From the first moment he received a phone call from the human resources manager in his previous company, informing him of the man to end his services due to the negative economic conditions and repercussions imposed by the Corona crisis, Tamer tried hard, for nearly three months, to find another job opportunity, but all his attempts were unsuccessful.
The "dressed" accountant has no choice but to return to "Al Mahrousa", hoping that he may succeed by investing and reaping the bitter return of alienation, which does not exceed about 5300 Kuwaiti dinars (about 17 thousand dollars) in "any interest that entrusts me and my children to live," according to what is shown in an interview Special for Al Jazeera Net.
Half salary
Unlike Tamer, whose services were terminated, Ibrahim submitted his resignation from the daily newspaper he had been working for for more than five years. Since last March, the newspaper has cut salaries by half to get out of the current crisis that hit the advertising market.
"I preferred to submit my resignation to stay at work because only half of the salary, which amounts to 225 dinars ($ 720), is barely enough to rent the modest apartment that I live and my small family in Maidan Hawalli," the sports-related journalist says in an exclusive interview with Al-Jazeera Net.
Ibrahim affirms that the decision was not easy at all, but things are no longer intolerable, as life is getting more difficult day by day, and I cannot spend my savings to meet the requirements of daily life waiting for the salary to return to what it was before the crisis, so I think that leaving has become the best solution, especially since The consequences of Corona may last for a long time while we are on the eve of the school season, tuition, and other unending burdens.
160 thousand expatriates left
Last July, an official statistic published by the daily Al-Rai newspaper revealed that about 160,000 expatriates have left Kuwait since mid-March, while the number of departing arrivals is expected to rise to about one and a half million by the end of this year, according to the statistic. Itself.
According to the newspaper, the reasons for the travel of many residents are attributed to the fact that the financial and living situation has become very difficult, especially after some private sector institutions ended the services of large numbers of employees due to the financial losses resulting from the Corona pandemic, in addition to the government's orientation towards a policy of job replacement in the state, which is This contributed to pushing large numbers of expatriates to pack their belongings and return to their countries.
Al-Qabas newspaper quoted unnamed sources as warning them that, with the worsening of the Corona crisis in the country and the issuance of the Kuwaiti Council of Ministers many decisions to close many activities in the labor market with the aim of limiting the spread of the virus, more than a quarter of a million workers entered the department of layoffs and "finishing." ".
In one of its editorials last June, Al-Qabas called on the government to move quickly to the de-facto stage and a fair balance between health measures with economic and social precautions to reduce the risks of family disintegration, corporate bankruptcy, and layoffs due to the months-long economic shutdown. long.
Kuwait Airways
In turn, Kuwait Airways announced at the end of last May the dismissal of 1,500 non-Kuwaiti employees from various sectors in light of its handling of the Coronavirus crisis and its negative impact on commercial operation with the complete suspension of travel and aviation traffic.
The company affirmed in a press release that its interest in its employees is its top priority, and that "this difficult decision comes due to the great difficulties facing the company in particular and the global aviation sector in general."
Limited options
Abu Abdullah, a Jordanian expatriate who works as a manager in a maritime transport company, said in a special statement to Al-Jazeera Net that he began, immediately after the reopening of Kuwait International Airport, in early August, to prepare for the transfer and his family entirely to Jordan despite the passage of more than 13 years of their presence in Kuwait .
The man in his fifties adds that, "although my monthly income has not been affected much during the past few months, as the freight movement, specifically those related to food and medical supplies, has never stopped, the picture appears very blurry during the next few months in light of the limited options for us as expatriates with Increasing economic difficulties cast a heavy shadow on everyone. "
Abu Abdullah continues that accordingly, he decided to establish his own business in Jordan, as he is still able at this stage to start anew in light of the availability of capital, relationships and experience, but after five years from now it may be too late, as he put it.
Residence problem
Many expatriates who have been laid off from their jobs and in light of the inability to join a new job or job due to the comprehensive impact of Corona on the majority of local companies, find himself forced to finally leave Kuwait, especially since the law gives him only three months to transfer his residency from one sponsor to another, otherwise It has accumulated financial irregularities, so many people prefer to leave and return to their countries instead of waiting anonymously with the interruption of salaries.
No money to return
Last April, the Kuwaiti Ministry of Interior organized a campaign to receive residency violators wishing to benefit from the pardon and leave without fines or travel costs. According to official figures, about 120,000 expatriates of different nationalities benefited from this campaign, most notably the Indian and Egyptian.
However, some press reports spoke on the other hand that there are thousands of expatriates who do not violate the residency law want to return to their countries, but they do not have money to book tickets after they are stranded due to dismissal from their jobs without getting their dues.