Saudi Arabia: Slavery in the Gulf · Global Voices
Ayesha Saldanha

Two weeks ago there were strikes and violent demonstrations by Bangladeshi workers in Kuwait, protesting low pay and poor working conditions. Following the demonstrations, more than 200 workers were deported. In this post, two Saudi bloggers tell us what they think of modern-day ‘slavery’ in Saudi Arabia and the rest of the Gulf.
Ahmed Baaboud begins by referring to the history of slavery in the United States:
He then describes the situation in Saudi Arabia:
Another blogger, Ahmad, is not at all surprised by the events in Kuwait:
سل نفسك الآن ، متى آخر مرة أحضرت وجبة خارجية للخادمة أو السائق ، وكم مرة منحت السائق هاتفك الجوال لمحادثة أهله ، ماذا عن الخادمة .. هل مازالت تكتب رسائلها وتبعثها بالبريد ؟
هل لديكم شك بأنها ليست (عبودية) ؟
Ask yourself now, when was the last time you brought a meal from a restaurant for your driver or housemaid? And how often have you let the driver use your mobile phone to talk to his family, and what about the maid? Does she still write letters and send them by post?
Do you have any doubt that this is slavery?