IT’s National Day again, and this year everyone knows about it. Previously, most Saudis would remember the occasion only when they read the papers or listened to the radio. It was never anything we really marked on our calendars or remembered by heart. It was never something anybody looked forward to commemorating or celebrating. It is not because we as a people have no love for our country, and it is not because we have nothing to be proud of. It is more the way we were raised — as a nation.
Until this year, we did not even have a holiday on National Day. It was banned by the belief that any holiday other than the two religious ‘Eids” of the Islamic year is forbidden. Getting the day off has certainly made people more aware of the date; even children are counting the days for the day they will ‘stay home from school’. Imagine what would happen if the day became even more special with parades, fireworks, and cultural festivals.
In an Arab News article entitled “Open Letter to Saudis”, Tanya C. Hsu notes: “During all my conversations one question remained unanswered. When asked, What makes you proud to be Saudi, “being Muslim” or “being Arab” was as common a reply as “being the home of the Two Holy Cities”. One can easily define Palestinian anger, Iraqi angst, or Syrian character, yet I received nothing on Saudi national patriotism.” Ms. Hsu’s words got me thinking, and I started asking people the same question. I even posed the question to my students at the university — and you know what? She was absolutely right.
Almost all answers revolved around being Arab or Muslim, but what is that makes us proud of as Saudis? No one really mentioned the things that make us positively distinct from other countries. We have strong family ties that rarely leave individuals homeless or neglected in nursing homes. Families ties also make the concept of ‘single father’ or ‘single mother’, hardly that. So strong is the social fabric of our Saudi societies that most neighbors are considered family.
Our crime rates are among the lowest in the world. Teenage pregnancies, alcoholism, prostitution, and drug addiction are by far less common here than in other countries. As a parent raising children in this society, I have a lot less to worry about than if I were in any other place in the world. Visiting other parts of the world where social ills like the ones mentioned above are not exceptions but the norm has made me proud and grateful for what we have.
As a large country we have different regions. The thousands of miles separating these regions have contributed to their diversity. Each of our regions is geographically different and rich with its own features from linguistic dialect to social customs and habits and even history. From the frosty mountains of our rural South to the beautiful lively coasts of our cosmopolitan West; from the calm coasts of our industrial East to the breathtaking skyscrapers and modernity filling the heart of our central desert land — we have a lot to be proud of.
The problem is not that we lack patriotism. Different occasions, large and small show how much the people of this country are willing to do in defense of this land and its image. The problem is that that we are not fostering this patriotism. We need to instill it in our youth from childhood. We need to emphasize it every National Day, at least, with national songs and cultural festivals. Parents, teachers, and the media all must play a role in building national pride.
One of the largest cultural events we hold every year is Janadriyah — why not time it to begin with National Day every year? Why not make it representative of the history and customs of our different regions? Why not organize school trips to this festival and let our youth participate in organizing it? Why not go one step further and take Janadriyah festival on a tour around the world? Why not show the rest of the world what we have to offer. Isn’t it about time that we stopped being so preoccupied with defending ourselves and making excuses for what we are not and start showing the world what we are? In closing, from a proud and patriotic Saudi woman, Happy National Day to all the people of my beloved country.
— Published in Arab News Saudi National Supplement (Sept. 23, 2005).
