LIKE countless others, I too was concerned for the nation's reputation due to current news being widely circulated on the actions of the joint committee assigned to ensure that expatriate workers in the Kingdom work with their sponsors and in professions stated on their permits. According to rumors, the committee, while raiding commercial establishments, allegedly snipped the residency permit (iqama) of any worker found to be in violation of the country's laws. There are other ways to deal with violators without resorting to publicly destroying iqamas. Not only will actions like this anger expatriates who are treated this way but this anger will spread in their communities and cause problems we do not need. Therefore, it was very important for the Ministry of Labor to issue a statement denying that such acts have taken place. The ministry also denied raiding schools and hospitals to check the status of expatriate workers. The existing campaign is a necessity to rectify a situation that affects society and its security. We fully support it and its objectives in principle but if we want to root out the problem we should be able to pinpoint the reasons for its occurrence. Most important among these reasons is the great laxity in granting visas in great numbers to persons, companies and establishments under the cover of bogus establishments. Once issued, these visas are traded and many expatriates have paid large amounts of money to come to the Kingdom in the hope of finding work so they can pay off the initial visa cost and earn enough money to send back home to their families. Had we eradicated the visa trade, which is the main reason why an expatriate comes to the Kingdom without knowing his real sponsor or what type of work he will be doing, we would not be in this predicament today. Had we gone after the people who accepted bribes and openly sold visas on the black market, the problems we are targeting today would not exist. The workers who are being pursued at present are actually victims of our laxity in allowing the visa trade to continue. We really should target the problem from its very roots and this can only be done if we identify its basic causes. Also, any solution we come up with should not cause panic among communities nor should it unfairly target any single party.
