Thank you everyone for your patience. Since I’ve been back from KSA it’s been a whirlwind of activity. I promise I’ll finish tell you all about my trip and what I learned.
I’d like to thank NCUSAR and the MOHE for giving me this opportunity and I will hold up my promise to continue with this blog.
Shukraan!
Andrew
Due to technical difficulties this post is being brought to you by the first class lounge of Saudi Arabian Airlines…
Day 4:
The group had only two meetings set up for this day. The first was a meeting with Dr. Aleisa at the MOHE (our trip’s benefactor). We learned that %80 the medical community in KSA are non-Saudis and that the King is encouraging students to pursue medical degrees. He is also extending the King Abdullah Scholarship for studying abroad by 5 more years. The thing he said that perked all of our ears is that non-Saudis can come to Saudi Arabia and study for free (if they qualify).
The next meeting was at lunch with Dr. Saeed who is an advisor to the king. He had a lot of really good insight for the future of KSA and the issues that face the kingdom. He echoed all of the previous sentiments about the Israel-Palestine and Iran. One thing he added was that the current king (King Abdullah) has been positively received among Saudis and has helped change the image of Saudi Arabia in the international community because of his compassion and overall personality and character.
Dr. John Duke Anthony giving Dr. Saeed a book about Washington D.C. old and new.
We had a little bit of downtime after lunch so we all split up and I’m pretty sure we all took naps.
Next stop was the Alwaleed Bin Talal Foundation. I will be dedicating a post just to the foundation so look forward to that.
Once that concluded we had some free time before we went to Dr. Zamil’s house. That is where I met his son Nasser Zamil who has been a good friend. We talked and ate till around midnight and then we all parted ways. It was an excellent evening and a fine example of Saudi hospitality.
Nasser and I before dinner
We’re back in the states now and I have a lot to catch up on (sleep being one of them), but I will continue to post what all went on during our trip and all that I learned. So stay tuned!
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Hello from AL Khobar!
I had a post that I started writing but it got lost someone on the tumblr. server so I get to start over. Before I do I wanted to post a fact that I learned about in my Natural Resources and Planning class (taught by Doc Augustine) that I don’t think many Americans really know about.
The top 5 exporters of oil to the U.S. in order: 1. Canada 2. Saudi Arabia 3. Mexico 4. Venezuela 5. Nigeria
Day 3 (Riyadh):
FIrst we went to the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce where we learned about the small-medium business happenings in the city. The representative of the chamber went on to talk about the charitable organizations they have created or support (like their orphan program). Like many of our conversations we diverged from the original topic and moved in to politics and world affairs. Our host began to speak about how wonderful he thought America was (remember many Saudis are educated in America) and how he had a fascination with the founding fathers. I asked him what he thought was the biggest obstacle facing Saudi Arabia and civil rights and his answer was simple. Arabs have had to wear a lot of hats and accumulated a lot of social values, and that they must now view and separate true religion from what is man made. I’ve heard this same sentiment expressed by a lot of people but, like Americans, Saudis have a dynamic range of differing political and cultural views.
After that we went to the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies (KFCRIS) for our next meeting. Before I came to KSA I thought that princes and princesses were more numerable than all of the sand in Rub al-Khali (The Empty Quarter). Our meeting was with HRH Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud, so I didn’t really think much of it. It wasn’t until after the meeting I was talking with some Saudis and they said things like “Oh i’ve seen him on t.v.” and “I’ve dreamed of meeting him” that I really felt the magnitude of the opportunity I was given. Prince Turki gave us an excellent overview of the relationship of the U.S. and KSA over the past 50 years. HIs expertise in this area are robust considering he was the head of KSA intelligence. If you’d like to find out more on this meeting contact me privately. To respect his privacy I will not attribute anything further.
The delegation after their meeting with Prince Turki. Photo taken by Josh Hilbrand. Thank you Josh!
Within KFCRIS there were two exhibits. One was a modern history of Jerusalem from the mandate period to now, and the other was of the life of King Faisal (Prince Turki’s father). The thing that impressed me more than all of the gifts that the king was given throughout his life was his bed (pictured below).
A bed fit for a king. We were told he lived his life in modesty.
Our last trip was to the U.S. Embassy in what I’m going to call embassy city. The embassy was large and we had the opportunity to meet with top State Department officials and received a briefing on U.S. policies and their concerns within the kingdom. It was very informative and we got to stop by their gift shop (yes … they have a gift shop in the embassy).
Sorry it’s taken so long to get these blogs out, we really do run non-stop on this trip. Please feel free to send me any questions through Tumblr. or my email a.w.cotton@me.com . I promise there will be more to come.
Thank you,
Andrew
I feel that every time I sit down to blog I have to get back up to leave again. This case is no exception. Today was the first day I have had a chance to sleep in, but now I’m going to go with my new friend Nasser Zamil (Dr. Zamil’s son) and he is going to give me a tour of Riyadh, then later after a meeting I will get to meet his friends for coffee.
Tomorrow we leave for Dammam and Al Khobar but we won’t leave until noon, so I should catch up with the past couple of days that I have missed.
*DISCLAIMER*
All thoughts and views are my own and do not reflect the thoughts and views of the National Council on U.S.-Arab Relations.
When we were riding in the car to one of the meetings we had, I was sitting in the front seat of the car with our wonderful driver Sadeek. I don’t remember if I said it or not but he is from Nigeria and barely can speak any english… On to the story. I heard him and Sa’ad (one of the MOHE guys) talking about the world cup in arabic. I then jumped in the conversation followed by everyone in the car. It was wonderful to see how one thing can really go beyond all language barriers … and that’s football.
