Immigrant workers die of exploitation and alcoholism in Saudi Arabia
(11.07. 2012) In 12 years, over 3 thousand Nepalese migrant workers in Saudi Arabia
have died because of their poor working conditions and exploitation. The shocking
findings were revealed in a report by the Nepalese Embassy in Riyadh, which identified
the abuse of black market alcohol as a major cause of deaths. Udaya Raj Pandev,
Nepal's ambassador to Saudi Arabia and promoter of the study, explained that to withstand
the gruelling and demeaning working conditions, thousands of workers give in to the
vice of alcohol circumventing bans in force in the Muslim country. According to the
diplomat, over 30 people die each month due to alcoholism.. Another factor is accidents
in the workplace. Due to the severe economic crisis, every year thousands of people
leave Nepal in search of a job. Unlike the Philippines, which has a proliferation
of agencies in foreign countries, in Nepal people prefer to start with a tourist visa
and find work on site through family and friends. This, however, prevents the state
from protecting its citizens in case of accidents in a foreign country. It also increases
the percentage of illegal immigrants and the criminal business of human trafficking.
Mahdendra Pandev president of Parvasi Nepali Coordination Comitee, for years
has denounced the appalling conditions of Nepalese migrants in Islamic countries.
The activist urged the government to create employment agencies that force Saudi Arabia
and other states to respect minimum standards of safety in the workplace. He said
exploitation is worsened by the total absence of justice for immigrants charged with
crimes. To date, over 200 Nepalese citizens are detained in Saudi custody awaiting
trial. Many of them do not even know the reasons for their detention and are not entitled
to a lawyer or an interpreter. In total there are about 7 million migrant workers
abroad, especially in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia.. Many leave the country to
feed their families and foreign workers have become a major resource in the economy
of the small Himalayan country. With their remittances, migrants account for almost
40% of the state budget.