The Great Paradox

It’s a hot, bright, cloudless afternoon in Jeddah and our last in KSA. Despite our desire to see more facets of this country (outside of the gleaming city centers, government chambers, and world-class hotels) we have learned a great deal about this often paradoxical place. The scene before me seems to sum it all up: 400 thread count sheets on my bed, non-alcoholic budweiser in my fridge, a call to prayer blaring from a nearby mosque, men in SUV’s flying through a round-a-bout, and niqab clad women slipping through the shadows.

Saudi Arabia is a beautiful country, filled with generous, proud, and welcoming people. Throughout the week I’ve been surprised by the efficiency of the Saudi government, and King Abdullah’s important social and economic reforms. The speed at which this country is growing is truly a marvel, regardless of (or perhaps, in spite of) its vast oil reserves. King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) is a prime example. It is the most impressive educational facility I have ever seen, and it was built in merely 3 years - a feat I have difficulty comprehending. The country is developing so quickly, it appears there is no time for nostalgia. The Saudis have strategically plucked out the traditional elements they would like to carry with them as they grow, without a backward glance at others. Throughout our visit we often had difficulty communicating our desire to see historic landmarks, experience Bedouin culture, or spend time traversing the rambling mosaic of Jeddah’s Old City. Riyadh’s shopping mall (a clone of Tysons II) is the new beacon of Saudi culture.

Outside my window the red sea’s teal waters quench a thirsty landscape, and if I were a man, I would certainly surrender for a dip. However, I am not, and that is a deal-breaker in Saudi Arabia. It is very difficult to reconcile the role of women in this country, even as we try to conceive of the world with Saudi lenses. I can respect that religious tradition is paramount here for all aspects of life, however, Saudi’s stringent interpretation used to justify gender segregation just doesn’t jive well for Americans indoctrinated with the idea that separate is inherently unequal. Cultural relativism aside, I simply cannot accept that women should not have the same opportunities and human rights as men. It appears that King Abdullah is open to cautious, calculated social reform, which is certainly a cause for optimism. Many women we spoke with said they felt a real current of change vibrating through KSA, and noted the real question is not “if,” but “when.” Still, the king’s health is a giant question mark, and women’s rights have a history of fluctuation in the kingdom.

This tension between tradition and modernity, with both elements prized equally, was the most apparent phenomenon I noticed while in Saudi Arabia. As the kingdom seeks to modernize as quickly as its oil reserves can carry it, it will continue to strive for a calculated balance between the two. Whether the scale will tip in either direction remains to be seen. I can say, however, that it is a fascinating juggling act to behold. Shokran, Saudi Arabia, for giving me a front row seat.

My Week in Pictures

I decided to put up some competition to Evan's claim for "Best Photo of the Week".  Here are a few:


Riyadh

Kingdom Centre

Becca at the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce

Amanda

Dammam

View from the Balcony, King Fahd University

Tea with the Royal Commission of Jubail

Tires in the Desert near Dammam

Jeddah

Walking in the Souk

Sunset in Saudi Arabia

What would it take?

Each day, I find myself asking another member of our group what it would take to get him/her to live here. The numbers vary, but almost all are above $100K. This is telling--the very fact that so few of us would even consider working here must indicate that something isn't right in this patch of sand. Consider that the lifestyle would be great--there is almost no crime, the weather is reasonable (though we are only here during spring), the seas are picturesque, the cities clean, multinational firms all over the place, and constant development--but there is something that makes us pause. This is not limited to our group--Egyptians, Indians, Pakistanis, many whom we have met say they are here for the work, and that is all. Is it simply womens' rights? I find being able to swim at a pool that only half of our group can use incredibly unnerving--so much so that I don't like to use it. Instead of standing out like some inky patch in my field of vision, the abaya causes my eye to skip over women--they cease to be what they should rightfully be, and instead just become part of the landscape. It is oppressive, and dangerous--for when objects are much easier to deny a place in society than people. The sparkling developments and shining universities we see each day are meant to portray a country moving away from some distant past. Yet each black robe into which my groupmates must disappear each day signals that this is the present. There is something inherently wrong to my Western sense of self with this cloth entombment. Every boardroom we enter, over every glass of tea, Saudis--invariably educated abroad--relay to us that things are changing. But what stands in the way? It is not Islam. My good friend's wife drives in Somalia, and another friend chooses to let her hair hang free, yet both are good Muslims. Is it culture? Across the Red Sea, Egypt has thousands of years of culture, and women choose what they wear. What have we created here with our addiction to oil? Without oil, would the abaya weigh so heavily on womens' shoulders?

