I wana discuss the freedoms a foreign worker has in Saudi Arabia. What I know from data is that 1/3 of the people in Saudi Arabia are foreign workers (roughly 7 million). What are some of the freedoms they enjoy? In particular:
-Do they have right to practice their religion?
-Are there any public movie houses?
-Can women drive around?
-Do women have to cover themselves to go out?
-Can women go out alone?
Let’s keep this educational. I would be very interested to hear from those who live there, or have lived there. And those who lived there, would they like to go back if the opportunity presents itself (females in particular). Thanks.
My Uncle a respected engineer went for a 6 month gig and after he came back he said that is one hell of a country that he would never ever want to visit. He mentioned some asshole brigade that whips people to pray. Why would Allah (swt) be worried about a guy that is forced to pray (that is ridiculous).
Every body in Saudi drinks crude oil for lunch explains the fatness and ugliness not to mention the greesiness. Madhanee i will give a serious response if you give a serious response to my "Studying in Austeralia" thread. God bless.
-Gamma
Because FF ji, some of us think that Saudi Arabis is a JaR of Fassad and Fitna, and we must understand why is that the case. Why there were no 19 Swiss or Australians hijackers? Why did all of them come from Saudi Arabia?
came back to live here after 7 yrs in canada .. ( was born and raised in jeddah)... love it.. there are issues in every single country... u just have to see what issues u are willing to live with ... true there are several problems with arabia.. but none that i find hard to overcome..
Do they have right to practice their religion?
im a muslim so have had no probs.. but i went to a school with 80% christian population.. we still celeberated xmas.. had the tree.. and santa claus and then halloween... compound living is very different from living in an apartment.. many christians practice their religion behind closed doors.. i guess there isnt "freedom of religion" .. but it is still done.
non muslims living in apartment buildings may not boast of such allowances...
-Are there any public movie houses?
there used to be.. back in the late 70's and early 80's.. my folks used to go to the theatres in indian embassy to watch movies... dad says they still show movies.. dont know tho..
no proper theatres tho ...
Can women drive around?
nopes ... but then i never drove around in canada either...not a major issue.
Do women have to cover themselves to go out?
yup... jeddah is more relaxed than other places.. ive realized after comin back from canada.. that i dont even havta carry a scarf now :D wohoo.. liberty :D
oh and religious police have really had a makeover... they still are bitchy to labourers (in cheap districts).. but not so much for not praying.. just wanna bug them ..
otehr than taht.. they have hired educated guyz ... who can speak english ( WOHOO).. and talk to others in a respectful manner... it was insanely hot in mecca.. i just draped teh scarf on my head instead of wearing it properly.. so this mutawa comes over and says "sister please, tie ure dupatta properly :) " i was soo impressed.. he actualy smiled and TALKED to me.. instead of barking out orders.
Can women go out alone?
absolutely!! i go out alone 90% of the time... no issues there... most of the tiem when u hear bout women not being allowed to go out alone is not because teh country doesnt allow it.. its their own family that stops them from doing so..
MQ - And that will make the dead people of Janat-ul-Baqeeh come alive?
Khawateen.
How far alone can you go? Can you take a plane from Jiddah to Tel-Aviv on your own if you are a women..ok, bad example, but can you take a plane from Jiddah to Dammam on your own if you are a woman?
ppl need to get over 9/11 and holocaust. tragedies happen everywhere in the world. million iraqi civilians died in 'shock n awe', genocide in india and bosnia, starvation kills millions in africa, many killed in hiroshima nagasaki and they still to suffer to this day because of it.
SA is a messed up country run by a ****ed up arabs. the disturbing point is, even though americans have their military base.. they are still unable to do anything about whatever mistreatment that goes on there.
We need to get over 9/11..couldn’t agree more…and we are. Everytime a jihadi is sent to meet his virgins, we get one step closer. The world becomes a better place. Amen.
khawa, having been to SA myself several times, i've always been scared to go out alone by the fear of being kidnapped or raped or killed. i've seen eldery woman beaten by female police because her dupatta slipped from her head. we were always told to stay close to our parents and protect our passports or id cards.
jeddah i admit is bit relaxed, but once u move away from city ( bureeda, taif), it really gets scary.
innocent until proven guilty.
ever since the lies of WMD, i have doubts about anyone being captured is a jihadi. there have been numerous cases of ppl being falsely accused and deported.
americans are one paranoid nation just like arabs. each of them is scared of the other and each of them wants to kill the other, both of them see each other as threat. if ‘islam’ is the axis of evil in west, then ‘west’ is the axis of evil in mideast. its the same **** on both sides sugarcoated by political BS.
Madhanee: ya u can.. i went from jeddah to riyadh by myself and then took a plane to dammam.. no probs...
suroor: i guess it may have happened... i have lived here for 20 yrs.. never have i witnessed anyone gettin beaten up by the religious police.. ive also been going out alone ever since i was a 13 yr old... again.. never was put into a dangerous situation...
plus saru... if u have heard only bad things bout arabia over and over and over thru media, family etc... ( i mean very few ppl have anything good to say bout arabia no matter how great it has treated them, like the hundereds of families living in begum poora in missisauga)..u would hate the place ... i was raised here... lived here... never have had any problems with officials.. we have a huge circle of friends.. they have never been mistreated either... im not saying it doesnt happen..but its not as barbaric a country as its been made out to be ....
^ true, there are some good points to that country no doubt. sacred places like mecca, medina being the top one. but there are many mistreatments that are very obvious there, ones that are not prominent in other countries (muslim or not).
innocent till proven guilty and geneva conventions apply to those who are acting on behalf of or under the auspices of internationally recognized statues. fundo jihadis are not under any such umbrella protections. Those who fly planes into buildings, bomb trains and blow up kis in pizza parlors are not afforded civil considerations.
