ABSTRACT
This chapter is dedicated to the Eritrean diaspora communities in Saudi Arabia and their daily struggles to cope in a hostile labour environment. In addition, they are subjected to the demands of their home government, which makes use of its transnational institutions to levy a diaspora tax as a precondition for the passport that is required to get a work permit. Contrary to their compatriots in the Global North, they do not enjoy political asylum and are thus defenceless against the demands of their home government’s authority and simultaneously subjected to Saudi Arabia’s restrictive kafala system. Both authoritarian governments do not permit any open political activity, whether regarding labour rights or political change in Eritrea. These heavy restrictions on their personal agency and their permanent struggle for survival result in social alienation and a lack of belonging to both their host and home societies.
