Saudi oil giant apologises over 'human hand sanitiser' stunt

Oil giant Saudi Aramco has apologised in an attempt to wash their hands clean after photos of a migrant worker forced to dress as a hand sanitiser in their headquarters sparked widespread criticism.

The photos posted onto Twitter on Tuesday (March 10) showed a man, who was believed to be of South Asian ethnicity, wearing a face mask, gloves, and a box with a hand sanitiser dispenser attached to it.

In one photo, an office worker could be seen taking some of the disinfectants.

[embed]https://twitter.com/HishamFageeh/status/1237406453175996417[/embed]

The stunt resulted in a backlash from netizens who slammed it as racist, shameful and disgusting. One netizen even called it "shocking contempt for human dignity".

[embed]https://twitter.com/TarekFatah/status/1237567777407250434[/embed]

[embed]https://www.instagram.com/p/B9kJq8QJWe3/[/embed]

Racism towards South Asians is common in many Middle Eastern countries, reported Business Insider.

[embed]https://twitter.com/Saudi_Aramco/status/1237483751334129667[/embed]

Following the outrage, Aramco apologised in a tweet in Arabic the following day.

The company expressed dissatisfaction for such abusive behaviour and clarified that the company did not approve of it.

Aramco added that it pulled the stunt immediately and took measures to prevent a repeat.

"The company would like to strongly emphasize that this is doesn't adhere to our values, ethics and conduct."

The intention behind the stunt might have been to raise awareness in keeping hands clean, some media outlets reasoned. As of the time of writing, Saudi Arabia has 45 patients infected with Covid-19.

rainercheung@asiaone.com