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.
2 comments
A very sad thing has
happened here, but we must understand- this is not the first incident and will
not be the last, this incident has only gone public… everyone will speak about
this for some time and forget soon.
If media involves and puts pressure, the regime will first
say – this is the expatriate’s fault and punish him. If media pressures further
the regime will catch the local and say we have punished him(latter on
releasing him in 1 days time or releasing him by saying that he is insane)
I right punishment would be punishing the expatriate as per
law, and then punishing the Saudi man against the case of attempt to murder.
If the above is not possible – allow the expatriate to hit
back the Saudi man humiliating him in the same way the expatriate received(an
eye for an eye law)…
Would the Saudi man dare to do this to another Arab?
The Bangladeshi would have kicked the butt of the Saudi man(appearing
to being stronger) supposing it happened in a neutral ground and not in Saudi Arabia.
Shame- harassing the weak is the way to show you’re a man…
Its not enough to see it, action is required to make the difference