JEDDAH, 29 January — The issue of the Arab image in the West has never been more crucial. It is not just the events of Sept. 11 that make this so, or the subsequent hostility and suspicion directed at Arabs or anyone who looks to be Arab, particularly in the US. There is the other imperative: the Palestinian-Israeli issue, where Israel’s determination to destroy the peace process has reaped a firestorm of Palestinian fury, distilling itself into an horrifying response. This has been grabbed and exploited by the Israelis to present the Palestinians as the villains and themselves as the victims.
It is a travesty of the truth but, appallingly, the lie is believed — in the US, in Europe and elsewhere. It is believed because Americans, Europeans and others have been predisposed by long-standing negative images of the Arabs in the media to believe it. And now, by believing it, they make it more difficult for the flames of hatred and violence to be put out: there is no pressure on the Israelis, either from the US or elsewhere, to soften their intransigence and thereby lower the temperature. Bad image perpetuates the cycle of violence.
Leaving aside the issue of who is to blame for the poisoned image of Arabs, it is clear that something has to be done. Simply demanding that it end is not enough. Indeed, it is futile and naive. Hollywood and the Western press are not going to change their distorted views simply because Arabs and Muslims demand it. It is a case of “If you want something done, do it yourself”.
Indeed, it has to be. If a company’s image is bad in public eyes, it is up to the company to change that image; it is not the public’s duty to change its perception. And if the company does not do anything, except complain, then it deserves the criticism it gets.
Clearly, in the case of the Arab image, far more visionary action is required. For many, the answer is a public relations campaign in the West, and one which is on-going. Moreover, any PR campaign has to be particularly US-focused. Hearts and minds need to be changed Europe as well, not least because it is the Arab world’s — and Saudi Arabia’s — biggest market, but it is already relative sympathetic. The US is the harder nut to crack.
It was inevitable that the image issue was on the agenda in last week’s Jeddah Economic Forum: the events of Sept. 11 and the political and economic fallout were the constant subtext of the three-day event. And there was more than political necessity to justify such a session. Saudi Arabia wants foreign investment to help grow the economy. That investment is not going to flow freely if a distorted image of the country circulates abroad.
One of the speakers at the session on “Communications at a Time of Crisis” was Howard Paster. A former assistant to President Clinton and director of the White House office of legislative affairs, and now chairman of Hill and Knowlton — one of the world’s leading PR companies and one with a significant presence in the Kingdom through its affiliate, Gulf Hill and Knowlton — Paster steadfastly believes that Arabs have what he calls a “obligation” to reach out and educate Americans. They are, he says, profoundly ignorant about the Middle East.
Talking afterwards to Arab News — and reflecting on the speech by Bahrain’s Crown Prince Salman ibn Haman Al Khalifa in which the prince said that Arabs had to accept some degree of responsibility for allowing the distortion of Islam behind the attacks to happen — Paster believes there is a responsibility to communicate “far better” with the US and the West. For example, he says, most Americans think that all Arabs are Muslims; they know nothing about the geography of the region; they do not understand that there are different independent states within the Arab community.
But it is no good limiting that communication to the Eastern seaboard. If there is to be effective outreach by the Arab world into the US, it has to start east of New York and Washington, he says. “Go to Chicago, to Minneapolis, to Seattle, to Denver, to San Francisco, to Phoenix” to where middle America is to be found — and not just to the local media: the communications has to be with local business groups, with schools and colleges. “Knowledge, like sunshine, has a purifying effect.”
What certainly is not needed is hectoring, he insists. It is counter-productive. “There has been much too much whining” by Arab leaders about bias in the US press, he said. Yes, it is there: there are American journalists and American publishers with irresponsible attitudes towards the Arab world. “But one does not win the struggle for understanding by complaining about press coverage every day.” What is needed is an affirmative attempt to provide facts, information and knowledge, he declared. And it needs to be done by professionals who know what they are doing.
Paster believes that Bill Clinton was right when he spoke at the Forum about the need for exchange and not to be afraid of dialogue — and not simply because the former president was his old boss.
Speaking calmly, but with deep conviction, this expert among PR experts said he was convinced that if Saudi Arabia reaches out to a multitude of audiences in the US — through press familiarization tours, through exchange programs and more — it will get an effective message across. He pointed to China where the relationship turned from ice-cold frigidity to tolerance. “It started with sports contacts, then cultural contacts, then people got to know each other. And so it opened up.” There has to be a concentrated program at presenting Saudi Arabia worldwide. But who is doing it?, he asked. “There are so many Saudi students in the US, but how many of them carry a message about growth and change in Saudi Arabia?”
The Forum provided a useful example, he thought. It had been open — as open as any similar forum anywhere else in the world. It was a bold and brave step for Saudi Arabia. There had been women involved, international journalists covered the event, the questions from the floor had been tough, particularly about whether the government is going to do what it says. “People in the US do not think that kind of openness and dialogue goes on in Saudi Arabia; they don’t believe it happens,” Paster explained.
The Kingdom has to let the rest of the world know about it, he said. “Where there is modernization; where there is reform, political and economic: people need to know about it.”
This inevitably means allowing foreign media open access to the Kingdom. “There has to be more transparency here,” he said. “The greatest amount of openness its itself purifying. Restrictions merely vindicate the skeptics.” That inevitably means greater freedom of press and foreign press access. In any event, he believes the Internet is ultimately going to equalize things.
Paster accepts that dialogue with the West will have its discomforts. “Saudis are going to have to live with criticism from people who think that there are human rights issues at stake. But have a dialogue about it. Don’t assume that people who have a different point of view are necessarily your enemy. Friends can differ.”
Paster also sees good economic reasons for a sustained campaign of communication. If the Kingdom is to attract inward investment, it itself has to appear attractive. That in turn has to be linked to an equally affirmative message in places such as the US about the opportunities in the Kingdom. To achieve that investment, however, there also has to be greater openness, he believes. And it is not investment in the oil sector that is going to be the big test, it is investment beyond — in the private sector.
“Capital will flow to places where it has confidence. The cost of capital is higher where the risk is higher. By keeping the economy closed, it raises the risk. The cost of capital to Saudi will be higher because it is not seen as a transparent and free market.”
One other particular change that Paster feels has to be made to ensure the flow of inward investment concerns visas. “People have to have the confidence that they can come and see where their money is going and what happening to it,” he said, emphasizing that even for an international conference such as the Jeddah Economic Forum, the processing of visas had been complicated enough.
“It is one thing to say ‘I want your money, but I don’t want you.’ It sends a mixed message.”
