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Happy Times · 09-07-08, 07:09 PM

From the horses mouth.

Gulf States Warned of ‘Asian Tsunami’
Arab News

JEDDAH, 28 January 2008 — Bahrain’s Labor Minister Majed Al-Alawi has warned of an impending “Asian tsunami” in the Gulf states because of the heavy dependence on foreign workers.

In an interview published in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper yesterday, Al-Alawi said the presence of almost 17 million foreign workers in the Gulf, mostly from the Indian Subcontinent, represented “a danger worse than the atomic bomb.”

“I am not exaggerating that their number will reach almost 30 million in 10 years from now,” he told the Arabic daily.

Alawi said that Gulf nationals were “lazy” and “spoilt”, relying on foreign workers for the simplest of tasks.

“A lord with billions in Great Britain cleans his own car, whereas people of the Gulf look for someone to hand them a glass of water from just a couple of meters away. If the governments do not watch out for this tsunami of foreigners, the fate of this region is very worrying,” he said.

Alawi has called for the residency of foreign workers to be limited to six years but the leadership of the Gulf Cooperation Council has not followed up on the proposal. “The commercial lobby thwarted the project which was in the final phases before being implemented,” he said.

Alawi called for the “sponsorship” system to be abandoned, saying it left foreign workers at the mercy of the individuals or institutions which employ them. He called for governments to oversee visas and work permits to protect the rights of foreign workers, in a region which human rights organizations have often accused of abusing employees in slave-like conditions.

http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&sect...=28&m=1&y=2008

09-07-08, 07:09 PM	#9
Happy Times Ocean Warrior Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: Finland Posts: 2,950 Downloads: 10 Uploads: 0	From the horses mouth. Gulf States Warned of ‘Asian Tsunami’ Arab News JEDDAH, 28 January 2008 — Bahrain’s Labor Minister Majed Al-Alawi has warned of an impending “Asian tsunami” in the Gulf states because of the heavy dependence on foreign workers. In an interview published in Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper yesterday, Al-Alawi said the presence of almost 17 million foreign workers in the Gulf, mostly from the Indian Subcontinent, represented “a danger worse than the atomic bomb.” “I am not exaggerating that their number will reach almost 30 million in 10 years from now,” he told the Arabic daily. Alawi said that Gulf nationals were “lazy” and “spoilt”, relying on foreign workers for the simplest of tasks. “A lord with billions in Great Britain cleans his own car, whereas people of the Gulf look for someone to hand them a glass of water from just a couple of meters away. If the governments do not watch out for this tsunami of foreigners, the fate of this region is very worrying,” he said. Alawi has called for the residency of foreign workers to be limited to six years but the leadership of the Gulf Cooperation Council has not followed up on the proposal. “The commercial lobby thwarted the project which was in the final phases before being implemented,” he said. Alawi called for the “sponsorship” system to be abandoned, saying it left foreign workers at the mercy of the individuals or institutions which employ them. He called for governments to oversee visas and work permits to protect the rights of foreign workers, in a region which human rights organizations have often accused of abusing employees in slave-like conditions. http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1&sect...=28&m=1&y=2008 __________________