Yes, there is a lot of racism in the Middle East, especially the gulf states. They practice the kafala system whereby someone has to sponsor you (like an employer) for you to go work over there, and once you are there they take your passport and legal papers from you thus making you their slave to abuse and do as they please. You cannot quit and go work for another employer nor can you leave the country. That's just the labor workers. It's much worse for the domestic workers who get abused, burnt, stabbed, starved and raped among other things. The so called "islamic" justice system there takes the side of the employer as well. When these stories make the news or when these abused people go back home and tell their stories, it creates a ripple effect in the general population having great hatred and animosity towards the arabs.
Many nations have banned their citizens from working in these arab nations due to their abuse and human rights violations, demanding better safety and protection for their citizens. Uganda and Ghana being among those nations. Rather then doing what's islamically right and in accordance with human rights in treating others, Saudi Arabia bans domestics after the Philippines imposed conditions for employing their nationals to ensure their safety and well being.
