Mohammed Alshoaiby Saudi Gazette RIYADH — The plight of sanitary workers in the Kingdom has garnered a lot of attention recently, but none as shocking as one video recently posted on online. A word of caution: the video is not for the faint of heart. There are few things out there more daunting and chilling than the sound of a grown man wailing in pain and humiliation, and that is exactly what one Saudi man put a defenseless sanitary worker through, whipping him with a cold, obnoxious smirk as the worker writhes in tears. The voice-over on the video is that of a young child, who claims the video brought him to tears. To think that it took a child to shake the foundations of what's inherently wrong with our immigration class system is perplexing to say the least, but at the same time, it is comforting. To combat the hostility many Saudis have toward these misfortuned, voiceless and disenfranchised workers who keep our streets clean for as little as SR250 a month, YouTube and Twitter personality Khalid Al Faryan set out to make a video of his own. In the video, Al Faryan dresses as a sanitary worker and goes through the motions of what it takes to work under the blazing sun, sweeping the streets for menial pay. He reminds the viewers of the Prophet's messages of promoting virtue and kindness, especially when dealing with the weak and troubled members of our society. Al Faryan offers a gift of SR100 to a sanitary worker who humbly refuses, with a warm smile he claims he would get in trouble if he were to take any money from him. Al Faryan put himself in the shoes of those much less fortunate than most, and the experience, he said, was humbling: a subtle reminder that many in the Kingdom are blessed to live with the luxuries that they take for granted. As the saying goes, one man's trash is another man's treasure. Their livelihood rests on a menial task that they should be celebrated for, yet, like so much here in the Kingdom, their services are taken for granted. Though the Saudization program has helped ease the class divide in the Kingdom – many Saudis now hold blue-collar jobs – there are certain jobs that rely solely on the most financially troubled expatriates, who have no choice but to leave their homes to clean someone else's. The blame for this kind of treatment has been extended to include vile mindsets such as racism and classism, as much as a lack of education and compassion. And while Saudi Arabia is the foremost nation in promoting Islam and its teachings, a religion and way of life that literally translates to “peace,” there is nothing peaceful about the way many Saudis treat those less fortunate than them. Wherein other nations rely on domestic laborers for blue-collar jobs with a cold reminder that though it may be a dirty job, someone has to do it, very few Saudis would accept, even for a day, to go through the motions of hard labor. It is the humility that Al Faryan displays, and the compassion that the child who uploaded the original YouTube video that reinforces the duties of the Kingdom's people as human beings and Muslims to love thy brother, to offer a helping hand, and to – at the very least – be kind, smile, and be thankful for the blessings they've been given.
