Dozens of unemployed university graduates and teachers staged rare protests in two Saudi cities on Sunday to demand jobs and better wages in the biggest Arab economy, which is struggling to reduce joblessness. Saudi Arabia, the world's No. 1 oil exporter and a US ally, is an absolute monarchy that does not tolerate public dissent.
There is no elected parliament or political parties, and newspapers tend to carry the official line. Over 20 protesters gathered outside the education ministry office in Jeddah while around 20 collected outside the ministry in the capital Riyadh, witnesses and participants said.
"God willing, I'll be here until Friday if I have to. We don't care anymore after seven years of unemployment. We have no other choice," said Omar Alharbi, a 34-year-old Arabic language teacher who took part in the Jeddah protest. "I plan to stay here until we find a solution," he said. The father of six now works as a teacher in a private school making only 1,800 riyals ($480) a month, below the country's unemployment handout of 2,000 riyals.
Despite its oil wealth, Saudi Arabia, which is rolling out its third straight record budget this year, is struggling to reduce unemployment which reached 10 percent in 2010.