“…While much public attention has focused on travelers and workers from the United States and Europe trying to leave the region, most migrants to the Gulf come from the rest of the world — Africa, Asia and other countries in the Middle East. Undoubtedly, one reason that almost all of the civilians killed have been foreign nationals is that they make up a majority of the region’s population. In Saudi Arabia, foreign residents are roughly one-third of the population; in the Emirates and Qatar, the proportion is an estimated 80 to 90 percent.
But low-paid migrant workers are also uniquely vulnerable as the conflict widens. They are more likely to live in overcrowded housing with insufficient exit routes, putting them at greater risk if explosions or fires occur. And they are more likely to hold essential jobs, as grocery store cashiers, sanitation workers and delivery drivers, that require them to continue working as usual while many citizens and wealthier foreign residents can take shelter.
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Leaving is a choice that is typically not available to the lowest-paid migrants, who are bound by employment contracts, debts or family obligations. And whatever the risks they face in the Gulf countries — more common than war is abuse and exploitation — they keep coming, because the remittances they send home are a lifeline…”
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‘If I don’t work, I go hungry’: The migrant workers risking their lives to keep the Gulf running
…”As missiles target the Gulf, the region’s vast population of migrant workers – who make up the majority of residents in countries such as Qatar and the UAE – are being left to fend for themselves, according to a human rights organisation with researchers embedded in the affected countries.
Mustafa Qadri, executive director of Equidem, told MEE that the organisation’s network of migrant worker investigators across the UAE, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan has documented widespread panic, psychological trauma and systematic exclusion from official safety measures.
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Qadri said workers face two distinct forms of discrimination.
The first is exclusion from official safety communications. While some formal statements have referenced all residents, workers on the ground say they have not received meaningful guidance on shelters, evacuation routes or emergency support.
The second is structural discrimination. As essential workers in every sector of Gulf society – construction, hospitality, healthcare, security, domestic service and logistics – many of these workers are required to continue working through attacks, often moving toward danger rather than away from it.
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Particularly alarming, he added, is the situation of delivery riders and other gig economy workers, who remain on the streets while their wealthier clients shelter at home.
And since the start of the conflict, more and more residents in the Gulf are using delivery services, opting to stay inside instead of venturing out to buy basic goods and necessities…”
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Far from home, millions of migrant workers in the Gulf are trapped by war
“…In 2019, the International Labor Organization estimates there aremore than 24 millionmigrant workers across the Gulf region alone — typically employed in low-wage jobs in construction, domestic housework, seafaring and caregiving. The ILO reports that over 92% of the work force in the UAE alone is made up of foreign workers. Most of the migrant workers across the region hail from countries such as India, Bangladesh, Kenya, Senegal and Indonesia.
Currently, there are an estimated 2.4 million Filipino migrant workers in the entire region. The majority, around one million, work in the UAE, according to Joanna Concepcion, the head of Migrante-International, a Manila-based group that supports Overseas Filipino Workers — or OFWs — in over 20 countries…”