Hundreds of illegal migrants
targeted in a Saudi nationwide crackdown turned
themselves in on Sunday after security forces
besieged a Riyadh neighbourhood where riots
had killed two people. Men, women and children lined up carrying their
belongings to board police buses transferring
them to an assembly centre before their
deportation, a week after a seven-month amnesty
expired. Police said they intervened on Saturday following
riots in the poor Manfuhah neighbourhood of the
capital after foreigners attacked Saudis and other
foreign expats with rocks and knives. One Saudi and another person, whose nationality
and identity remains unknown, were killed, said a
police statement carried by the SPA state news
agency. Another 68 people — 28 Saudis and 40
foreigners — were injured and 561 were arrested. The Manfuhah district of Riyadh is home to many
illegal migrants, mostly from east Africa. On Sunday, police laid siege to the district while
units from the National Guard and special forces
were sent in, an AFP photojournalist said. The Ethiopian government said on Saturday it was
repatriating citizens who had failed to meet the
deadline of a seven-month amnesty, citing
reports that an Ethiopian had been killed by
police. “They were trying to get them in the camp before
repatriation and in that process… an Ethiopian has
been killed with a police bullet, but we are
verifying it,” foreign ministry spokesman Dina
Mufti told AFP in Addis Ababa. Saudi police said on Saturday illegal migrants in
Manfuhah have been given the chance to come
forward and that accommodation has been made
available while their repatriation is arranged. On Monday, the authorities began rounding up
thousands of illegal foreign workers following the
expiry of a final amnesty for them to formalise
their status. Those considered to be illegal range from
overstaying visitors and pilgrims seeking jobs to
shop assistants and day labourers working for
someone other than their sponsor. Having an official sponsor is a legal requirement
in Saudi Arabia and most other Gulf states. Nearly a million migrants — Bangladeshis,
Filipinos, Indians, Nepalis, Pakistanis and Yemenis
among them — took advantage of the amnesty
to leave. Another roughly four million were able to find
employers to sponsor them, but in so doing
virtually emptied the market of cheap freelance
labour. Expatriates account for a full nine million of the
oil-rich kingdom’s population of 27 million. The lure of work, even in low-paid jobs as
domestics or construction workers, has made the
country a magnet for migrants from Asia as well
as from poorer Arab states. Despite its huge oil wealth, Saudi Arabia has a
jobless rate of more than 12.5 percent among its
native population, a figure the government has
long sought to cut. Saudi economists have insisted that the departure
of illegal workers will benefit the largest Arab
economy in the long run, but Saudis have already
began to feel the pinch of a surging cost of labour
because of a shortage of day workers. Saudis and expatriates say that casual workers
who used to queue in public squares for odd jobs
have virtually disappeared since police began
strictly enforcing tough labour laws. The labour ministry said on Saturday it will
continue to accept applications from
undocumented foreigners seeking to legalise
their status, but that they will be fined for the
elapsed period since the amnesty ended on
November 3.
targeted in a Saudi nationwide crackdown turned
themselves in on Sunday after security forces
besieged a Riyadh neighbourhood where riots
had killed two people. Men, women and children lined up carrying their
belongings to board police buses transferring
them to an assembly centre before their
deportation, a week after a seven-month amnesty
expired. Police said they intervened on Saturday following
riots in the poor Manfuhah neighbourhood of the
capital after foreigners attacked Saudis and other
foreign expats with rocks and knives. One Saudi and another person, whose nationality
and identity remains unknown, were killed, said a
police statement carried by the SPA state news
agency. Another 68 people — 28 Saudis and 40
foreigners — were injured and 561 were arrested. The Manfuhah district of Riyadh is home to many
illegal migrants, mostly from east Africa. On Sunday, police laid siege to the district while
units from the National Guard and special forces
were sent in, an AFP photojournalist said. The Ethiopian government said on Saturday it was
repatriating citizens who had failed to meet the
deadline of a seven-month amnesty, citing
reports that an Ethiopian had been killed by
police. “They were trying to get them in the camp before
repatriation and in that process… an Ethiopian has
been killed with a police bullet, but we are
verifying it,” foreign ministry spokesman Dina
Mufti told AFP in Addis Ababa. Saudi police said on Saturday illegal migrants in
Manfuhah have been given the chance to come
forward and that accommodation has been made
available while their repatriation is arranged. On Monday, the authorities began rounding up
thousands of illegal foreign workers following the
expiry of a final amnesty for them to formalise
their status. Those considered to be illegal range from
overstaying visitors and pilgrims seeking jobs to
shop assistants and day labourers working for
someone other than their sponsor. Having an official sponsor is a legal requirement
in Saudi Arabia and most other Gulf states. Nearly a million migrants — Bangladeshis,
Filipinos, Indians, Nepalis, Pakistanis and Yemenis
among them — took advantage of the amnesty
to leave. Another roughly four million were able to find
employers to sponsor them, but in so doing
virtually emptied the market of cheap freelance
labour. Expatriates account for a full nine million of the
oil-rich kingdom’s population of 27 million. The lure of work, even in low-paid jobs as
domestics or construction workers, has made the
country a magnet for migrants from Asia as well
as from poorer Arab states. Despite its huge oil wealth, Saudi Arabia has a
jobless rate of more than 12.5 percent among its
native population, a figure the government has
long sought to cut. Saudi economists have insisted that the departure
of illegal workers will benefit the largest Arab
economy in the long run, but Saudis have already
began to feel the pinch of a surging cost of labour
because of a shortage of day workers. Saudis and expatriates say that casual workers
who used to queue in public squares for odd jobs
have virtually disappeared since police began
strictly enforcing tough labour laws. The labour ministry said on Saturday it will
continue to accept applications from
undocumented foreigners seeking to legalise
their status, but that they will be fined for the
elapsed period since the amnesty ended on
November 3.
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