Fighting Modern-Day Slavery: Save the Expatriate Workers in the Middle East Published on March 11, 2020
Status is online Ali Mansouri Writer, Researcher, Consultant
#MyFreedomDay March 11, 2020 “Since 2011 CNN has been shining a light on modern-day slavery. Page 1 of 10
Traveling the world to unravel the tangle of criminal enterprises trading in human life. Amplifying the voices of survivors. Holding governments and businesses accountable. Slavery is not a thing of the past.” - CNN Freedom Project
Introduction Since 2011, the CNN Freedom Project has been dedicated to the global fight against modern-day slavery in all its forms and shapes including exploitation, abuse, child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking. People all over the globe join together to fight not only for their freedom but also for the freedom of their fellow human beings who have been deprived of their human freedom and dignity by greedy and wicked people and employers. This is a global and noble fight organized by CNN – the voice of the people and one of the leading voices of humanity in our modern world. The following is a personal and humble contribution to this fight. There are millions and millions of expatriate workers in the Middle East, especially in the GCC countries. They make up more than 80% of the workforce in most countries, and sometimes this percentage goes up to 90%. In order to escape poverty and support their families back home, millions of expatriate workers from mainly India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrate to the oil-rich countries in the Middle East to work hoping they will be treated as human beings in these new countries. You find the expatriate workers everywhere and in every industry. They contribute in a very significant way to the economic and cultural development of the Middle East but unfortunately, they are deprived of their basic human rights and are treated like “slaves” in every sense of the word. It is really very unfair then to look down on the expatriate workers and pay them wages and salaries far below those of their national colleagues in many companies and higher education institutions. Most of the time, they are spoken to rudely by bad supervisors, bosses, and top executives. They are not treated with appropriate dignity and respect even in universities. Most of them feel they are treated as being "invisible" and are deprived of their basic human rights. They are subjected to exploitation and abuse and live in abject poverty; nothing short of slavery in its strict sense. These expatriate workers feel absolutely powerless and unable to report the exploitation, the abuse, the ill-treatment, and the slavery practices being subjected to by merciless and ruthless employers like Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri at Page 2 of 10
A’Sharqiyah University in Oman for fear of losing their jobs or going to jail. They are dying in silence. Slavery is illegal in almost all the countries of the Middle East though we should realize that laws and regulations in these countries are mostly “ink on paper”. On this #MyFreedomDay March 11 2020, I would like to shed light on some aspects of modern-day slavery which most, if not all, of the expatriate workers are subjected to in the Middle East.
Kafala System: No-Objection Certificate The Kafala System in the Middle East, especially in the GCC countries, is an abhorrent system of “slavery” in the absolute meaning of the term. It is a remnant of the old system and practice of slavery in the Middle Ages, which is still found in many parts of these countries. This Kafala system ties the expatriate workers to their employers in the same way the old system of slavery used to tie slaves to their owners. It is disgusting and inhumane and we just do not understand how this system has persisted in this region of the world in spite of the enormous pressures being put on these countries by the U.N, Amnesty International, and other human rights organizations. This Kafala system has always been described by human rights groups as modern-day slavery. The system places the work permit, the residence visa, and consequently the life and the job of the expatriate workers directly into the hands of the employers to whom this slavery system refers by using the term (Arbab )أربمماب العممملin Arabic meaning “Gods of work” so your employer has become “your God”! What a disgusting use! This use reflects the immoral practice of slavery dating back to the pre-Islamic era in the Arabian Peninsula. The Kafala system gives a blank check to the employers to mistreat, abuse, and enslave their employees the way they want, and to force them to work without rest, pay, or food. Once an expatriate worker has defied the slavery practices of his employer or has escaped a ruthless, abusive employer like Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri of A’Sharqiyah University in Oman, he/she will be taken to the police and public prosecutors; his personal photo and the details of his passport will be advertised on local newspapers as a worker who has “absconded”, an offense which almost always leads to jail. The exploited, abused, and enslaved worker has now become a criminal! “Every year, the number of workers who are arrested for violating the labor system exceeds 20,000 cases, which is a tiring and costly figure to eliminate the absconding
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worker phenomenon,” added the Ministry of Manpower. (Times of Oman, October 31, 2017) The No Objection Certificate in Oman and elsewhere is a requirement imposed on expatriate workers who are obliged to get it from their former employers when they want to move to another job elsewhere inside Oman. It is claimed that the goal of such a certificate is to organize and control the movement of the workforce for the benefits of the businesses, the economy and the country. This is the stated goal which has completely nothing to do with reality. In fact, this nonsense called (NOC) does not exist in any free or non-free market economy on the Planet! The real goal is not to control the labor movement or organize the economy but, in fact, to suppress the expatriate teachers and workers and treat them like slaves, which is completely illegal and against all international labor laws. It is also against the basic human rights as defined by the UN and its International Labor Organisation. This NOC is the outcome of a special arrangement between some wealthy businessmen and employers of Oman and the Royal Oman Police(ROP). The arrangement has been made or condoned by the Ministry of Manpower to make it an official tool against expatriate teachers and employees on the labor market in Oman.