I don't have any answers, and am being biased in my approach. Something in me speaks out against being shown the glitz and glitter without knowing the undercoat--smoking cigars and eating steaks on Saudi riyal is the height of hypocrisy. As is judging a culture with my value set--maybe it is what Saudi women wish, but we won't know that. Maybe change must happen incrementally, but those who wish the status quo always say they are ready to ease the pressure a little, just bit by bit, if only they could. And maybe Saudi is changing--I wouldn't know; it's impossible to know after only a week, a year, a decade. But I do know my price to be here, and it is well over that $100,000.

Jeddah

So today is our first free day, in Jeddah... and it turns out being a woman in Saudi is a lot more oppressive when your life isn't carefully planned with female friendly activities. We asked the concierge what we should do, and he said "Why do you want to go outside? There is nothing to see here. You could go to the mall?" So we just struck out on our own, and found a beach, and laid out in the sun on the shores of the Red Sea.

It didn't seem like we were having quite as much fun as the families sitting in their cars, so we headed back to the hotel to sit by our hotel's gorgeous pool. Of course women can't swim, but lying in the sun is nice too, especially when it's this nice out. Except that women can't lie down, they can only sit. The lounge chairs are only on the men's side of the pool, and can't be moved. The pool boy offered to uncover the straight-backed chairs and tables around the corner in the "family section," but we eventually gave up and went inside. Normally I would go work out in these instances, but women aren't allowed to use the gym. Sigh.

I don't want to make it sound like life is all bad here- it certainly is not. We had a great day on the beach of the Persian (or Arabian, I guess) Gulf yesterday, at a gorg eous private beach house of a very generous and friendly Saudi family who invited us over (thanks Hana!).

We all took off our abayas and ate lunch and chatted with the hip young women of Saudi Arabia, who told us all about their jobs (one was a petroleum engineer) and how they are trying to push the boundaries without breaking the system. There is even a full-service female gym if you work at Aramco. I could definitely get used to a life like that. But it's starting to make a lot more sense why every woman we've met has told us that the key to being happy in Saudi Arabia is to stay busy.

Desert surprise

If there’s one thing we’ve been asked more than anything else since arriving in the Kingdom it’s “How does Saudi Arabia compare to your expectations?” This question makes me nervous. Immediately I take a sip of my tea or begin to stare at my toes poking out from under my abaya, content to let another brave soul in our group answer. Our hosts expect a polite exclamation of pleasant surprise at Saudi hospitality and progress. So that’s what we give them. But for me the question is too complex to answer honestly on the spot. It requires a blog post.

In some ways, our trip so far has been pretty similar to what I anticipated. I expected to meet with highly educated officials and professionals who were more than happy to speak to us about their plans for gradual progress and reform. I expected Saudi oil wealth to manifest itself in bright city lights, massive malls full of designer labels, and a silly spectrum of fast food options. I expected to have to dig slightly (or perhaps more than slightly) to get a better idea of the diverse perspectives on Saudi development. Five days into our journey this all seems about right. But the country has also thrown me a few curveballs.

I never expected, for example, to visit the place ranked number one in the world for city management. Yesterday our group met with the Royal Commission for Jubail and Yanbu, the group responsible for the development of the two industrial cities that also provide access to sea-lanes linking Saudi Arabia with its most important markets. In addition to meeting with leadership at the Commission, we received a tour of Jubail Industrial City, which lies on the Arabian Gulf about 100 kilometers north of Dammam where we’re currently staying. Jubail is home to a huge number of petro-chemical plants that dominate the landscape in the areas zoned industrial. But the rest of the city is surprisingly livable. The inviting coastline offers not just the sparkling Gulf waters and white sand beaches, but also green parks and children’s playgrounds. It’s an industrial city fit for a picnic.

Jubail owes its success to the Commission, which was responsible for building all of the infrastructure that attracted investment to the city. This unique government entity, which is allocated an independent budget from the central government, is still busy shaping the future of Jubail and quickly filling in the planned sections of its master plan. As it does so it is expanding both physical infrastructure and the services that improve quality of life for its 155,000 residents, including education and health services, and the enforcement of high environmental standards.

Yesterday also included a surprise trip to a small area where willing group members were able to take a quick horse-ride (my allergic self couldn’t resist the temptation and am just about rid of my hives). Our guide Saad hopped on the horse and brought him to a trot like he’d been riding Arabian horses through the desert all his life. It’s one of many things that have surprised me about Saad, who wears his traditional thobe as comfortably as he wears Western clothes and aviators, and jokes with all of us in a relaxed way I’m not sure I expected. It shows me that relations between genders here could potentially be friendly and open, but it’s still not entirely clear how our interactions compare to actual social norms.

