As Syrians continue to flow outwards in growing numbers, Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon are creaking under the collective strain of 4 million refugees, while the wealthy Arab Gulf States have by comparison done little to help the people fleeing Syria.[1] In response to recent pressure from both western governments and other Arab nations, the Gulf States have launched belated attempts to shore up their credibility. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia claims to have received 1 million Syrians since the start of the Syrian Civil War, although the actual number is likely to be much lower than that.[2] They have also justified their stance, using alarmist rhetoric to claim that the Syrians might bring terrorism and instability to the Gulf region.[3] While the reasons are varied and complex, there are two primary motivations behind the Gulf States’ reluctance: social problems and money.

To many westerners, “Arabs” are all part of a single one-dimensional ethnicity. However within this very large group, there are sub-groups that have as much complex nuances as compared to any other nation or culture. There are enough differences, so it seems, to warrant xenophobic sentiments. As one Kuwaiti official claimed, “we don’t want people to suffer from internal stress and trauma in our country (by accepting Syrian refugees)!”[4]  As for the Syrians, they too can be weary of the Gulf Arabs. Haraatz reported at least one former technician from Aleppo declaring that those of the Gulf region “are different Arabs. They are not like us. It’s a closed, conservative, extremely religious and arrogant society. I have no reason to be there”.[5] Social, cultural, and linguistic divides between the Syrians and the Gulf Arabs make both sides weary towards one other. In addition to the cultural difference is the regional rivalry between the Saudis and Iran as these countries are supporting the opposing sides in the Syrian Civil War. It appears that the Gulf monarchs fear not only the radical Sunni militants, but also possibly Alawite Assad sympathizers backed by Iran seeking retribution.[6]

Another reason the Gulf rulers are reluctant in directly admitting Syrian refugees is mainly economic. In the Gulf oil sheikdoms, the stability of many of these states depend on their governments’ ability to bribe their subjects with oil revenue with work carried out by huge numbers of poorly paid migrant workers from South Asia.[7] Jobs in the Gulf are distributed on a racial basis. Syrians, as fellow Arabs, are not allowed to work in low status menial jobs such as servants or nannies. Nor are they allowed to work in high status professional jobs reserved for the locals. The collapsing oil prices meant contraction of the oil sector, the only sector the Syrians are likely to find jobs in.[8] The fact that Syrians are Arabs and can assimilate more easily than the South Asians is also bad for the local economy since they cannot be expelled from the country once they run out of their economic usefulness.[9] A mass influx of Syrians could strain the resources of the Gulf countries to house them as habitable land is at a premium in the region.[10] The resources needed to sustain the refugees would weaken the ability of local governments in distributing the economic assistance to their own nationals that prevents them from rising up against the governent, thus creating instability.

Faced with these problems, Gulf governments chose to maintain the status quo and to send money to countries near Syria to handle the refugee issue. It is somewhat ironic that the Wahhabbi governments of the Gulf would put their own narrow interests first while watching their fellow Muslims flee in droves to the “infidel” west. The actions of the Gulf monarchies demonstrate they are not really that different from the governments love to criticize as insufficiently pious.

Bibliography

Ber’el, Zvi. 2015. “Why the Gulf States Aren’T Accepting Syrian Refugees.” Haaretz, 11 Sept. 2015.

Ewers, Michael and Justin Gengler. 2015. “No Gulf Country for Syrian Refugees.” Foreign Affairs, 05 Oct. 2015.

Kayaoglu, Barin. 2015. “Why the Gulf Isn’T to Blame for Syrian Refugee Crisis.” Al Monitor, 15 Sept. 2015.

Soghom, Mardo. 2015. “Migrant Crisis: Where have the Gulf States been?” The Atlantic, 08 Sept. 2015.

Stephens, Michael. 2015. “Migrant Crisis: Why the Gulf States are Not Letting Syrians In.” British Broadcast Corporation, 07 Sept. 2015.

[1] Mardo Soghom, “Migrant Crisis: Where have the Gulf States been?” The Atlantic, 08 Sept. 2015, 2015, .

[2] Barin Kayaoglu, “Why the Gulf Isn’T to Blame for Syrian Refugee Crisis,” Al Monitor, sec. Turkey Pulse, 15 Sept. 2015, 2015.

[3] Zvi Ber’el, “Why the Gulf States Aren’T Accepting Syrian Refugees,” Haaretz, sec. Middle East, 11 Sept. 2015, 2015.

[4] Michael Ewers and Justin Gengler, “No Gulf Country for Syrian Refugees,” Foreign Affairs, 05 Oct. 2015, 2015, .

[5] Ber’el, Why the Gulf States Aren’T Accepting Syrian Refugees, Vol. Middle East, 2015).

[6] Michael Stephens, “Migrant Crisis: Why the Gulf States are Not Letting Syrians In,” British Broadcast Corporation, sec. Middle East, 07 Sept. 2015, 2015.

[7] Ewers and Gengler, No Gulf Country for Syrian Refugees, 2015).

[8] Michael Ewers and Justin Gengler, “No Gulf Country for Syrian Refugees,” Foreign Affairs, 05 Oct. 2015, 2015, .

[9] Stephens, Migrant Crisis: Why the Gulf States are Not Letting Syrians In, Vol. Middle East, 2015).

[10] Kayaoglu, Why the Gulf Isn’T to Blame for Syrian Refugee Crisis, Vol. Turkey Pulse, 2015).