The key difference that sets South Asians apart from other immigrant groups is that they recieve little or no assistance from their home countries' embassies and governments; this is particularly the case for Pakistan. This indifference from Islamabad leaves our citizens vulnerable to further victimization and harassment from Saudi authorities. Saudi police in particular find pleasure in harassing vulnerable Pakistanis, who now can't even cross the street without all their papers in hand. In public establishments, including hospitals, Pakistanis are made to wait hours to be serviced. It gets worse: every year more and more Pakistanis lose their jobs, and are left stranded in Saudi Arabia as illegal aliens with no means to return home. For these problems to be solved, the Pakistani government needs to take initiative and stand up for its citizens.
Like many countries around the world, Saudi Arabia has a significant population of South Asian immigrants. Along with migrants from Africa and settlers from other poorer Arab states, South Asians fill up the blue-collar jobs that the proud oil-rich Saudis don't want; a common pattern among most affluent countries. Unlike in other countries however, most immigrants in Saudi Arabia are victims at the hands of discriminatory employment and property laws, along with little or no social security or welfare from their country of residence. Apart from not being able to seek Saudi citizenship (legal provision exists, but is very rarely granted), immigrants are not allowed to own properties or businesses without a Saudi co-owner (which can be taken away at any time), their contracts and residence permits can be terminated at any time without warning, their children cannot attend most public universities (only one is open to international students), and in the case of white-collar workers, their earnings are a small fraction compared to that of their Saudi co-workers and subordinates. With the world focused on the state of women in the Kingdom, these issues are often overlooked.
The key difference that sets South Asians apart from other immigrant groups is that they recieve little or no assistance from their home countries' embassies and governments; this is particularly the case for Pakistan. This indifference from Islamabad leaves our citizens vulnerable to further victimization and harassment from Saudi authorities. Saudi police in particular find pleasure in harassing vulnerable Pakistanis, who now can't even cross the street without all their papers in hand. In public establishments, including hospitals, Pakistanis are made to wait hours to be serviced. It gets worse: every year more and more Pakistanis lose their jobs, and are left stranded in Saudi Arabia as illegal aliens with no means to return home. For these problems to be solved, the Pakistani government needs to take initiative and stand up for its citizens.
The key difference that sets South Asians apart from other immigrant groups is that they recieve little or no assistance from their home countries' embassies and governments; this is particularly the case for Pakistan. This indifference from Islamabad leaves our citizens vulnerable to further victimization and harassment from Saudi authorities. Saudi police in particular find pleasure in harassing vulnerable Pakistanis, who now can't even cross the street without all their papers in hand. In public establishments, including hospitals, Pakistanis are made to wait hours to be serviced. It gets worse: every year more and more Pakistanis lose their jobs, and are left stranded in Saudi Arabia as illegal aliens with no means to return home. For these problems to be solved, the Pakistani government needs to take initiative and stand up for its citizens.
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