Saudi Arabia kicks out thousands of Yemeni workers

Riyadh’s new migrant rules have pushed tens of thousands of Yemenis out of jobs and back to a country on the brink, with disastrous results

audi Arabia has been accused of forcing tens of thousands of Yemeni expatriates back home into poverty and war with the enforcement of tough new rules on migrant workers under Mohammed bin Salman’s vision for a “Saudis first” economy.

The crown prince’s “Vision 2030” policy includes two key elements affecting the millions of foreign workers in Saudi Arabia – punishing monthly residency fees introduced last July and a new “Saudisation” policy that forbids employment of foreign workers in 19 job categories.

The double-whammy has resulted in the exit of tens of thousands of Yemenis since December, and officials say they expect more of the estimated two million Yemenis still in Saudi Arabia to follow.

Those who return find themselves in a country breaking apart in a gruelling war between the Houthi movement and a Saudi-led coalition – a conflict that has already killed more than 10,000 people, left millions on the brink of starvation, plunged the economy into crisis and led to an epidemic of cholera and outbreaks of diphtheria.

Mohammed al-Dailami, a Houthi political analyst, said the Saudi policy changes were an internal issue, but said Yemenis could protest against them through other means.

“Saudis kills us in Yemen and exile Yemenis from Saudi Arabia,” he said. “There are a lot of Saudi products in Yemeni markets, so we have to boycott them.

He stated that the exiled Yemenis have to tell the world about the bad treatment meted out by the Saudi authorities, who are forcing them to return their country amid war.

“The Saudi authorities should have excluded Yemenis from this policy. This is clear evidence that they do not respect human beings.”