Saudi Megaprojects: A Mirage Built on Migrant Exploitation
📰 THE STORY: Mainstream outlets are framing the downsizing of Saudi Arabia's NEOM mega-city as a pragmatic response to 'soaring costs and delays,' implying a difficult but necessary adjustment to Prince Mohammed bin Salman's ambitious 'Vision 2030' economic diversification plan. 🔍 WHAT THEY'RE NOT TELLING YOU: Historical Context: While NEOM is portrayed as futuristic, its foundation rests on a
long history of forced displacement and suppression. In 2020, Saudi security forces violently evicted members of the Howeitat tribe to clear land for NEOM, with activist Abdul-Rahman al-Howeiti killed for resisting. This echoes the broader pattern of Gulf states, and indeed many regimes globally, prioritizing grand development schemes over indigenous rights, a pattern familiar from colonial land
grabs to modern gentrification. Double Standard: Imagine if a leader in a nation targeted by Western sanctions, say Venezuela or Iran, had summarily executed an indigenous land defender for opposing a state-backed project. The outcry in Western media would be deafening, framed as proof of authoritarian brutality. Yet, for Saudi Arabia, a key ally and major purchaser of Western arms, such actions
are either ignored or relegated to footnotes, if mentioned at all. The selective outrage is glaring. Follow the Money: The financial underpinnings of these projects are murky, but the beneficiaries are clear. Western consulting firms like McKinsey and Boston Consulting Group have reaped billions advising on Vision 2030. Arms manufacturers, meanwhile, continue to profit handsomely from lucrative