Saudi Arabia – Myths and Monsters II

Racism in Saudi Arabia

Saudis suffer from what I call a deeply ingrained ‘Lawrence of Arabia’ syndrome. (I should copyright this term). I was at a party recently and was asked the question whether I had suffered any form of racism whilst growing up in the West. My answer was simple, I had experienced more racism in Saudi than I have ever witnessed, let alone experienced in the West. Its true but throughout college, uni and my career the idea that there is a difference between a white and non white person has practically never occurred. For me at least it has always been merit and hardwork that has taken me forward, so to change gears when you arrive in Saudi Arabia is an ironic feeling. A typical case of Lawrence of Arabia Syndrome is the plenthora of Blue Eyed White Consultants and Executives living here on salaries that they can only dream of in the West and are beyond their skills and abilities. The Arabs will give out contracts and accept ludicrously expensive consultative and other work based on how white the sellers are. This is an honest opinion, as I sit with the Arab decision makers and can see their reaction based on what is clearly a racist inferiority complex to the white man. On the other hand they have a superiority complex when it comes to people from the subcontinent. Since the last 50 years, and thanks to the scavenging politicians and generals whereby our economy is digging the pits to go lower, the subcontinent has provided the entire human capital to the Middle East, based on which they have built their cities and infrastructure. We all think that oil is their biggest asset. I disagree, as I strongly believe that the sub-continent’s human capital is their biggest asset. An asset they have used and abused and continue to use and abuse. You can hire a Bangladeshi guy here for less than 500 Riyals per month, which is less than $140 per month. For this amount he will have to work 24/7, doing anything and everything you want. The treatment meted out to these individuals is inhumane and abusive to the core. These people are treated like slaves, whereby their passports are confiscated and they live the lowest grade of life, whilst sending that $140 back home to their families who survive on this pittance. It is the unspoken tragedy of the subcontinent that we have let our lower classes down and have not created enough sustainable opportunities for them, such as the Chinese, in order for them to lose their integrity and sense of self, working for these Arabs. The Arabs are abhorrent and thankless towards this silent workforce which grinds in this mill day in day out. Without these brave sub continental men (Bangaldeshis, Pathans, Keralites etc) this country would not have a single house let alone the huge glass and metal towers that sprout out from the middle of the desert in a phallic competition between Arab builders who represent their tribes.

Education

In a recent survey of the education standards of the world, Saudi State Schools (attended by the majority of Saudis) came out equivalent to Sierra Leone government schools for skills in Mathematics, Sciences and languages. This is a pathetic state of affairs given the amount of resources that these people have available to them. This is largely due to the curriculum which is heavily restricted and controlled by the government, to ensure that Saudis remain a dumb and non questioning race to the squalid nature of their rulers. Good education means free thinking and god forbid if people here started thinking for themselves, the ruling elite would be questioned on the scam that is their rule. Through personal observations I found that the Saudi youth has little or no interest in the ways of the world, preferring to drive their shiny cars up and down the main streets and shouting and whistling at girls in other cars or on the streets. There are no good libraries here and those that I have visited are full of religious books and scholarly thesis. The major bookstores are more like electronic gadget shops with a backroom full of censored books, children books and fashion magazines. There is little or no interest in the world exhibited by people here except when they are off to spend their summer vacations in the West and discuss the party places they would like to visit. I guess there is nothing wrong in being young and carefree as long as a section of your society is filled by people who are interested in education, science and progress. Here unfortunately society has expunged these qualities completely. It is saddening once again, because after witnessing this state affair I understood the decay of Muslims today. Throughout history, the most strong and powerful muslim nations lead the fields of progress, development and education, giving that light to the rest of the Muslim Ummah. The Abbasids did it and so did the ottomans in the beginning, but here the richest, most powerful Muslim nation in the world is darker in the progressive light it emits, than a government school in SWAT. This is one of major reasons of our downfall. I can add to this thesis of mine by saying that the light this nation could have offered to the entire world is replaced by the darkness it offers through political wahhabism, the affects of which we are all witnessing around the world. It is still the case that the Most powerful Muslim nation in the World is still leading the muslim world, but on the wrong road and to the wrong destination. The Observatories of Baghdad have been burned, the universities of Egypt are in disrepute, all that remains are the proverbial darkness and dollars on offer from this place. It is a very sad state of affairs, as us Pakistanis with almost no natural resources to count on and with terrible leaders have achieved and done more in education and sciences with our menial resources than these people can even conceive of with all the resources available to them. It’s a waste that is reverberating across all corners of the Muslim world and the world at Large.

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