Job Discussion Forums

[nomad soul]

Could this ever happen in the other Gulf countries? Hmm...

Handing out gratitude in Oman
By Paul McLoughlin, Christian Science Monitor | July 24, 2013
Source: http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/Olive-Press/2013/0724/Handing-out-gratitude-in-Oman

Like its Gulf neighbors, Oman is heavily dependent on foreign workers, but it defies regional stereotypes when it comes to their treatment.

The iCare Initiative in Muscat, Oman, distributes cold water to foreign workers such as this one during the heat of the summer, when temperatures frequently reach 120 degrees F.

MUSCAT---Much of the economic boom in Oman, where apartment blocs are rising from earth with impressive speed, is fueled by cheap labor from the Indian subcontinent. But unlike other Gulf countries, where these foreign workers are often downtrodden and sometimes forced to work without salaries, time off, or the ability to return home, Oman treats this crucial labor force better.

On a recent baking Arabian summer day, Mohamed al-Kitani, Sami al-Baloshi, and Assad al-Zakwani scour the streets of the capital for foreign laborers, handing out bottles of cold water and stopping to converse with them about their work and time in the country, where summer temperatures often reach 120 degrees F. “When we find them and give them water, we explain this is from us, to thank you for all the work you are doing in the country,” says Mr. al-Kitani.

Al-Kitani and his colleagues are among 1,000 volunteers who work for The I-Care Initiative, a community project that began three years ago when Shorooq Abu Nasser, a Jordanian expatriate, decided to distribute water to outdoor workers improving the road in the area where she lived. “The reason I started the initiative was very simple. I just wanted to thank [them] for working in the heat to make it easier for me to reach home, because I know I wouldn't do it myself,” she says. “I wanted to tell them that they are not invisible and that they are as important as any other working individuals.”

The group is part of a dynamic new civil society in Oman, with initiatives sprouting up across the country. This idea of civil society, while new, is especially attractive to young, globalized locals who can start projects close to their heart with little capital and soon grab the attention of bigger players.

“At the beginning, people were just buying water from their own money but now we are seeing big companies contact us and donate bottles,” says al-Kitani. At the last event, a local bank contributed nearly all of the 10,000 bottles of water that I-Care distributed that day. Logistics for The I-Care Initiative are handled by nine Omani team leaders, including Amira Al-Rawahi, who say she was inspired to help out the cause when she returned home from studying abroad, feeling that foreign outdoor workers deserved more respect from the local community.

As al-Kitani puts it, “Distributing water is the least we can do.”

(End of article)

ICare's promo video is a bit corny but that doesn't diminish the organization's objective and sense of humanity: http://youtu.be/0hlh67drGaM

[DLIguy]

Excellent promotion, NS!

[rtm]

This is great -- thank you for sharing it!

[hocus pocus]

I visited Oman last year. It was apparent that the expat laborers were treated much better than in Saudi. Also, they are encouraged to start up businesses and to bring their families to Oman.

The government is pretty smart.

[veiledsentiments]

After my years in Oman, this isn't surprising. It has always been different from the rest of the Gulf in mostly positive ways. Looking at the video, it seems that this comes from the... Muscat based international school/private university students? I'm just basing that on age and the lack of local dress. Only one male in a dishdasha?

One small step...

VS

[nomad soul]

I'm not surprised that the organization was founded by a Jordanian expat; the Levantine Arabs tend to be very hospitable. The Omanis I met during my short visit to Muscat years ago were just as friendly and welcoming.

Here's another video from I-CARE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paUIGZZuOuQ

[rollingk]

Yes, the Omani's certainly are easier going, and generally more accepting of diversity than others in the region. Students there are less likely to see us teachers as simply foreign, but as real people. This gentle view has also been extended to service workers, who seem less beaten down and happier there. Sometimes they actually smile!

Many of my students in Saudi Arabia have remarked that the Omani's are not "real Arabs". Well, . . . .

[Noelle]

This is great, Nomad Soul. Thank you so much for posting. God bless Oman!

[[email protected]]

lol what? No. This article is complete B.S. Oman treats its laborers like crap. They work 12+ hours a day and are treated with disrespect/disdain and disgust. I am not sure who wrote this article (or what they were smoking when they wrote it) but Oman DOES not treat it's laborers any better than any other gulf country.

I have seen Omani's smack the back of a labors head while he was on his bike, swerve towards them while they are walking and force them to jump into ditches etc. I have heard the way Omanis speak to laborers and know multiple laborers who do not get paid. If a laborer makes 150 rials a month (about 375 USD) a month they are considered lucky.

All in all, I wouldn't have any issue with how hard they work or their pay, if they were treated with any sort of dignity all. They are treated with such disrespect and can not complain because they will always be at fault. The guy that cleans my house hasn't been paid in 2 years, but if he complains about it, he will most likely be deported.

There are some good things about this Country, but their treatment of animals (dogs are routinely shot and killed/stoned to death) and laborers is not on if them.

[MuscatGary]

[quote="hocus pocus"]I visited Oman last year. It was apparent that the expat laborers were treated much better than in Saudi. Also, they are encouraged to start up businesses and to bring their families to Oman.

You have to earn more than 600 OMR a month now to get a family visa. No labourer earns anywhere near that...