Saudi GazetteFour Filipino fashion designers determined to stick it out despite NitaqatAL-KHOBAR – Whether or not the local fashion industry ends up being covered by Nitaqat, the new Saudization or nationalization scheme now being implemented by the Saudi Ministry of Labor, four Filipino fashion designers say they will stick it out working in the Kingdom as long as their employers still want them. Larry Nemenzio, Mike Dar Santos, Cyril Cadiz, and Alcazar Samindih have worked for many years in the fashion business in Al-Khobar. Nemenzio has been a fashion designer of a well-known fashion house for the last 30 years, while Dar Santos and Cadiz have worked in the same business for 25 years and 23 years, respectively. Samindih has recently completed his 13th year in the Kingdom. The four designers said they are treated well by their employers and feel that they will continue working in the fashion field despite the nationalization of the labor market because their job will not be easily replaced by citizens. “My employer treats me like a brother, and for more than 20 years I have been part of his family,” said Cadiz, who ran his own fashion shop in the Philippines before coming to the Kingdom to work as a fashion designer. “The most important thing for me is my job security, and that I am able to send money to my mother.” Nemenzio was a tailoring instructor in the Philippines for two years and worked for a large garment factory for another two years before seeking a better opportunity in Saudi Arabia initially as a dress cutter and eventually as a fashion designer. “Although I am not able to save much because I am very generous in providing support to my family back home, I am happy being an overseas Filipino worker, and lucky at the same time for having an understanding employer,” Nemenzio said. For Dar Santos, his earnings as a fashion designer are just enough to sustain his personal needs and to allow him to sent financial support to his family back home. “I am not worried about the job nationalization in my profession because it is difficult to replace workers like us who have developed expertise in this field,” Dar Santos said. “I cannot ask for more from my employer; all my needs and requests are being provided for,” he added. Samindih has already achieved a good standing in the fashion designing business in the Kingdom and Gulf countries. His designs have been published in leading fashion magazines in the region. Samindih, who was in the medical field before fulfilling his dream of becoming a successful fashion designer, says Saudization is good for the Kingdom. He added, however, that there should be a serious move to train young Saudis in the field of fashion designing. “There are many successful Arab designers, and they provide proof of the fact that there are golden opportunities in the world of fashion designing,” he said. __