Forced Labor All the expatriate workers are kept very busy working for very long hours extending to 12 hours per day in a gross violation of International Labor Laws. Most of them are very unhappy, miserable, and depressed. You see them every day and everywhere from the very early morning until very late in the evening and even late at night. They never stop working and worrying about their health, the health of their families and their work contracts which are subjected to their absolute submissiveness and their acceptance of working like slaves to ruthless, merciless, greedy and incompetent employers like Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed al-Hajri. It is obvious that these expatriate workers are being exploited and abused and treated like slaves in violation of the International Labor Law and all ethical codes. They need to be set free! They feel absolutely powerless and unable to report the exploitation and the abuse being subjected to for fear of losing their jobs or going to jail. They are dying in silence. The NOC in Oman clearly falls within the definition of “forced labor” by the International Labor Organization (ILO). As per the ILO, “forced labor can be understood as work that is performed involuntarily and under the menace of any penalty. It refers to situations in which persons are coerced to work through the use of violence or intimidation, or by more subtle {subtler} means such as manipulated debt, retention of identity papers or threats of denunciation to immigration authorities.” This applies to the NOC exactly. Page 4 of 10
According to the ILO Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), forced or compulsory labor is: "all work or service which is exacted from any person under the threat of a penalty and for which the person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily." The Forced Labour Protocol (Article 1(3)) explicitly reaffirms this definition. This definition consists of three elements: 1. Work or service refers to all types of work occurring in any activity, industry or sector including in the informal economy. 2. The menace of any penalty refers to a wide range of penalties used to compel someone to work. 3. Involuntariness: The terms “offered voluntarily” refer to the free and informed consent of a worker to take a job and his or her freedom to leave at any time. This is not the case for example when an employer or recruiter makes false promises so that a worker takes a job he or she would not otherwise have accepted. The new legally-binding ILO Protocol on Forced Labour aims to strengthen global efforts towards combating forced labor, trafficking, and slavery-like practices. Governments now have the opportunity to ratify the Protocol and integrate new measures at the national and regional levels to combat this crime. The Labour Inspection Conventions No. 81 and 129 have not been ratified by the Government of Oman yet, but the government saves no efforts to comply with their contents in order to ensure greater protection of fundamental principles and rights at work.
Freedom of Expression “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” (Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights) Freedom of Expression is one of the basic human rights for all human beings in the world, including expatriate workers. Academics and professionals in higher education institutions, in particular, are in urgent need of this freedom to raise awareness on certain academic issues or human universal values and practices. They also need to have this freedom to fight corruption, thievery, and deception in higher education. They do not write for pleasure or to waste their time. This is why they expect decent Page 5 of 10
and honest people to take their side and to give them all the freedom they need to write and to fight. Those who stand against this freedom are mostly indifferent people or selfish people who care about themselves only or are “mercenary lawyers” who do not care about wrong and right and do not enjoy any principles or human values. Their only concern is to win the cases for their clients and accumulate profits whether their clients are corrupt or not. We really do not mind if things go as normal or take place as per the normal human understanding of justice and according to international laws and criteria and well-known legal proceedings. Regrettably, this is not the case in most countries in the world, especially in the Middle East region where the rule of the “jungle” prevails and justice and human rights are almost non-existent. You do not only find corrupt governments, politicians, and businessmen but, sadly, you also find most of the judges are corrupt to their nails and the “justice” systems are rotten to the bottom line. Corruption and deception go deep into all aspects of life and sectors, including higher education. One of the blessings of the Internet is that oppressed people all over the world have found in it a platform where they can voice their opinions and grievances. Writers and academics, in particular, have found the Internet a very powerful tool to express themselves and publish their articles and researches, especially in countries where freedom of expression and freedom of speech are almost non-existent. Unfortunately, the Internet is heavily watched by the intelligence services and security men in the Middle East and expatriate workers and academics are harshly punished if they express any opinion or put forward any suggestion which their employers do not like. The absence of freedom of expression is, therefore, one of the main reasons why corruption, deception, and injustices prevail in many countries in the Middle East. Expatriate university teachers face very severe punishments of fines and long-term jail sentences just because they have expressed an opinion here or there or they publish an article on this website or that. Corrupt officials and senior managers, especially in higher education institutions, have never been happy or comfortable with any freedom of expression. They always resort to their traditional and repressive tactics of using “repressive laws” to silence those who dare expose them, especially on the Internet. There is hardly any freedom of expression, academic or non-academic, of any sort at work The moment you disagree with your boss or give a different opinion, you should expect your work contract to be terminated or not renewed even if you are right and your opinions are in line with the official standards and guidelines and even if your skills and services are badly needed by your company or institution. It is a very sad fact of life in many countries in the Middle East that people are brought up or even “instructed” not to think for themselves. Many governments, local officials and senior managers of all sorts and ranks would tell you, “We do not want Page 6 of 10
you to think. We will think for you!” How disgusting! It is the more disgusting when people with this rotten mentality creep up into very influential positions in the educational system and in colleges and universities. You meet a corrupt dean of a college or a corrupt Vice-Chancellor like Abood Al-Sawafi or a corrupt Assistant Vice-Chancellor like Hamed Al-Hajri who would, in a vulgar and uncivilized language, tell you this to your face in official meetings! There is no choice for you: Either you do things exactly as you are dictated to or you lose your job! There is no other option. The problem gets worse when you know, and they know, that what they are telling you is completely wrong, futile and even against the official policies and regulations of the higher education system. They should be ashamed of themselves for their vulgarity and uncivilized behavior.
