“While Europe is being burdened by potentially millions of people who don’t share the same culture or religion as the host population, [Saudi Arabia and the wealthy] Gulf Arab states refuse to pull their weight, resolving only to throw money at the problem.” – Paul Joseph Watson
While European countries are being lectured about their failure to take in enough refugees, Saudi Arabia—which has taken in precisely zero migrants—has 100,000 air-conditioned tents that can house over 3 million people sitting empty.
The sprawling network of high quality tents are located in the city of Mina, spreading across a 20 square km valley, and are only used for 5 days of the year by Hajj pilgrims. As the website Amusing Planet reports, “For the rest of the year, Mina remains pretty much deserted.”
The tents, which measure 8 meters by 8 meters, were permanently constructed by the Saudi government in the 1990’s and were upgraded in 1997 to be fire-proof. They are divided into camps which include kitchen and bathroom facilities.
The tents could provide shelter for almost all of the 4 million Syrian refugees that have been displaced by the country’s civil war, which was partly exacerbated by Saudi Arabia’s role in funding and arming jihadist groups.
However, as the Washington Post reports, wealthy Gulf Arab nations like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait and others have taken in precisely zero Syrian refugees. Although Saudi Arabia claims it has taken in 500,000 Syrians since 2011, rights groups point out that these people are not allowed to register as migrants. Many of them are also legal 
immigrants who moved there for work. In comparison, Lebanon has accepted 1.3 million refugees—more than a quarter of its population.
While it refuses to take in any more refugees, Saudi Arabia has offered to build 200 mosques for the 500,000 migrants a year expected to pour into Germany.
Saudis argue that the tents in Mina are needed to host the annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, but given that the Arabic concept of ummah is supposed to offer protection to all Muslims under one brotherhood, surely an alternative location could be found so that Mina can be repurposed to house desperate families fleeing war and ISIS persecution?
While Europe is being burdened by potentially millions of people who don’t share the same culture or religion as the host population, Gulf Arab states refuse to pull their weight, resolving only to throw money at the problem.
The likelihood of the Saudis inviting Syrian refugees to stay in Mina is virtually zero, but the thousands of empty tents serve as a physical representation of the hypocrisy shared by wealthy Gulf Arab states when it comes to helping with the crisis. – Infowars, 10 September 2015
Filed under: EU, syria, west asia | middle east | Tagged: EU, mina tent city, saudi arabia, syria, syrian civil war, syrian refugees, war, west asia | middle east |
By withdrawing the diplomat, the Saudis have admitted the probability of the crime.
Given the circumstances, they could hardly do anything else.
Hopefully “blood money” in good portion was arranged for the Nepalese victims by the Indian side.
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Saudi diplomat leaves India, activists upset – Kallol Bhattacherjee – The Hindu – 17 September 2015
Majed Hassan Ashoor, the Saudi Arabian diplomat accused of sexual assault on two Nepali maids has exited India, the External Affairs Ministry said in a press statement late on Wednesday evening. With his departure, the Ministry may have escaped a tough diplomatic imbroglio.
Ashoor’s silent departure appears to be part of a diplomatic bargain struck between India and Saudi Arabia after the high-level intervention of National Security Adviser Ajit Doval. Earlier, the Ministry was accused of going soft on the case, which the former Foreign Secretary Maharaj Krishna Rasgotra said was as a sign of the sensitive issues involved in this case.
Mr. Rasgotra said the Saudis were “frightfully important to India at the moment due to the global circumstances and the Saudi diplomat’s departure seems like a solution arrived at through mutual consultation”.
However, activists are not satisfied because they believe that full justice has not been served to the maids.
“The External Affairs Ministry has allowed the Nepali maids to return home where they were further humiliated as their families have disowned them. India should not have deserted the Nepali maids who have been distanced from the investigating authorities in India due to the stealthy and hurried repatriation,” said Ruchira Gupta of Apne Aap International.
However, Ms. Gupta says, repatriation of the victims has the potential of crippling the investigation in this case. Victim protection, Ms. Gupta says, should have been India’s priority.
Ashoor’s departure will not probably affect the investigation by the police in Nepal in Kathmandu. Nepali sources told The Hindu that they were investigating trafficking of Nepali women via Indian metros when the case involving the Saudi diplomat in Gurgaon came up.
“We have arrested a number of individuals connected to this case in Kathmandu in the last one week. Those arrested are helping us understand the modus operandi of the traffickers who masqueraded as maid recruitment agents,” said Rajendra Man Shrestha, the police representative in the Nepal Embassy.
With the Nepal Police launching an investigation into the trafficking of women through Indian metros, Rajendra Man Shrestha, the police representative in the Nepal Embassy, says the focus right now is to find out more about an elusive character named Anwar who is a kingpin. “There are conflicting reports about Anwar. Some say he is based in India and some suggest that he is back in Nepal. Even the victims have not been able to provide a detailed sketch of Anwar. But we are confident of capturing him,” Mr. Shreshta told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
The investigation in Nepal is aimed at helping the Indian part of the legal process, but Ruchira Gupta, activists from Apne Aap International, believes that the investigation will not be able to reach its logical conclusion without the presence of the two maids in India. She suggests that India offer victim protection package, including financial compensation, to the maids and ensure their presence here for a satisfying conclusion of the case.
That apart, India should build a stronger protection mechanism for such maids to prevent recurrence of similar cases involving trafficked women and minors.
See also
Shake the Saudi Sheikhs – Ravi Shankar
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