Saudi’s Stark Employment Imbalance: For Every One Saudi, 15 Expatriates Hired
CROSSROADS ARABIA: These jobs are all critical to society – they are honest jobs. The one thing they don’t carry, however, is status.
Foreign Workers Feel The Heat in Saudi Arabia
CROSSROADS ARABIA: The Saudization plan is in place but it appears that foreign workers are being actively demonised in the Kingdom.
Rethinking Education To Build Real Saudi Prosperity
ABU MUHAMMED: The only thing stopping Saudi from becoming a superpower is Saudi. A nation cannot truly be great until it can educate its own.
‘This Car Is Made With Pride in Riyadh’: At Last, Saudi’s ‘Magic Export Product’?
ROB L. WAGNER: Saudi Arabia has been looking for more than 40 years for an export product that will minimize its dependency on oil. Have they found it?
Saudi Arabia: “The Female Body is a Battleground in the War to Stem Reform”
ROB L. WAGNER: An online battle between conservatives and reformers following the Saudi Intellectual Forum illuminates their diverging opinions…
“The Devil’s Seeds”: Life’s Grim For Illegitimate Saudis
ROB L. WAGNER: It wasn’t always this way – illegitimate children were in times past absorbed. The stigma today inflicts generations of damage.
Learning English in the Kingdom: ‘Could Do Better’
CROSSROADS ARABIA: English is vital in today’s interconnected world. The problem: in Saudi teaching it is not treated seriously.
Further Thoughts on Saudi Women/Autos/Virginity
MELODY MOEZZI, TABSIR: The storm that erupted following a Saudi cleric’s declaration regarding women, cars and virginity shows no sign of abating.
Furore over ‘White-washing’ of Saudi Legal System
EMAN AL NAFJAN: A storm of controversy has erupted following a presentation by the Saudi Minister of Justice to lawyers in the United States.
Saudi Education: The Power Struggle Heats Up
ROB L. WAGNER: A new secondary school textbook highlights the struggle between liberals and conservatives within the Saudi Ministry for Education.
Saudi Elections: What Exactly Was the Point?
CROSSROADS ARABIA: This was the election before ‘the Big One’ – the 2015 Municipal Elections where women can vote and stand for office. So was it a damp squib, as some have suggested?
The ‘Takfir’ Mindset: A Major Saudi Problem
CROSSROADS ARABIA: Teaching methods in the Kingdom encourage diktat of authority rather than dialogue and debate. The consequence is profound for society at large.
How 9/11 Forced Change in Saudi Arabia
CROSSROADS ARABIA: When Saudi awoke, it acted decisively. Its war against Al-Qaeda was successful in driving the group out of the Kingdom, though at some cost.
Water Not Oil is the ‘Big Issue’ Facing Kingdom
CROSSROADS ARABIA: The current rate at which Saudis are consuming water is simply unsustainable. Drastic action needs to be taken. And soon.
The Saudi Arabian Electoral ‘Experiment’ Continues
ROB L. WAGNER: There has been a lot of criticism of Saudi Arabia’s upcoming municipal elections. Some groups, however, know how best to work the system.
Saudi: Scramble to Meet New Labor Deadlines
ROB L. WAGNER: “We find ourselves sometimes forced to hire Saudis who aren’t qualified,” Jaad says, noting that some Saudis simply walk off the job without finishing their contract…
Saudi Arabia: The Merits of University for All?
CROSSROADS ARABIA: It’s not just Saudi, the US has certainly pushed the idea that without a university degree one is starting out as a failure.
Khaled Al-Johani: “The Bravest Man in Saudi Arabia”?
SUSIE OF ARABIA: I am re-posting the below video called “Where is Khaled?” to keep his story alive. Khaled’s family was not allowed any contact with him for almost two months.
Fire Puts Spotlight on Saudi ‘Passport Holding’
SUSIE OF ARABIA: The destruction of more than 17,000 passports belonging to expatriate workers in Jeddah has led to a debate about the practice of employers ‘holding’ passports.
Soap Operas: The New Front on the ‘War on Syria’
CROSSROADS ARABIA: Syrian soap operas have eclipsed Egyptian productions in popularity across the Arab world.
