Nora Otb retweetledi
To the Editors
I am writing to you because many Saudi citizens feel that our voices regarding the reality of our job market are completely ignored in the mainstream media. I am currently reaching out to several major international news outlets, hoping that a global journalistic platform will finally look into what is truly happening to young Saudis today.
For months, hashtags like #العطالة_بين_السعوديين (Unemployment of the Saudi People) and #التوطين (Localization) have been trending across Saudi social media. Thousands of people are speaking out about unemployment, unfair hiring, and favoritism. There is a deep frustration that ordinary, highly qualified Saudi graduates are being sidelined while top opportunities go to foreign consultancies and closed corporate networks.
I want to make it clear that this problem does not come from official government policy. In fact, our leadership constantly pushes for ambitious localization goals. The real issue is a powerful corporate "lobby" within the private sector and semi-governmental companies. This entrenched network often operates behind the scenes, protecting its own interests and keeping high-paying leadership roles within exclusive, non-local circles, completely bypassing the state's actual vision.
Recently, the hashtag #فيصل_المطيري went viral after a Saudi worker spoke publicly about corruption and hiring bias in the private sector. The massive public reaction to his story shows how widespread this issue is—it exposed a reality that these powerful corporate interests refuse to admit.
A whole generation of young Saudis spend years studying, earning degrees, and mastering English, only to find themselves locked out of fair opportunities. Meanwhile, officials keep sharing optimistic statistics that many citizens feel do not reflect the reality on the ground.
At the same time, people are becoming afraid to speak openly online. With heavy social media monitoring and news of public warnings, citizens are terrified to express their daily frustrations about unemployment. Since local media completely avoids investigating these corporate networks or criticizing influential business interests, ordinary citizens have nowhere else to turn.
I am not writing this because I hate my country; I love Saudi Arabia and want it to succeed. But the youth cannot build a future when a powerful corporate lobby blocks them at every turn. We are asking international journalists to look past the official press releases, see what Saudi citizens are actually saying online, and investigate these structural barriers.
Please look into the reality behind #فيصل_المطيري, #العطالة_بين_السعوديين .
Ultimately, we are turning to the Western press because we hope to find a standard of journalistic integrity that our local media lacks—as they remain too intimidated by powerful lobbies and wealthy corporate interests to speak the truth.
Thank you .
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@FoxNews @cnn @nytimes @FT
Financial Times@FT
Saudi Arabia launched a crackdown against citizens complaining on social media about the hiring of foreigners for senior positions at a state-owned company. ft.trib.al/mMOAkIr
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