Representations of The Holy Land: The Impressions of Filipinos and Indonesians of Living and Working in Saudi Arabia
Representations of The Holy Land: The Impressions of Filipinos and Indonesians of Living and Working in Saudi Arabia

Author(s): Simeon S. Magliveras, Sumanto Al Qurtuby
Subject(s): Labor relations, Migration Studies
Published by: Transnational Press London
Keywords: Representations; Holy Land; Impressions; Filipinos; Indonesians; Living; Working; Saudi Arabia;
Summary/Abstract: Focusing on both professional and “unskilled” Filipino and Indonesian expatriate laborers in Saudi Arabia, this paper examines how these two transnational communities envisage their lives in the Kingdom. Saudi Arabia’s Filipinos and Indonesians are remarkable because (1) the groups are the largest Southeast Asian transnationals population in the Kingdom and (2) Filipinos are primarily Christian while Indonesians are generally Muslim. This paper explores the different imaginations and impressions about Saudi Arabia. Moreover, Indonesia and the Philippines share similar geographies, parallel colonial pasts, and contemporarily, use immigration as a development strategy. Saudi Arabia is a magnet for Filipinos and Indonesians because it affords them relatively high salaries, economic prosperity, political stability, and for Muslims, access to Makkah and Madinah. This paper studies (1) underlying motives of Filipinos and Indonesians in the Kingdom, and (2) their perceptions about their Saudi experience.

• Details
• Contents