Laborfest: Migrant labor in the Arabian Gulf and the Struggle for Democracy

Migrant labor in the Arabian Gulf and the Struggle for Democracy

An illustrated talk by Sharat G. Lin

The system of labor contracts in Saudi Arabia and other GCC countries was established by multinational oil companies during the early period of oil exploration, and well before the oil boom of the 1970s. This draconian system of migrant labor control remains in force to this day and is unparalleled in its systematic denial of freedom, neocolonial hierarchy, racism, and official sanction by the state. A brief opening in the mid-1980s provided a documentary glimpse into the horrors of this system, and the thirst for democratic rights and freedoms.

Sharat G. Lin provides a first-hand account. He writes on global political economy, labor migration, and the Middle East.