Excessive Working-Hours The number of working hours in the public sector in many countries in the Middle East is normally 6 hours per day, usually from 8 in the morning to 2 in the afternoon. In some public offices and institutions like colleges and universities, working hours are extended to 4 p.m., that is, the number of working hours is 8 hours. This is also the number of working hours in the private sector. The employees are financially compensated for these extended two hours. The number of workdays is only 5 (Sunday-Thursday) with Friday and Saturday as off days. Let us keep these numbers in mind and compare them with the number of working hours and workdays for many expatriate employees at A’Sharqiyah University in Oman. These very unfortunate and enslaved employees work from 7 in the early morning to 7 in the early afternoon, that is, they work for twelve hours per day! Some of them work until 9 or even 10 at night. There is no compensation of any sort whatsoever, financial or otherwise. This is clearly a gross violation of the Oman Labor Law and International Labor Laws and regulations.
Toxic Work Environment There are many ruthless and merciless employers like Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri who do not care about whether the work environment is toxic or not. All they care about is money and the profits they make to please the Board of Directors, the Board of Trustees, and the investors. For them, the end always justifies the means -absolute Machiavellianism. It is therefore not a big surprise that all employees and teachers at A’Sharqiyah University work and live under very harsh and unhealthy conditions. Many of them do not have adequate healthcare; they have pale faces and skinny bodies. It is very clear they do not have enough to feed themselves or their families, exactly like slaves in ancient times. Many expatriate workers, especially the cleaners, look bewildered and miserable all the time. They hardly smile and they just want the day to go by without being punished by Hamed Al-Hajri. When you talk to them and ask them about their Page 7 of 10
families back home, they start to cry. Most of them do not see their families for years in spite of the fact that the employers must provide an annual ticket for every expatriate worker as per the Oman Labor Law. Instead, the cleaners are promised a ticket every two years but, as usual, Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri do not respect the law or the work contract and do not keep their promises.
Zero Accountability One of the most abnormal aspects of life in the Middle East is that there is almost “zero accountability” for top officials and senior executives in the public or private sectors as far as corruption and enslavement of employees are concerned. These top officials and senior executives like Abood Al-Sawafi, Hamed Al-Hajri, and Abdullah Al-Harthy are given “blank checks” to run their companies and higher education institutions as they want without any consideration for any code of work ethics or moral values. This is why the behave in a merciless, ruthless way against their employees as they feel they are “above the law”. You find them do whatever they want and they fear no one; they feel they are the “government” itself. When Abood Al-Sawafi asked me to make illegal changes to the Foundation Program at A’Sharqiyah University in Oman, I told him that we need to obtain the approval of the Ministry of Higher Education for any change. He shamelessly looked at me and said, “I am the Vice-Chancellor. I can do whatever I want.” Then he pointed to his pocket. “Here is the Ministry of Higher Education.” Bravo, Mr. Abood Al-Sawafi! You and your Ministry of Higher Education should be ashamed of yourselves. Slavery persists in the Middle East by corrupt officials because these corrupt officials are “protected” by the public prosecutors who fear them and never dare to investigate their corruption, fraud, thievery, and enslavement activities. These corrupt officials and senior executives can do whatever they like and can steal money in different ways from the public sector or the private sector companies and institutions without being held accountable to anyone. They control almost everything in their companies and organization as they control the two most important functions: administration and finance; though these two functions differ from one institution to another in terms of size and scope. They also control, to a surprising degree, the public prosecutors everywhere in the country. These prosecutors would turn against anyone who submits any corruption documents or try to file complaints against corrupt figures in the public or private sector.
