View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by UPCommons. Portal del coneixement obert de la UPC IMMIGRATION SOCIAL CHALLENGES IN PUBLIC SPACES IN JEDDAH, SAUDI ARABIA Maher Mahfoz Summan PhD student Av. Diagonal 114, Barcelona, Barcelona, 08019, Spain [email protected] +34622049992 Centre de Política de Sòl i Valoracions (CPSV), Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC). BarcelonaTech Av. Diagonal 649, Barcelona, Barcelona, 08019, Spain [email protected] +34 93 401 62 00 Key words: Immigration, Saudi Arabia, Social, Public Spaces. Abstract After the economic rise in Saudi Arabia in 1938, workers migrated from across Saudi Arabia seeking better work opportunities. Statistics from the General Census of Population and Housing in 2010 reveal that the total number of international immigrants increased from 0.7 to 1.73 million between 2002 and 2010 (from 29.4% to 50% of the Population), coming from different countries, cultural, social and religious backgrounds. Over recent years, a perception has developed by some citizens that there are too many Immigrants, which has exposed increased feelings of insecurity. Anti-immigrant attitudes and social exclusion have become more prominent, Saudi nationals have become concerned about diminishing national identity, in addition to believe that expatriates take available work and economic opportunities away from nationals, main cause of crime, and moral corruption. Immigrants have brought with them new ideas, skills and practices from their home cultures, which add to the new urban cultures in Jeddah. This has helped to create a culturally vibrant urban environment. The study will discuss the challenges faced by immigrants in Jeddah, in terms of interaction and social harmony with Saudi citizens in public spaces, and the underlying causes of those challenges. Qualitative method is used in this study, through discuss and analyse general literature review about the objective of the research (Public space and Immigration social challenges in Jeddah), then propose general recommendations that contribute to the improvement of the immigrants social life in the public space. 1358 Introduction In 1938, when oil was discovered, workers migrated moved to Saudi Arabia, and this phenomenon of workers seeking better work opportunities continued (Mandeli, 2011). Immigrants in Saudi Arabia have been uprooted from their origins and create new social lives, practicing some actions of their original. However, these immigrants cannot be described as integrating within the community, due to different ethno-national origins, clans and languages. Huo states that immigrants play a critical role in shaping the city’s planning and landscape as they create new cultures within neighbourhoods and within the city urban context (Huo, 2013). Society has been seen to change in response to foreign migrant workers who have made their homes in various residential areas of Jeddah. However, these immigrant workers have brought with them new ideas, skills and practices from their home cultures, which add to the new urban cultures in Jeddah. This has helped to create a culturally vibrant and cosmopolitan urban environment (Mandeli, 2011). The social relation has changed between citizens and immigrants, because of the social and economic changes in last two recent decades in Jeddah. Saudi nationals have become concerned about diminishing national and regional identities, as well as an increased awareness of the potential threats caused by too many international immigrants. Residents are often concerned about their personal safety from migrant workers that have lost their jobs or who have entered the country illegally, and often turn to crime to meet their basic needs of food and accommodation. Although there has been a traditional acceptance and tolerance of foreigners living and working in the city, over recent years, a perception has developed by some residents that there are too many foreign migrant workers, which has exposed increased feelings of uncertainty, anxiety and insecurity (Mandeli, 2011). Cities in Saudi Arabia have had design practices, has contributed to problems with the built environment. This has interfered with the social harmony found traditionally in these cities, and has had a negative influence on social status, children’s activities, women’s activities, social interaction. Nagy (2006) suggests that patterns of use of public open spaces are influenced by the large numbers of migrant workers in this region that often produces social distinctions for specific open spaces based on feelings of affiliation, strategies and behaviours of individuals and attitudes towards social diversity that are complex, so that official policies and discourse tend to overlap and interact (Nagy, 2006). Because of this apparent deterioration in social relations (especially for immigrants) in public spaces in the city of Jeddah, emerged the idea of the study of Immigration social challenges in