Although, this opinion piece in Reuters is discussing an issue unrelated to the migrant crisis & Gulf Arab's deafening silence on this issue of the day, it does point out some problems / threats that Saudi Arabia, the richest Gulf Arab country, is suffering from. I think these are some of the threats which are also causing leaders of the Gulf Arab states to remain silent. Of course, it is oversimplification of the complex issues.
These threats, as the opinion piece points out, are:
1. a high number of youths in its population: "more than half of the country’s population of 29 million is under the age of 25. Two-thirds of the population is under 30. The estimated unemployment rate for Saudis aged 15 to 24 is about 30%."
That stats is pretty much same all across the Gulf Arab states; UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, & even Egypt. Universities are opening up in these countries & youths are getting education, but their unemployment rate is still quite high. This was one of the primary reasons why Egyptian youths started protesting against Egypt's Mubarak's regime & ultimately took it down.
These Arab states are fearful that if they let in thousands upon thousands of Syrian, Afghani, Somalian, Sudanese, & Iraqi refugees in their countries, the country's youths may rise up against the regime when they are still unemployed & may see refugees working. By the way, Syrian & Iraqi refugees are not allowed to work in Jordan & Turkey.
Some may say that refugees only want a safe place to live. Not exactly. Refugees also want to work. Unless, a country can cope with letting thousands of refugees in the labour force, most countries will stop the refugees from working, & that will be the next thing refugees will want to do; to work.
2. high dependence on oil revenues for government coffers: when 90% of government coffers are dependent on oil revenues & oil prices being so low for the foreseeable future, these governments will not want more people in their country, esp. when such people will need help; the help which will cost a whole lot of moolah. Having said that, Arab monarchs are full of money, which Western leaders are not.
Western countries, on the other hand, have diversified economies. Their economies are not dependent on only one industry. So, to help out millions of refugees (& yes, there are millions of refugees), Arab leaders have to dip into their own personal pockets, which they most likely don't want to do & won't do it.
3. No tax policies in Gulf Arab states: these Arab countries don't have any tax policies, so they can't exactly raise taxes on the public & businesses to absorb the costs of housing refugees.
However, the Western countries can, & will, raise taxes on the public to absorb the costs of housing refugees. Of course, that's assuming, that Western countries accept millions of refugees. A few thousands neither would cost Western countries & nor would affect any of the GCC countries' government coffers.
At the end of the day, housing refugees is not a permanent solution. It's a Band-Aid solution. It's a temporary solution. A permanent solution is to work towards ending the conflict altogether. That's where, the Arab countries have the most influence & can do the most. Up to now, these countries are also the ones who were supplying weapons to Iraq & Syria; essentially, igniting the flames further. They need to do the opposite, but will they? I don't think so because those actions will clash with their vision of controlling the region & turning its politics in their own favour. End result: many more refugees will keep producing in middle east.
These threats, as the opinion piece points out, are:
1. a high number of youths in its population: "more than half of the country’s population of 29 million is under the age of 25. Two-thirds of the population is under 30. The estimated unemployment rate for Saudis aged 15 to 24 is about 30%."
That stats is pretty much same all across the Gulf Arab states; UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Kuwait, & even Egypt. Universities are opening up in these countries & youths are getting education, but their unemployment rate is still quite high. This was one of the primary reasons why Egyptian youths started protesting against Egypt's Mubarak's regime & ultimately took it down.
These Arab states are fearful that if they let in thousands upon thousands of Syrian, Afghani, Somalian, Sudanese, & Iraqi refugees in their countries, the country's youths may rise up against the regime when they are still unemployed & may see refugees working. By the way, Syrian & Iraqi refugees are not allowed to work in Jordan & Turkey.
Some may say that refugees only want a safe place to live. Not exactly. Refugees also want to work. Unless, a country can cope with letting thousands of refugees in the labour force, most countries will stop the refugees from working, & that will be the next thing refugees will want to do; to work.
2. high dependence on oil revenues for government coffers: when 90% of government coffers are dependent on oil revenues & oil prices being so low for the foreseeable future, these governments will not want more people in their country, esp. when such people will need help; the help which will cost a whole lot of moolah. Having said that, Arab monarchs are full of money, which Western leaders are not.
Western countries, on the other hand, have diversified economies. Their economies are not dependent on only one industry. So, to help out millions of refugees (& yes, there are millions of refugees), Arab leaders have to dip into their own personal pockets, which they most likely don't want to do & won't do it.
3. No tax policies in Gulf Arab states: these Arab countries don't have any tax policies, so they can't exactly raise taxes on the public & businesses to absorb the costs of housing refugees.
However, the Western countries can, & will, raise taxes on the public to absorb the costs of housing refugees. Of course, that's assuming, that Western countries accept millions of refugees. A few thousands neither would cost Western countries & nor would affect any of the GCC countries' government coffers.
At the end of the day, housing refugees is not a permanent solution. It's a Band-Aid solution. It's a temporary solution. A permanent solution is to work towards ending the conflict altogether. That's where, the Arab countries have the most influence & can do the most. Up to now, these countries are also the ones who were supplying weapons to Iraq & Syria; essentially, igniting the flames further. They need to do the opposite, but will they? I don't think so because those actions will clash with their vision of controlling the region & turning its politics in their own favour. End result: many more refugees will keep producing in middle east.
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