VIDEO: Saudi Man Beats Worker for “Talking to his Wife”  · Global Voices
Amira Al Hussaini

A video of a Saudi man beating and insulting a foreign worker is making the rounds online.
In the video, a Saudi man is seen repeatedly slapping the worker, from South Asia, accusing him of speaking to his wife. He calls the man an animal and a son of a dog, while spitting at him. He then starts kicking and whipping the man, who is heard screaming of pain.
On Twitter, netizens react to the video with outrage.
Ahmad Sabri writes:
Violence against expat workers in Saudi isn't just isolated cases. The sponsoring system “opens the door to violence” http://t.co/dm8TOXPiJj
— Ahmad Sabri (@radicalahmad) November 1, 2013
Laila Rouass notes:
Watched footage of Saudi Man beating worker. Absolutely horrific. Calls worker an animal in Arabic. I think he should look at himself 1st
— Laila Rouass (@lailarouass) October 29, 2013
And Ari Akkermans says countries should not allow their citizens to work in Saudi Arabia:
That video of Saudi beating the foreign worker is just so so so horrifying. Countries shouldn't allow their citizens to go there…
— Arie Amaya-Akkermans (@Dilmunite) April 6, 2012
Such incidents are not new to the region, where expatriate workers are abused and denied basic human rights.
Previously, this video of a Saudi man, slapping and hitting a Bangladeshi went viral.
The Saudi is seen slapping and insulting the Bangladeshi man, also calling him an “animal.”
Another video, this time in the neighbouring United Arab Emirates, shows a local beating up an expatriate driver, after they got into a road traffic accident. Passers by try to stop him:
According to Human Rights Watch, while the Middle East depends heavily on domestic workers, it fails to protect them.
A recent report reads:
As Human Rights Watch, the IDWN, and the ITUC have documented, domestic workers in the Middle East – many of them migrants from Asia and Africa – experience a wide range of abuses, including unpaid wages, restrictions on leaving the households where they work, and excessive work hours with no rest days. Some may face psychological, physical, or sexual abuse and can get trapped in situations of forced labor, including by being trafficked.
The report adds:
Almost every country in the Middle East and North Africa region excludes domestic workers from the protection of labor laws, though, and subjects them to restrictive immigration rules, granting inordinate power and control to their employers under the “sponsorship” or kafala system.