Saudi Gazette Drivers are a necessity if one is residing in the Kingdom, especially for women. However, employing good drivers has become a rare luxury as now most of them are extremely arrogant and demanding. The Kingdom has stopped issuing visas for Indonesian and Filipino housekeepers and drivers since June 29 last year. This has led to shortage of both maids and drivers. Drivers from other nationalities working here know their worth and hence they take complete advantage of the shortage. Marwa Saeed, a Yemeni national, said: “My mother and I have no one and we need a driver to get our daily errands done. My father died when I was five, leaving my mother in charge. I don't have a brother, uncle or anyone who can take care of us.” Saeed says that they managed quite well when she was younger and her mother had not retired. However, her mother complains that most drivers they have employed now are rude and she fears that they might sexually harass her or her daughter. “When my father died, we managed very well for a long time until something happened and expats were being employed,” she said. Language is another barrier as most drivers do not understand Arabic or even English, which leaves very little space for cooperation and understanding between the employer and the employee. “My driver does not speak Arabic or English and can never remember where he is as he is new in the country,” said Sameera, a divorcee, a mother of three children, and an employee at King Abdul Aziz University. She says she was almost killed thrice while she was on her way to work. “I can't let him drive my children to school or anywhere else alone. I truly fear for their lives.” According to Sameera the office carelessly issued her a visa for a laborer instead of a driver. “My driver has never driven a car in his life, and he continuously demands to go back home as he doesn't know the concept of being a driver and driving a car.” Sameera's driver like many other drivers come from rural villages, and have no idea of what a car is and how it works. On the other hand, there are those who have run away from their original sponsors, who had brought them to Saudi Arabia to work as laborers and not drivers. It has been witnessed on a number of occasions that the majority of the accidents are unfortunately caused by those illegal, untrained drivers. Henry has been working in the Kingdom for the past three months. He was originally employed to work as a garbage collector, but he soon ran away from his employer and started working as a driver. “Working as a driver is easier than collecting garbage. Moreover, it pays more so I ran away from my employer. I don't have any necessary identification, but people don't mind,” he said. There are many like Henry who in their lives have never seen a car, let alone drive one. But when they come here and sense the demand for drivers, they immediately run away from their sponsors and start working as drivers. Taxi drivers also work to provide services to individuals on a regular basis. “I found a taxi driver who was willing to work for me on a monthly basis to take me to and from work every morning,” said Hala Al-Suwaid, a teacher. She has also suffered from incompetent drivers in the past, and although her current driver is never punctual, she doesn't have a choice. “I have suffered a lot at work because of his incompetence, but then I don't have a choice till I find someone capable,” she added. Another disturbing factor with employing illegal drivers is that they have started blackmailing their employers. “My husband is a very difficult man, so at times I have to lie about sending my driver to pick me up or my mother from places my husband does not approve of. Since my driver is aware of this, to my surprise he once threatened to blackmail me,” said Asrar. Asar has very little choice except to give in to the driver's demands. “It's not easy to find a driver and I can't afford to lose him,” she said. After conducting an informal survey, Saudi Gazette found that out of 500 respondents, almost 90 percent were unsatisfied with their drivers. About half of the respondents felt unsafe while others faced problems related to attitude. __
