Fighting Barbarism

February 15, 2010.

I believe that this country is one of the finest places on earth, and living here is pleasure, with exceptions at times. The following refers to one of such exceptional (but rising) experiences yesterday, near a Mega Mall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

While I was slowly moving my car out of the parking lane, there emerged a big GMC behind my car driven by an irresponsible driver. My car bumped into it. I got down to check but I found everything alright.
I was surprised at how he was being aggressive over his own mistake. I told him to drive and park properly to avoid such mistakes. Another guy of his group, but from another car parked nearby picked up fight against me. I was confused at what was happening, and kept looking back at my car to see if my child and wife are safe.

These guys were violently attacking me, and I was holding my urge to react. One punch for each of them was all that was needed on my part to end their aggression at the moment, but I chose not to injure them for my self-defence at this stage. I didn't hurt them by choice, and even if I'd done it in self-defence, the blame would all turn on me taking into consideration my weak language of Arabic. They were kicking, punching and spitting, and I kept only warding off their attacks.

They didn't seem to be of the age to have driving licences. I was confused at their attitude and kept asking repeatedly if they ever went to school, and where their dad is, while they kept using vulgar language.
Where their bare hands and legs didn't work, one of them ran to his car and returned with a big stick and attacked me. I tried to scare him off but didn't attack him in return. After I thought it was over, he returned, driving his car rashly towards me, and I chose not to run away. He turned the steering wheel just in time to avoid hitting me and I banged his window and failed to open his door which was locked.
I neither wanted to run away nor hurt them, but stood there till the end as I wanted them to understand that they are being barbaric. I don't think they have any realisation of what they did.

I was surprised that there were no security personnel around. While I appreciate the way a Mega Mall is managed and serves the community well, I understand that the management cannot keep a check over every part of their massive premises at all times, with their current security force. There were some people watching, shocked at the barbarism of these miscreants. All of this happened within minutes, then they all sped away. I realise that their aggression was racially-motivated, and with ill-intentions these miscreants keep wooden weapons in their car trunks.

I didn't want to react violently to become part of that barbarism. I know for certain that if my Saudi friends were around then, these miscreants would have got the lesson of their lives. As expatriates from third world countries, unusually but true, we're on the weakest side and what comes up in our minds is our children's future and we choose to ignore aggression, silently.

It is disheartening that some expatriates, out of their frustration, have resorted to violent means. I still believe that the solution is arrived at by correcting the causes, besides suppressing reaction.

What is the safe society of Saudi Arabia would turn into something else if these miscreants are allowed to fluorish with their inhuman mindsets, for they not just affect but infect a civilised society. The ones yesterday appeared wealthy, so much of their behaviour is directly related to their parents' upbringing or negligence.

I believe that the following steps are to be taken to safeguard the society:
1) The pseudo superiority -complex of some locals should be shed off, and expatriates be respected. It is true that most expatriates come here to earn money, but almost all of them contribute towards the economic betterment of this country, and should be respected. In the modern world, a knowledge world, people earn respect for their intellectual capacity, education and uprightness - not race!
2) Until education takes over, fear can be a good motivator to upright behaviour. Fear of the law should be instilled in youth.
3) Security personnel should be deployed everywhere on the premises of the shopping malls. Customers are key to  profits, so if the management needs to recruit additional security personnel, it's worth it. Losing customers would cost a lot more.
4) There should be a control on the kind of films displayed on telly. Violent scenes invoke violent action. Garbage in, garbage out.
5) Emphasis must be placed on inculcating good values and morals at home and in school, and ethical behaviour should be a pre-requisite for admission to higher education, for technical education in the wrong hands is dangerous.
6) Many foreign workers are well-educated, and they must join others like myself, who volunteer to educate youth here, or atleast help them with their school/university assignments. This will promote good-will amongst them. There will be a time when expatriates will leave/made to leave the country, and they're better off being seen and waved at, for being friends who passed on the light of education to them rather than being seen as 'ajnabis' who've been driven out.
7) Expatriates working here are not to be seen as 'invaders', for they are not. They should be accepted into the mainstream society, because for them, though temporarily, this place is home away from home. And definitely, strength lies in diversity.

This part of the world is blessed with half of its population as youngsters. With the passage of time the seniors and baby-boomers would all be gone, and the country will have the youngsters to take the lead, and the future is decided by whether these youngsters are assets or liabilities. This country is particularly important not just in the Middle East but the entire muslim world for being the birthplace of Islam and home to the two holiest mosques. It's time to take correct action both legally and morally, inculcating the right values in local youngsters, and protecting 'guest workers', the term with which some elite members of this society have honoured expatriates with.

With my intention to bring this incident to public notice, I represent the collective interest of millions of foreign workers in the kingdom.

Asif.