Altogether 130,000 workers of Indian origin, without valid documents and permits, are being sent back. Most have reached home, with the Saudi authorities enforcing a crackdown against 'illegal foreigners”, perceived to be taking away jobs for locals.

The deadline for such 'aliens' to quit the Kingdom has expired. Offenders will face a fine of 100,000 riyals and a two year long prison sentence.

The West Bengal diaspora to the Middle East is a recent phenomenon. It began long after a similar traffic of skilled and unskilled workers was reported from states like Uttar Pradesh or Andhra, not to mention from Kerala. The bulk of workers emigrating from Bengal hail from Muslim-dominated Murshidabad and Malda districts, but of late jobless youths from Nadia, Midnapore and 24 Parganas north and south, have joined the procession.

According to a Kolkata-based Travel agency spokesman, “Primarily the lack of economic development drives such emigration from the state, there being very few industries in Murshidabad or Nadia. Most local youths are unskilled, occupying the bottom of the social pyramid. Very few are skilled. According to reports, most face great hardship and tough conditions abroad. However, the remittances they send back home certainly help keep their families survive here.'

Workers from West Bengal also land jobs in industrially advanced states like Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka. These days, several thousands have found work in Kerala. In these states, salary structures are better than in West Bengal, as well as working conditions. Very few return for work in their home state, visiting it during holidays only.

Confirming this, a CITU leader of Bally, Howrah district said, 'Local jobless youth have been going to Gujarat and Maharashtra during the last two decades and more. The ones settled there usually take some of their relatives from here to the other states, for work. At the Sananda Tata small car factory, over 400 trained and untrained youths, mostly from the Singur area itself, are working at present.'

Their remittances help sustain the local economy of Bally and Singur areas. There are hardly any industries in these places, and most old units are closed. 'The women in most families are into the making of incense sticks (dhup), bindis and rakhis, in season, if they do not work out of home,' he added.

The woes do not end in West Bengal. The total number of workers from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia in Asia, and Ethiopia and other African countries who have been forced to go home , runs into several lakhs.

Pakistan has seen 30,000 return, while the figure for Bangladesh is around 36,000. Both countries are dependent on the money their citizens send home from the Middle East, which forms a fair chunk of their annual GDP. Ethiopia has seen 50,000 of its citizens return from the region. Bangladesh has faced some resistance from Kuwait and UAE about sending its citizens there for work in recent times.

Expat labour accounts for around 9 million out of the total Saudi population of 27 million. The country has the largest economy in the region. Of late, the authorities began worrying about mounting unemployment among the locals which exceeds 12%.

Given the politically volatile scenario in the Middle East following the turbulent Arab spring and other developments, with Iran-backed Shias gaining ground in Iraq, Bahrain and Syria and Tehran wresting concessions from the West, Saudis fear that local joblessness could well threaten domestic stability and pace, if left unaddressed.

Ironically, mostly Asian expat workers accept jobs that locals are unwilling to do, including manual labour. Only a small fraction of Asian migrant workers are engaged in high-skill jobs that involve some kind of expertise in a given field - which most locals are unable to handle.

Prior to Nitaqat regulations, seeking to 'Saudify' private sector jobs, and reduce the local dependence on foreign workers, most locals used to be accommodated in public sector jobs. (IPA Service)