I feel like sometimes the things that could really alter my perceptions about the country are just beyond our reach, hiding in homes and mosques we’ll never visit. But we’ll keep on probing. And I’ll try to stop publicly avoiding the question!

An Open Kingdom?

Saudi is open for breakfast, Saudi is open for business, but its social barriers remain indefinitely closed for renovation.

Ever since we landed in Saudi, I have been extremely impressed by the openness of the people we’ve had the pleasure to speak with. On many different levels Saudis has been willing – nay eager – to embrace the outside world, learn from it and make it their own. Two examples come to mind, food and FDI.

For those who know me, you are aware that food is what keeps me waking up every morning. Saudi cuisine has not disappointed: it has been spectacular, though not entirely “Saudi.” Egyptian Foul (a bean stew topped with a variety of tasty toppings), Lebanese mezzes like Labneh cheese, French croissants topped with zatar, a blend of Middle Eastern spices,Japanese miso soup and, goodness knows, that I’ve never had a date I didn’t like. The fruit that is.

And the chain restaurants, oh the chain restaurants! As we pass the main strip in Damman we enter a suburban heaven (or hell) as Chili’s, Applebee’s, McDonalds, KFC (charmingly nicknamed “King Faud Chicken” after a former Saudi King), Dunkin’ Doughnuts, Krispy Kreme, to name a few, appear in all their glitz and glamour (mainly glitz). Fears of Saudi’s chanting “Death to America” seem far away as their mouths are stuffed with America’s “culture.”

Far from an isolated, stone age Kingdom clinging to their century old gruel, food here has been as diverse as it has been delicious. With food, Saudi has welcomed the world’s variety: it does not fear compromising what it is by striving for what it could be.

FDI, Foreign Direct Investment, has also revealed a deep Saudi drive to embrace the world. SAGIA, the investment promotion agency previously mentioned by Jai, will literally bend-over backwards to attract new companies to invest in Saudi. SAGIA well-funded and driven to make their country a better place to do business. They also have a good sales pitch: Saudi brings access to markets, East and West; a great business environment; plentiful energy and a burgeoning system of impressive universities.

Today we visited Al-Jubail, a planned city built from the ground up to be the petrochemical hub of the world. The scope and scale of this city, with its suburban California strip mall appeal and enormous industrial areas is breathtaking, particularly if you consider that 30 years ago this was desert.

With such a focus on FDI, Saudi is trying to move past oil. It recognizes that doing so requires it to work with the world, learn from best practices and integrate what the world has to offer Saudi with what Saudi can offer the world.

The social scene, however, is where international best practices go to die. Saudi is a traditional, conservative society, we hear. Perhaps other places have different norms about the treatment of women or the wisdom of not applying strict religious teachings in such a doctrinaire way. But Saudi is not interested, at least in the short term. Separating the sexes, depriving women of the fundamental rights Kelly mentioned, restricting the social and political space where free expression and independent thinking are crushed is the norm. In light of all the freedom moving through the Arab world, Saudi still bans protests or peaceful assembling of any kind.

Questions about lessons from Tunisia about the importance of political voice or the inequity and inefficiency of relegating women to secondary status fall on sympathetic, yet ultimately resistant ears, even among the progressive slice of society that we have been meeting with. Instead, we hear a lot about the difficult balance between changing social relations without getting ahead of the people’s values. Gradualism, is the name of the game. While I appreciate their concerns, I want to echo Kelly’s question: Is change happening fast enough?

No. Well at least that’s my take on it. I am just not sure that economic and, only half-kidding, food-openness can coexist with a closed social and political sphere. Having oil at $120 a barrel makes many things possible, but when you deprive half your population of legitimate channels to be themselves, when you foster fear and rule by royal decree, how can you create and sustain openness and learning in the rest of your country?

How can you push a gradual approach to empowering your women, while your quest for FDI, with the norms and values embodied by these foreign companies, is not even close to gradual? Why learn from the best practices of the fast food chains of the world while not recognizing that Saudi has much to learn from the world about the importance of social inclusion?

The question of what constitutes progress and how much to achieve it is elusive in any society. Saudi food and FDI recognize what Saudi might lose by not adapting and embracing the world around it. The social and political scene has yet to inspire a similar realization. Socially, Saudi remains too fearful of compromising what it is, for what it could be.

