United Arab Emirates authorities have arrested more than 450 illegal immigrants from Asian countries since the beginning of August.
This is the largest number of illegal workers captured in a 20 day period since the UAE armed forces and police launched a concerted campaign two years ago to halt the immigration, which has caused political and security problems, as well as social and economic repercussions.
Infiltration of the UAE, one of the richest countries in the world, is not new, but the authorities have begun to feel the seriousness of the problem because foreigners already make up more than 70 percent of the population.
The economy draw is the main spur to illegal immigration. In the 1970s and 1980s, the authorities worked less to fight the phenomenon because of the need for foreign workers in the local market. But in the past decade, the illegal aliens have begun to constitute a burden on the local economy, which was no longer in need of foreign workers to build the country's infrastructure.
Over the past decade, UAE authorities have taken a series of steps to combat immigrants. The most important measure was strengthening supervision along the coasts overlooking the Gulf, a main route used by foreigners coming from Iran, Pakistan, Afghanistan and India.
Security sources say naval patrols have been stepped up, and a modern radar system was deployed along the coast, from the entrance to the Gulf up to the border with Qatar.
The Iraqi invasion of Kuwait, and before that the Iran-Iraq war, has contributed to the war against the illegal migrants. Because of the growing tension in the area, the Gulf States stepped up their naval patrols.
Also, the presence of US and British warships in the region has served as deterrent to illegal activities at sea. As a result, the foreign workers began searching for alternative routes. They started arriving at remote shores between Oman and Yemen or along the distant eastern shores of the UAE. From there, they would make their way through the mountains to their preferred destination in the UAE.
The change in the route forced the UAE authorities to focus their attention on their land borders with neighboring countries.
The measures also included strict punishment for illegal immigrants and those who help them or give them shelter and work. The armed forces were entrusted with security at the airport, replacing the border police of the ministry of interior.
Although the campaign has reduced the number of illegal immigrants, it is clear that solving the problem completely will require much more time.
The would-be workers are driven by difficult economic conditions prevailing in nearby Asian countries. Many of them have died during the strenuous journey to the UAE. Yet the economic factor is not the only element. Drug traffickers were also exploiting the situation to smuggle drugs into the UAE, especially in the 1970s and 1980s. In recent years, there has been a decline in the number of drug cases and the dealers are now using other methods.
There are no statistics about the number of illegal workers in the UAE, or the number of people who have infiltrated into the country.
But security officials say that thousands of those who entered the country illegally were later issued proper documents. This was done in the context of the government's efforts to limit the number of those residing in the country illegally.
Many of the illegal workers find refuge within their own communities in the UAE. Many of them work in very difficult and sometimes inhuman conditions. This situation often provides fertile soil for crime.
UAE authorities hope to receive help from their Arab brethren in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) to fight illegal immigration.
The GCC includes Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
But these authorities don't depend much on multilateral cooperation and prefer bilateral cooperation. The drawing of the border between the UAE and Oman, which was carried out last year, is expected to improve cooperation between the two countries in this field.
© 2000 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
