The mess is because foreign workers on which many businesses rely are fleeing, have gone into hiding or are under arrest amid a crackdown targeting the kingdom’s 9 million migrant laborers.
Saudis say dozens of businesses like bakeries, supermarkets, gas stations and cafes are now closed. They say prices have also soared for services from mechanics, plumbers and electricians.
Saudi columnist Abdul Rahman Al Rashed cautioned Saudis to remember that without “a strong state and oil revenues” they too may have emigrated in search of work. “Those deprived of the chance of a proper life can understand the feeling of those wanting to seek a better life,” he wrote in the Asharq Al Awsat newspaper.
I was in Saudi last week and I did not notice such things. It is only the illegals that have left or gone into hiding - people like unauthorized drivers, day workers or those who clean cars in the evening.
Everything else is running pretty much the same