This article presents some of the stark realities that migrant workers face throughout the Gulf. Many travel to countries like Bahrain in search of higher paying jobs than those that are available to them in their home countries. However, they may be coerced into an employment contract that carries a debt the worker must pay off to his/her employer (sponsor) under the "Kafala" or sponsorship system. In countries across the Gulf, it is common practice that an employer legally sponsors his employees and deducts a specific percentage of his worker's salary to repay the debt acquired from the supplied visa, processed documentation (including passports and immigration papers), as well as the airline ticket that the employer provides. However, these respective governments also allot national citizens a designated number of "free visas," intended for the hiring of domestic workers or in some cases, hundreds of employees if the citizen is a major stake-holder in manufacturing or commerce. These "free visas" bear no cost to the individual but provide a means through which the salary of sponsored workers can still be demanded in order for the worker to repay the debt incurred for using the "sponsor's" free visa. Bahrain has officially terminated this variation of the Kafala system, revoking the liberality with which regular citizens can control the movement of migrant workers.
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