who came a month ago. Fadeil said: “People who come to live near Makkah and Madina should not be treated like those who came to work here and then leave after a short time.” The bad treatment that expatriates receive in the country has in turn affected Saudis living or traveling abroad who struggle in societies that have fixed stereotypes about the Kingdom, he said. It is mainly persons of African and Asian nationality who are discriminated against in the Kingdom said Mohamed Hawasawi, who made a study on the negative role the media plays in discrimination. Newspapers, he said, tend to discriminate against expatriates through headlines and photos. Expressions that are commonly used in local media that are offensive according to his study are: “Expatriate groups, overstayers, runaway workers, unorganized workers, and random districts.” Television shows and the Internet have also contributed to providing a platform for discrimination. Discrimination in the health sector against legal or illegal expatriates needs to be urgently dealt with, said speakers at the NSHR workshop. The problem, said Dr. Ayman Karim from the National Guard Hospital, is due to the lack of beds in hospitals. Faiqa Badr, a professor at King Abdulaziz Univeristy, said social restrictions and inherited culture kept women away from the mainstream. Women, she added, still find difficulty getting into government departments and having their rights in court, and they are still dependent on male guardians. A'aid Al-Zahrani, deputy head of the social service department at the University of Taif, called for training and the introduction of anti-discrimination based on tribal background, color or nationality. Hussain Al-Sharif, head of NSHR in Makkah region, said that there is a need to study discrimination in the Kingdom so that authorities can formulate rules that go along with the international agreements that the Kingdom has signed. He also called for more associations for women and children, and the creation of anti-discrimination societies. Al-Sharif urged the media not to discriminate, adding that individuals who feel that they have been discriminated against have the right to lodge a complaint against a media establishment with the help of his organization. __