public spaces in Jeddah. The reason for choosing the city of Jeddah Jeddah city is selected as the geographical setting for this paper for a number of reasons. Significant developments have taken place in the city over many decades, due to the impact of expanding commercial activities, and the improved economy in Saudi Arabia. Jeddah presents a typical example of a city in the Middle East region, but is also unusual as many migrant workers are based there, and its position as a seaport means that many pilgrims from other 1359 countries pass through the city. There is also urgency in providing such research, because of the rapid development of social isolation, especially for immigrants in Jeddah. Saudi Arabia Within the region of the Middle East, Saudi Arabia is the largest country, and when compared to Arab countries it is the third largest in terms of land area (2,149,690 square kilometres). The Red Sea lies to the West and the Arabian Gulf lies to the North east, and according to 2010 statistics (Central Department of Statistics and Information, 2010), the population is estimated to be 29,994,272, and the number of non-Saudi residents are estimated to be 9,723,214. Saudi Arabia mostly has a desert climate, apart from the south west of the country, so that day temperatures are high (around 36ºC) during the spring, summer and autumn, and moderately high (around 17ºC) during the winter. Temperatures at night are low across the country. Jeddah The Municipality of Jeddah is located within the Makkah (Mecca) region, which is on the central western coast of Saudi Arabia (Figure1). This is an area of 5,460 sq. km and situated on the Red Sea coast, which stretches from the settlement of Thuwal in the North, to near Mastabah in the South and covers a distance of approximately 160 km Jeddah City is the main settlement of the Governorate, and this is situated 65 km west of Makkah, with which it has been historically linked as the gateway to the Two Holy Mosques for over 1300 years (Adas, 2015). Figure 1 Map of a Saudi Arabia. Source: (Addas, 2015) 1360 Demographics and social life in Jeddah The population of Saudi Arabia has a high percentage (39.92%) of people aged 15 years and younger, and this significant youth population is also reflected in Jeddah, but with a slightly smaller percentage (32.2%) (CDS 1992; 2004; 2007). Jeddah Municipality in 2002 reported that Jeddah had an older population when compared to other Saudi Arabian cities due to the large number of mainly middle-aged foreign immigrants, in addition to Jeddah’s lower birth when compared with other Saudi cities. Therefore, the male population of Jeddah has historically risen faster than for females (Mandeli, 2011); however, these population differences have never been substantial, because the families of immigrant workers tend to join them at a later time. The population of Jeddah has grown more than 115 times between the unification of the country in 1932 and 2014. Jeddah’s concentration of power, together with an accumulation of wealth has attracted many newcomers to the city, and increased its population. The national census has revealed that Jeddah’s population has risen from 2.8 million in 2004 to 3.98 million in 2014 (CDS 2004; 2010). The Central Department of Statistics and Information reports that the current level of unemployment across the country is about 5.50%, but the IMF reports that over the previous four years non-Saudis were employed in 1.5 million new jobs, compared to 500,000 Saudis gaining new jobs. Therefore, the unemployment rate for Saudis is 12%, but the unemployment levels for specific groups of Saudis is much higher, such as those under the age of 50 (30%) and females (35%) (IMF, 2013). The family, as a social institution, remains the main meeting place for family members. Even in cities, such as Jeddah, where there are plentiful options for recreation, sport and religious support, the ties with family members remain of high importance (Adas, 2015). Immigration in Jeddah According to a report by Jeddah Municipality (2004), between 1971 and 1974, foreign workers increased to become around 37% of the population of the city. This percentage of migrant workers remained broadly similar and in 2002 this had decreased slightly to around 30%. The number of Saudi citizens in the total Jeddah population increased rapidly from 47.7% in 1978 to 70.6% in 2002 (Jeddah-Municipality 2004). However, the percentage of internal immigration declined and the numbers of foreign workers increased over the period from 1978-2002 (Mandeli, 2011), most of them are Arab and Middle East countries, as well as those from the Philippines, India, Pakistan and Indonesia Saudi nationals were unable to provide the skills and expertise that expatriate workers were able to offer since the economic boom of the 1970s, so their numbers continued to grow due mostly to a heavy reliance upon the work of expatriates that was essential for Saudi economic development (Mandeli, 2011).