Update: there is an interesting polemic today in the Arab News which strong rejects the US calls to allow peaceful protests, citing non-intervention principles.

Oil and Women

Today was International Women’s Day, and we awoke to contrasting views in Arab News: one focusing on the desire that women have for more liberties, while the other espoused the traditional role that women currently play in society. As is expected, this topic was brought up again during the course of the day and was met with cautious optimism for prudent reform in one case, and excitement over changes that are taking place in another.

The main subject of the day, however, was oil. We visited the King Fahd University of Petroleum and Minerals (KFUPM) in the morning, a technical university that places many of its students in the extractive and related industries. We heard about the mission of the school, which mirrored that of Jesuit institutions: to provide students with an experience and not just an education in order to create “well rounded global citizens.” We were told that the students receive numerous job offers, which appears to stand in contrast with the rest of the country and highlights both the importance of technical skills in a resource abundant region and the need to increase employment for youth.

We then headed to the state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, where many KFUPM students work. Our guide stated that the company manages 25% of the world’s oil as well as large gas reserves. We learned some interesting facts about the history and current status of the oil industry and Aramco’s role in it. After a quick walk down by the Gulf, we ended the day with a trip to a local science museum and dinner.

Energy consumption in Saudi Arabia is growing along with the economy. The country finds itself in somewhat of a catch-22: it will need to devote greater amounts of its energy production to domestic consumption, but given the heavy domestic subsidies that reduce the sticker price of gas, profits on domestically consumed oil and gas would be much lower than exports, undermining a key source of government revenue. Therefore, more energy efficiency would be a welcome change, the responsibility for which may fall on the shoulders of KFUPM students. The university plans for some of these to be women in the near future, although males and females will be kept separate.

Once again, I was impressed by our Saudi hosts and how genuinely interested they are in improving their education system, diversifying their economy and strengthening governance by learning from best practices and making investments where needed. I hope society is ready for the types of changes that are required in order to move the country forward. They have been extremely welcoming and gracious and I look forward to learning more throughout the rest of the week.

Evan

P.S. I'm pretty sure that I won the competition for best photo on the trip. I guess we will have to see who comes in second.

Celebrating International Women's Day in the Kingdom

Today marks the 100^th anniversary of international women’s day and I can’t help but reflect, sitting here in my black, oversized abaya and hijab, about all of the incredible women around the world, from the female CEO in the boardroom to the mother in the one room shack with a second grade education. The mothers, the wives, the sisters, the daughters, who every day bear the brunt of poverty, disease, and war; whose voices are left unheard because the ones who have the power are not listening.

The Georgetown ladies outside of Saudi Aramco on International Women's Day

 As a woman here in Saudi, it is impossible not to see everything through a gendered lens. Women are not equal to men, not in the US, and particularly not in the Kingdom.  But things are changing for the better for the women in Saudi, but I wonder if they are changing fast enough. What we have experienced and heard over the last several days is that there is a constant push and pull between the desire to reform and to give women more rights and the belief that Saudi Arabia needs to uphold ‘traditional cultural values’, not to push reforms faster than the population is willing to accept.

I opened up the English Arab newspaper this morning, and I was surprised, both in a positive and negative way. There were numerous articles in honor of international women’s day that echoed my perceptions of gender in Saudi society. One the one side, you had an opinion piece that was dealing with the issue of women not being allowed to drive. In this article, it pointed out that not only could women in Saudi not drive but,
“Only a man can bail a woman out of jail regardless of time served or paid fines.
Only a man can speak to and be seen by a judge.
Only a man can practice law.
Only a man can sell women’s lingerie.
Only a man can open a bank account for his child.
Only a man can check into a beach resort (regardless if the fact that women can check into hotels).
Only a man can rent a boat (ride) or jet-ski (in person or on paper).
Only a man can facilitate a woman’s traveling (in person or on paper).” http://arabnews.com/opinion/columns/article306202.ece

It was interesting to hear from a woman’s perspective the frustration regarding the inequalities that are embedded within Saudi law and society and point out how much farther reforms need to go before women are regarded remotely equal to men.

On the other hand, you have an article in the very same paper which opens up with,
“Being a workingwoman is considered a problem that threatens a couple’s marital life.

Some women prefer to stay at home to take care of their husbands and children. They believe that taking care of the home should be their first and only mission.

Arab News spoke to a number of women who admitted that working impacted their family life, encouraging them to quit their jobs.

