JEDDAH, 7 July 2003 — The Western expatriate community remains in a state of alert despite the capture or killing of all 19 suspected Al-Qaeda members responsible for the Riyadh bombings six weeks ago.
Shortly after the May 12 bombings, Western expatriates told Arab News that as a result of the bombing and, for the first time since arriving in the Kingdom, they had begun to worry about their own safety. News of the recent arrests provided some comfort, but was taken with a certain degree of skepticism.
Bob Bruttig, 30, an American construction contractor, told Arab News: “It is somewhat reassuring to know that those 19 have been killed or arrested, but I seriously doubt they were the only terrorists in the country. Anti-expatriate sentiments have been brooding here for at least a decade, so I am quite certain those 19 were just the tip of the iceberg.”
An agent at Zahid Travel told Arab News business was up. “There could be a variety of contributing factors; but I’ve heard many people talk about using their vacation now instead of in the winter. I have heard some say they want to let the situation settle.”
Several families who sent their children home at the suggestion of their employers six weeks ago still have no plans to bring them back. A Boeing employee told Arab News: “Boeing provided the air tickets for my wife and children to leave the country, on condition that they decide when it is safe for my family to return. They haven’t given any indication that they are going to sound the ‘all clear’ anytime soon.”
At Jeddah’s major Western expatriate compounds the Saudi security services are still taking no chances. Outside all major compounds there are roving military patrols armed with truck-mounted machine guns.
Residents at one compound in Al-Rawdah District have mixed feelings about all the added security. Husam Ahmad, 42, told Arab News: “On one hand, having them there is somewhat comforting and acts as a deterrent. On the other hand, it is a nuisance. Compound management keeps coming up with new regulations for residents to follow that seem to have been designed with the convenience of the patrolling guards in mind rather than safety. It seems to me that they are getting complacent and burned out.”
A resident of another compound said: “Residents were once allowed to use seven gates surrounding the compound’s four walls 24 hours a day. Now we are only allowed to use one gate after 7 p.m. As a result, the security guards that are supposed to be stationed at their posts on each corner of the property now sit with the military guards eating, drinking tea, playing cards and watching the families go in and out of that one gate, leaving the compound’s three other walls and entrances unguarded. Sometimes friends and relatives of the guards show up and visit outside the gate, drawing unnecessary attention to the compound’s location. The guards are becoming bored and that is a problem.”
Management at that compound distributed a letter to residents stating that the new heightened security measures were taken under a directive from the Ministry of the Interior. “We are all hoping that things will one day return to normal, but for as long as these guards are here, my children and my wife will be reminded that we are a target,” the same resident said. “It is not a very welcoming feeling. Perhaps when the government has made every effort to eradicate terrorism from Saudi Arabia, we will wake up one day and find the cement barriers and machine guns gone,” he added.