Expatriates’ Responsibility As the global job market is getting bleak, many expatriate teachers have, sadly, started to follow practices that are unethical and full of hypocrisy. They no longer believe in the professional oath they have undertaken when they have graduated nor do they care about the work contract they have signed. They no longer believe in the concept of “professionalism” as it refers to “loyalty to the profession” or loyalty to the Page 8 of 10
organization as the contract demands. They have replaced it with “loyalty to the boss”! Some of them go even further. They argue with you, “This is their country and not your country. They can do what they like. What has got to do with you? You don’t like it, just get out”! As simple as that! The whole argument is thus reduced to the uncivilized, primitive and awkward concept: “This is their country and not your country.” What a shame! This is really moral bankruptcy in every sense of the term. It is a disgusting sort of opportunism which does not fit in with the high values of the professional academic world. So we should not be loyal to the country we reside in! So we should not object to any VC or any university officer, who is a national, if he/she asks you to break the law and violates the code of ethics you have adhered to all your life. They add, “This is a private university, not a government university. It is a company”! They say it seriously as if we should not expect private universities or companies to have a code of ethics or professional values. They should be ashamed of themselves for this chaotic understanding of very important concepts and values in higher education. They pretend to forget that the more ethical and professional the university or the company is, the more successful it is. These expatriate workers are self-controlled: they are too timid and too afraid to say anything or comment on anything. They are too scared even to utter in public the name of the king or the name of their boss at work for fear of giving a bad impression and then losing their job. Their slogan is “just keep silent and shut up to keep your job.” Expatriate workers in the Middle East, especially in the GCC countries, should realize that they need to reject being treated like “slaves” if they want their employees to treat them as human beings. Most, if not all, of them are cowards and are indifferent; they keep silent about ill-treatment and enslavement by their employees as long as their names are kept on the “payroll”. They do not mind being “hired slaves” just to have their work contract renewed for another year. Not only do they accept “enslavement” but they also offer justifications for the enslavement and corruption done by their employers. One day, I was discussing the corruption, forgery of grades, and enslavement done by Abood Al-Sawafi with a colleague who is still working as an Associate Professor of Information Management System at A’Sharqiyah University. He shamelessly told me, “Abood Al-Sawafi and other senior executives can do whatever they want. This is their own country.” If an Associate Professor is a hypocrite in this way and deeply entrenched in a culture of submissiveness and slavery, do we expect less-educated expatriate workers at the University to stand up against enslavement and corruption?
Conclusions On #MyFreedomDay March 11 2020, we feel more inspired to fight not only for our freedom but also for the freedom of our fellow human beings who are being mistreated and enslaved by ruthless and bad employers like Abood Al-Sawafi and Page 9 of 10
Hamed Al-Hajri at A’Sharqiyah University and elsewhere in the Middle East and the world. We also call for a full investigation into the many reports submitted by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and other NOG organizations in addition to the UN Council for Human Rights about the appalling and inhumane slavery conditions of all expatriate workers in the Middle East. This slavery should not be allowed to continue forever. It is no excuse for merciless and ruthless employers like Abood Al-Sawafi and Hamed Al-Hajri to say that expatriate workers come to Oman by their own free will. These expatriate workers do not know before they come, they will be abused and treated like “slaves” and hold in bondage through a brutal work contract which takes away all their freedoms and basic human rights. The Kafala system must be abolished as it is a slavery tool used by ruthless and wicked employers to exploit, abuse, and enslave the expatriate workers who cannot stand up to this exploitation, abuse, and slavery. The Ministry of Manpower, the Ministry of Higher Education, and the Government of Oman must ensure that the Oman Labor Law is respected and implemented in full at A’Sharqiyah University and elsewhere to safeguard the work and human rights of all expatriate workers in Oman. Expatriate workers are human beings, exactly like the nationals who work with them. There is no difference at all between the two groups. They are doing a great job, especially in the GCC countries. Without them, these countries cease to exist or function properly. The relevant authorities in the Middle East should work together with Amnesty International and other human rights organizations and groups to immediately put an end to any exploitation, abuse, and forced labor the expatriate workers are subjected to in companies, universities, and other higher education institutions. Freedom to me means that human beings are not for sale and expatriate workers in the Middle East and elsewhere should not be treated like slaves. But unless the expatriate workers themselves reject and oppose ill-treatment and modern-day slavery and fight for their freedom, they will certainly live like slaves forever! “Live Free or Die Hard”!
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