Also, on the ride home Sadeek and I talked a little bit about different things. I found out that he has gone on the Hajj four times. I cracked a joke about the “bomb check” at the hotel and he started talking about the mujahadeen and about true Islam, and it was so wonderful to see a person so adamant about peace. If any of you are wondering if Muslims at large support mujahadeen like teachings … just ask the next muslim you run in to. I know you’ll get a similar response.
Sadeek the only person I trust my life with on the chaotic streets of Riyadh
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By the middle of the first day I had already felt like I had been in Riyadh for 10 days. I will first tell you all of the places and people that we visited and then tell you different stories and thoughts I had throughout the day.
After breakfast we traveled to King Saud University (KSU) where we learned about the history of Saudi Arabia’s first University. After a warm welcome we were introduced to the vision KSU (as pictured in previous blog with the caption KSU 2). On the drive in we saw 163 cranes (the most concentrated grouping of cranes in the region) and they were all working on a project of expanding KSU. Along with making a large woman only campus, they are expanding their technology, engineering, and medical schools. From there we went to the Engineering School to visit the technology incubator where we met the very jovial Dr. Alterkawi (the Aggie), and explained further how KSA is moving from a petroleum based economy to a “knowledge based” economy. This phrase we will hear throughout the day and will learn what that means to many different people.
From there we went to the new Prince Salman Entrepreneurship Center, where they are working as a business incubator to help their students create jobs not just find jobs. This is a small step in the direction to correct the high unemployment in KSA. There have been different figures thrown around to what the real unemployment percentage is but I think that the most accurate one that has been presented is around 16%. Also, KSA has a giant youth population that will want to be entering the work force soon.
Our last stop at KSU was a meeting with one of the administrators at KSU (his name to come as soon as I can find someone who knows). Let me remark that at every sit down meeting we have we are given a warm ginger drink in a small cup (bigger than a thimble smaller than a sake cup), bottled water, and moroccan tea, something that I will miss dearly on my return.
The most charismatic and funny person we have met was at our next meeting. Dr. Abdulrahman Abdullah Al Zamil who is on the board of directors of the Zamil group corporation. He is a leading Saudi businessman that has grown the industry sector in Saudi Arabia. The Zamil group is responsible for producing petrochemical products, AC Delco Batteries, and air conditioners among many other things. Though I do not agree with all of his views on politics and religion, I respect him for his modesty, humor, and for being genuine. We eventually found out the net worth of Mr. Zamil (out of respect I won’t post it), but for his wealth he is not flashy. He doesn’t own a jet or many fancy cars … heck he even ate fast food with us. This also brings me to an important point very few Saudi citizens are actually rich, though the people I’ve met do make up the exception.
Dr. Zamil himself
Next we went to the Saudi Fransi Bank (SFB) where we met with one of the chief advisors “Dr. John” (his last name is greek and hard to pronounce/spell off the top of your head).First off SFB is the second oldest bank in KSA (of 12 total banks), and handles the assets of the royal family (including the King). This meeting was the most educational of the day in my opinion. At the other places we learned very little about the problems facing KSA now and in the near future, Dr. John was very straight forward and incredibly blunt. The four pages of notes that I took barely covers the tip of the iceberg of that particular meeting. We learned that KSA spends roughly %25 of their GDP towards education, and that the Ministry of Education is the largest government employer. This coincides with the new “knowledge based” economy. Saudi Arabia is spending a lot of money in security, like the 1.6 billion dollar border fence between Iraq and KSA. A lot of money earned in KSA is being sent else were, remittances from foreign workers went from $20 billion in 2008 to $25 billion in 2009, despite the global economic crisis. Contrary to popular belief KSA does realize that their oil reserve will run out, and that there is an expiration date to figure out what steps to take to remain viable in a post-Saudi oil world. When their houses have no installation, last less than 30 years, and people consume greatly, they have to find ways to fix these problems. After much figuring KSA has to invest $300 billion from now till 2025 in water and electricity development at the current rate of consumption (2.1 billion barrels) just to stay on top of the need. He spoke very passionately about issues facing the country he wishes he could call home. One thing that really struck me as interesting was his difference of opinion of the “knowledge based” economy direction.
He went in to depth about his views on the issue of job creation and his arguments against the current direction, and this raised a very interesting point in my head. If you would’ve asked me before this fellowship if I think KSA is a diverse country I would of said “of course, it has such a rich history and culture”, but I don’t think I fully understood what diversity in another country was until I witnessed it first hand. I’ve visited other parts of the world, but the views, government, and basic ideas in society weren’t extremely different than mine (though they were always always different in more ways than one). This moment really helped open my eyes to look at the Saudis through new lenses while continuing to think critically about everything I was being told.
Next up was the King Abdul Aziz Historic Center, where we went from pre-history to modern day Arabian Peninsula. It walked us through the history of the Arabic language (which was one of if not my favorite part), the different empires of the Middle East, the history of Islam, and the unification of KSA. I got to see one of the many real coverings of the Kabah door. In the middle of the center there was a courtyard with a brook (that acted as a natural a/b) with families and children running about. Here is a picture from the courtyard:
After that we met a wonderful American attorney that took us to a local Lebanese restaurant and the food just kept coming.
Coming tomorrow: I’ll write about seeing “Texas Chicken”, meeting a Prince, talking to “real” Saudis, and everything else that happened today. For now I’m going to upload pictures and hit the hay.