I have worked in Saudi Arabia Jeddah for about 3 to 4 years as an Engineering supervisor, having passed my diploma in mechanical engineering from Govt. Polytechnic, Kalamassery, Kerala. Most people think( which includes me too) that gulf job is very good and it is lucky to get a chance to get a job in the gulf, but alas the truth is not so. In Jeddah we had good accommodation as we were employed in a very good company, but inside the Jeddah Islamic port there are laborers from India who are working for salary as low as 200 riyals which at that time was equal to 2000 Indian rupees only. The accommodation for such workers would be very bad in the sense, there will be no proper hygeine and also the food provided would be very very low quality. The life there would be nothing short of slavery.

We ourselves were very much unhappy with the work situation as we were in to shiprepair jobs and the climate which is horribly extremely hot, was really unbearable. In spite of the fact there would be ventilation and other arrangements for safety purpose, it was a very unpleasant situation.

It is to be mentioned here that Shiprepair is next only to mining as to the risk of doing it. If we don't take utmost care in following the safety procedures, life is at risk, FIRE is the main hazard there. And the pressure of keeping the target is really too much, it is the same for the job anywhere in the world, coupled with that if we don't get good deal from the authorities, it is nothing short of hell.

Well, my next tenure of gulf job was in Duabai which lasted for 12 years. Here the situation was little better in the sense that after duty hours if you go out you can breath free air, which was not the case in Saudi where there was too much interference from the Saudi police.

Dubai is a very civilised country, but the work situation in companies are more or less the same.

I say to one and all that in the gulf Asians are treated as second class citizens, irrespective of the rank which they hold in the company or office. Ofcourse the situation differ from company to company. Evenso the condition at the labour camp is indeed pathetic.

Nobody would admit it, because they are there to make money and the salary which they earn is way very much higher than what we get in India. The happiness of the family members and of course the education of the kids and other amenities are taken care of well at home is the source of satisfaction and motivation for going through all these difficulties.

I for one never enjoyed my stay in the gulf as a supervisor but I had to continue for the sake of my family. If anybody has any queries about the life in the gulf they can contact my facebook page.