click here to return to the Calico Cat homepage

Exodus of westerners from Saudi Arabia?

Will there be an exodus of western workers from Saudi Arabia because of the Paul Johnson beheading? This is an issue that has hardly received any attention in the American news media. There was an Associated Press article from last weekend saying that this wasn't likely.

But according to an article in yesterday's Guardian, the situation is worse. The Guardian reports that western companies are offering increased pay to workers staying in Saudi Arabia in order to retain staff. BAE Systems, which as 2,400 expatriate staff in Saudi Arabia, is increasing its pay by £1000/month ($1823 at today's exchange rate).

The Guardian reports that an exodus of workers may be imminent. "In interviews with the Guardian, several workers in Riyadh and Jeddah suggested that the numbers who have already left or are planning to leave are much higher than has yet been reported." The article includes comments from various workers in Saudi Arabia.

Some may have wondered why the Saudi government was so eager to suddenly hunt down and kill al-Qaida operatives that seem to have been ignored for a long time. The answer is that the Saudis are worried about the threat to the country's economy and its oil profits.

There is no fear that the oil will suddenly stop flowing. There is such a large a amount of profit to be made from pumping the oil that it will continue to be pumped. But Saudi profits will be impacted if western companies have to significantly increase their prices for work they do in Saudi Arabia. And no one will want to do any other kind of business with Saudi Arabia.

There is no doubt that the Paul Johnson kidnapping and beheading has already financially hurt Saudi Arabia. So they will do what it takes to create the illusion that the problem is being taken care of and that it's safe for foreigners to live in the desert kingdom.

The Paul Johnson execution could potentially backfire against al-Qaida. It seems to me that Saudi Arabia was generally complacent about al-Qaida so long as al-Qaida wasn't directly hurting the wallets of the Saudi royal family. Saudi Arabia is now forced to fight more forcefully against al-Qaida.

posted Friday, June 25, 2004