Statistics revealed by Dr. Ibrahim Mubarak Al-Jowair, a Saudi social researcher, confirm the theory that some Saudi women feel guilty for leaving their children at home and investing most of their time and effort in their careers.” http://arabnews.com/saudiarabia/women_day/article306339.ece

While I am believer in hearing from both sides of the table, I resent the portrayal of women as betraying their families if they choose to have a career instead of staying at home.


So where does the Kingdom go from here? All signs point up. According to Dr. Khalid S. Al-Sultan, rector of King Faud University which we visited this afternoon, in 1970 there were 7 Saudi women in university. Today, women comprise 62% of the student body in Saudi universities. Education brings choices and education brings empowerment. With an increasing recognition in the importance of women’s contribution to the workforce and to the nation, changes have to be made. There is no way a nation can prosper if half of its population is denied basic rights to work and to travel.

“Let us celebrate International Women's Day with a renewed hope that our decision-makers accelerate women's full participation and stand up to those extremist elements among us who are perverting our society, distorting our image abroad and hindering the potential progress and development of our country.” http://arabnews.com/opinion/article307298.ece

Overlooking the campus at King Faud Petroleum University

Walking across the Skybridge

While the rest of the group packed (read: napped) before we left Riyadh for Dammam, four of us walked a few blocks away to visit the Skybridge in Kingdom Centre.

Kingdom Centre contains a hotel (Four Seasons), apartment building, and shopping mall. It's also the tallest building in KSA, though soon to be surpassed. Wikipedia also informs me that it is the 3rd largest building with a hole in it… which is a ridiculous category of buildings to rank, Wikipedia. 

It's been something of a competition to come up with the funniest/truest description of the Kingdom Centre's unique shape, by the way. So far the best we've come up with is an X-box, a USB drive, and (my favorite) a giant bottle opener. It's an incredibly beautiful building: it reflects the colors around it, so it blends almost perfectly with the sky. When we left, it reflected the evening clouds. 

We paid 25 riyals each (between 6-8 USD) to visit the Skybridge, noting as we walked waste bins, benches, and ceilings (and probably more things we didn't see) that were all designed to resemble the building's exterior. The first elevator ride lasted about 50 seconds in a psychedelic, star-themed elevator.

We then transferred to a completely normal elevator, which was something of a let-down, as I was hoping for a sea-theme. This ride lasted around 40 seconds, at which point we exited onto the Skybridge. I'm not sure how many floors there are--I think around 80; the building is 992 feet tall.

(View of lobby.)

The Skybridge itself is smaller and more intimate than I imagined. It's perhaps 15 feet wide and a little under 200 feet long. It's curved; something I didn't notice from the ground. At the apex of the arc, a professional photographer is ready to take your picture--or in our case, yell at us for ignoring the "No Cameras" sign. This led to some completely unnecessary shenanigans on the boys' part--they seemed to be in a competition to see who could take more clandestine photos. (Will add some of these illicit portraits soon!)

I think you could see all of Riyadh from here... but Saudi Arabia is mostly desert, and deserts get dusty. Visibility wasn't great. But take my word for it, Riyadh is huge. 

Did I mention how beautiful it is?!

- Taylor

SAGIA Visit

Today we visited Saudi Arabia General Investment Authority (SAGIA), established in 2001 with a mandate to promote foreign direct investment in the Kingdom. We were led by Mr. Alex Snider, our cultural ambassador proficient in exactly five Arabic phrases (they go pretty far!). As soon as we left the hotel in our Chevy Suburban convoy (kinda felt like ‘Syriana’), we were struck by the ongoing economic activity in the nation’s capital. In the background of the hustle and bustle of Riyadh, several cranes and hundreds of migrant workers worked around the clock to help Riyadh cope with the rising demands placed on its infrastructure. In addition to the construction is Riyadh, Saudi Arabia is also in the process of building four state of the art “economic cities”, much like the Special Economic Zones (SEZs), with an aim to attract FDI in the energy, transportation, tourism and financial services sectors. The four economic cities will cost approximately $60 Bn and are expected to be completed by 2025. These economic cities are an effort by SAGIA to diversify away from their oil based economy to help shield the country from volatile oil prices. Saudi Arabia is also planning ahead and investing approximately 25% of its annual budget in education (yes, 25 %!!!) to help develop the human capital required to support an advanced knowledge based economy. Our visit to SAGIA advanced our understanding of the Kingdom’s economy and the forthcoming transformation it faces.

The food thus far has been awesome (or as Joseba says “Awwwwwsummmm” in opera voice). Baklavas and chocolate cake have consistently got the better of Nick B. and me. Will we continue to have more desserts than actual food throughout the trip? Stay tuned.

Jaivir (Jai) Sidhu