With Saudi Arabia bent on enforcing its new labour law, thousands of Yemenis have been forcibly removed from the kingdom and returned to Yemen under police escort. While Saudi Arabia has justifies its move by stressing it wants to streamline its labour law, ensure that no loopholes are being exploited by migrants and more importantly prioritize the entry onto the work force of its own nationals, the impoverished nation has been feeling the pinch.
The Yemeni expatriate community accounts for tens of millions of dollars in remittance revenues, which revenues Yemen is not in the position to lose as its economic crisis is forever deepening and its cash flow drying up.
Now that Saudi Arabia has announced it would suspend all aids to the ailing nation, Yemen is facing a much uncertain economic future.”
Unwilling to loosen the noose on Yemen, Saudi Arabia stands by its new law. Back April Saudi Arabia Labour Minister, Adel Fakeih, remarked, “It’s a good opportunity for serious expats to correct their situation, as there is no justification for the stay of foreigners who work for firms other than their sponsors or for their own accounts.”
Only the change in regulations mostly led to the misfortune of many Yemenis, business owners and employees alike as their status became flawed.
A few months into the change and a stark change can be noticed in Saudi Arabia as many businesses remain shut.
Yemen’s Consul in Jeddah told the press earlier this week that an estimated 150,000 Yemeni nationals had already been issued a final exit visa as they were unable to rectify their status. There are about 800,000 Yemenis living and working in Saudi Arabia which represents over $2 billion in remittance. The return of 150,000 Yemenis will mean a loss in revenues of tens of millions of dollars, notwithstanding the loss in businesses it will generate back in Yemen as expatriates have been supporting many local businesses back home through remittances.
The ripple effects of such a significant financial are bound to be many and potentially catastrophic for Yemen.