‘Racist’: Saudi Aramco accused of humiliating foreign worker amid coronavirus panic

Images of a foreign worker walking around the halls of Saudi oil company Aramco and wearing a large hand santiser dispenser have been condemned as racist and exploitative.

According to several photos that went viral late on Tuesday, a worker wearing a mask and a box that dispenses hand sanitiser can be seen approaching staff in the lobby and outside perimeter of one of the oil behemoth’s buildings.

Although the image was not geo-tagged, the interior of one of the building’s resembled Aramco’s offices in Dhahran.

In a statement released late on Tuesday, Aramco distanced itself from the act, calling it “abusive,” adding it simply wanted to highlight the importance of hand sterilisation.

“The company has immediately stopped this act and has taken steps to prevent it from happening again,” it said.

Some Twitter users described the images as “modern-day slavery”, while the original tweet that went viral sarcastically stated: “Gulf class, a gift from Aramco.”

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, many have highlighted the issue of increased racism targeting minorities.