Universities, hospitals, and health institutions in the southern part of Saudi Arabia have recently terminated, or are in the process of terminating, contracts of hundreds of Yemeni academics, doctors, and other professionals without prior notice and for reasons that remain unknown.  In Najran and Jazan Universities alone,  about 150 and 50 faculty, respectively, are affected by the directive.

This mass job termination has not been linked to job performance and targets exclusively Yemeni academics and professionals that have been legally vetted and hired by their host institution with approval of Saudi Authorities. Most of them have been working and living with their families there for years. The timing and conditions of these terminations, which require that people leave within 3 months, and less than that in many cases, come at a time when Yemen is still in a state of war and facing many existential challenges, including food insecurity and a looming famine, and a global pandemic. These sudden terminations come just one week before the new academic year, which presents serious challenges for this large number of Yemeni academics and professionals to find alternative opportunities and disrupt the lives and education of their children. These circumstances, places our affected colleagues in very difficult and complicated circumstances that put their careers, lives, and the lives of their children at risk.  Many of them cannot go back to Yemen, as they fear political persecution, while only a handful of countries are granting visas to Yemeni nationals today. 

Calls for action
We call upon the authorities, institutions, and decision-makers in the KSA to 1) reconsider their decision, recognizing the impact of these sudden terminations on the career and lives of those affected and their families, and 2) to at least take corrective measures to minimize their hardship and give them sufficient time and compensation-resources to help them relocate and find alternative working opportunities within a reasonable period.  

We also call upon our fellow academics, medical professionals, and professionals from other fields from Yemen and other countries to provide support and guidance to those affected and use their network and resources to help them access other working opportunities to minimize the damage to their lives and careers.

Finally, we call upon universities, institutes, professional and scientific societies, foundations, funds and organizations worldwide to recognize the difficult circumstances facing our fellow Yemeni academics, scientists, doctors, and other professionals in Saudi Arabia and to mobilize their networks, resources, and relationship with Saudi institutions to address their situation.