Saudi blogger "The Religious Policemen" on racism:
....up until now, we've been one of the most rabidly racist countries in the world, and totally unconcerned about it. Walk down any Saudi street and ask anybody who looks as though they come from points East, how do the Saudis regard and treat you? Ask the Pakistani taxi driver. Ask the Bangladeshi street-cleaner, in his orange jump-suit, sweeping up the tissues and fast-food boxes that we thoughtfully throw out of our car window as we pass. Best of all, if you get the chance, ask our Indonesian housemaids.Pakistani blogger Isaac Schroedinger adds:
The "All Muslims are Equal" rhetoric is completely hollow in Saudi Arabia. Non-Saudis in the country don't have a right to own property. The Saudis treated them (labors from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, or the Philippines) with contempt. The Saudis would rather bark at them than speak to them like civilized people. These squalid workers would never utter a word in protest because they knew that in Saudi Arabia it doesn't take much to deport a foreign worker. My dad worked in Saudi Arabia with many Arab colleagues. He often worked on the weekend to show his dedication (read: pick up the slack for incompetent Saudis). Yet, he got paid around half of what the company gave the Saudis. You see, at the very heart of Islam, some Muslims are more equal than others.Its good to know that OIC is drafting an Islamic covenant on combating racial discrimination. But I wonder whether it will be able to draw much improvement from the present situation as it is tough to change human behaviors and eradicate hypocrisy.
Hello...I understand very little about Middle Eastern race and ethnic relations. Having grown up in America, my thought process on people is generally that we are all equal...However that is rarely the case abroad. In a country such as Saudi Arabia, I know there tends to be racism and discrimination against people from the East like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. But my question now concerns how Westerners are treated in Saudi America. Particularly I am concerned with how Indo-Trinidadians (of the Caribbean) who are American citizens might fair working in a labor occupation such as in construction. If there are any answers or general informaiton, I would greatly appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteHello...I understand very little about Middle Eastern race and ethnic relations. Having grown up in America, my thought process on people is generally that we are all equal...However that is rarely the case abroad. In a country such as Saudi Arabia, I know there tends to be racism and discrimination against people from the East like India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. But my question now concerns how Westerners are treated in Saudi America. Particularly I am concerned with how Indo-Trinidadians (of the Caribbean) who are American citizens might fair working in a labor occupation such as in construction. If there are any answers or general informaiton, I would greatly appreciate it.
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