RIYADH, 23 October 2003 — Under the patronage of Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, the King Abdul Aziz Foundation celebrated its 30th anniversary by honoring some 50 individuals from the Kingdom and abroad for donating valuable documents, photographs and films to its archives. Besides Saudis, other recipients of the commendation awards were Arabs from other countries and an American.
Riyadh Governor Prince Salman, who attended the event on behalf of the crown prince, paid tributes to the foundation for its role in preserving Saudi history and culture and for documenting records pertaining to King Abdul Aziz.
Dr. Fahd Al-Sammary, secretary-general of the King Abdul Aziz Foundation, announced that the second phase of its national survey would begin immediately after Ramadan. Under the program, 45 volunteers from 13 regions in the Kingdom will be trained in how to find and preserve historical documents presently in the Kingdom.
The foundation currently has 2.5 million documents of which two million came from within the Kingdom.
One of the Saudi recipients of the commendation awards, Dr. Omar Fouad Hamza, said he had turned over memorabilia and original documents which had been in the possession of his father, Fouad Hamza, who worked for King Abdul Aziz for 35 years. The documents include telegrams, letters and a record of the daily agenda and memoirs concerning the king’s activities.
Expressing his appreciation for the citation, Dr. Michael Crocker of the United States said he had donated to the foundation at least 10,000 photographs, 100,000 feet of film and 38,000 documents pertaining to Aramco’s early days.
One of the highlights is the original 16mm color film of the US naval ship USS Quincey showing King Abdul Aziz in a historic handshake with President Franklin D. Roosevelt. “I am ready to shake hands with any Saudi for the sake of peace and friendship between our two countries,” he said.
A staunch supporter of Saudi Arabia, Dr. Crocker has launched what is claimed to be the biggest website on Saudi Arabia (www.arabiancamelot.com). It contains photographs and a wealth of information on the Kingdom. The website has had more than 23,000 hits in the six weeks since its launch. Dr. Crocker said he had also placed at his own expense advertisements in 90 American newspapers on various aspects of Saudi-American relations.
Asked what triggered his interest in the Kingdom, Dr. Crocker said he had lived in the country for 45 years. “I came here as a baby and lived in the Eastern Province till 1979. It is my home and I grew up here, playing on the streets with my Saudi friends in Dhahran where my father worked for Aramco from 1949 to 1981. He also served with the US Army in Jeddah from 1944 to 1949. I consider myself more Saudi than American.”
Dr. Crocker said his association with King Abdul Aziz Foundation began in 1996 when he started collecting historical material. He said the main thrust of his research was to bring back to the Kingdom artifacts that have been taken away.
