SIMULTANEOUSLY with the start of the Decisive Storm operation against the Houthi rebels in Yemen, a massive crackdown campaign was launched by the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Labor against violating expatriate workers. The campaign was accompanied by huge advertisements in the local press and the social media warning the violators with harsh punishments. The warning targeted the violating expatriate workers themselves and the Saudis who were employing them. About a year and a half ago, the grace period granted to the expatriates to correct their situation came to an end. A number of violating workers who were unable to correct their situation left for their respective homes. Many of them were able to correct their status so they continued to stay in the country. However, there are a large number of expatriates who are still living in the Kingdom illegally. They are the targets of the current crackdown campaign. The first correction period was able to organize the private sector to a great extent but the housemaids sub-sector is still far from being organized. There are still a large number of violating housemaids who are not only staying illegally but also quietly working in Saudi homes. It is difficult for the passport police to determine their exact locations because officers cannot search private homes looking for them. A number of Saudi families find it difficult to obtain a housemaid. The Ministry of Labor has signed agreements with a number of countries exporting housemaids but these agreements have not been fully executed. The housemaids from these countries are either not qualified enough or they take a long time to arrive in the Kingdom. The ministry has not been able so far to sign a final agreement with Indonesia to export house helps despite the fact that maids from the country are most favored by Saudi families. All these factors and others have led to the rising demand for the violating expatriate workers and increased their prices. I do not want people to believe that by writing the above, I am encouraging the presence of illegal foreign manpower or calling for people to violate labor and residency laws. All I am saying here is that there should be legal alternatives for citizens so they do not remain without house helps. This should have happened a long time ago or at least with the beginning of the first correction period that ended about 18 months ago. The easy alternative solution will help Saudis not to commit violations, including the employment of illegal workers. One of the legal alternative solutions is that the companies licensed to rent housemaids should do their work properly. These companies are supposed to have a sufficient number of housemaids to meet rising demands and prevent the existence of illegal housemaids. Regretfully this has not happened. These companies have not been able to work properly so far. Therefore, they are not able to supply the market needs. The ministry has canceled the licenses of some of them. With the continuation of the current status quo and in light of the difficulty to obtain a housemaid, it is not logical to ask citizens not to employ illegal workers. This is like asking them to remain without a house help until there is a breakthrough in the recruitment of housemaids, especially from Indonesia. Asking the citizens not to resort to the illegal housemaids is not only difficult but also impossible for them to do. Finally, we say to the concerned authorities that if you want to be obeyed, ask for the possible.
