JEDDAH, 28 February 2007 — On Day Three, most of the action was on the sidelines. Networking was in full flow throughout the last day. It was during the early-morning hours when the Arab News team caught up with former Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien.
A principled man, his eyes reflected steely determination — the same determination that made him refuse to commit Canadian forces to Iraq in 2003. The United States was quite miffed at him at that time, and the American media had a lot of fun at his expense (unwilling, it seemed, to recognize Canada’s noble efforts in attempting to stop the Rwanda massacres in 1994 while the US was fearful of committing its own peacekeeping forces). But Chrétien didn’t waver in light of this criticism.
“If military action proceeds without a new resolution of the Security Council, Canada will not participate,” he said at the time in the Canadian House of Commons. That made him more popular worldwide. That popularity was reflected at the forum where people greeted him and shook his hand.
In his conversation with Arab News Editor in Chief Khaled Almaeena yesterday, he was cheerful and in a mood to indulge in repartee. “You know I quit politics because I promised my wife that I would have none of it when I turn 70. And sure enough, I kept my word. I quit politics when I was 69 years, 11 months and one day old.” Everybody around was quite impressed.
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At the other end of the Hilton lobby was Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa. He was mobbed by women who seemed very eager to shake hands with him and register their support. Many wanted photos with him, and he didn’t decline their requests. He acknowledged them politely and asked them to remember him in their prayers. One of his many fans, Alshaima’a Almaddah, an English major at the King Abdul Aziz University, later told Arab News that he is admired for his bold stands. “He is trying his best to come up with solutions to some of the most pressing problems in the region. We all support him. He is articulate, and his eyes see out to the horizon. He knows the pulse of the Arab people. He says what we all feel should be said,” she said.
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After lunch, when everything seemed to be quieting down, all eyes turned in one direction. “Walesa, Walesa,” said Almaeena. Moments later, the former Polish president and Nobel Peace Prize winner Lech Walesa was surrounded by a huge number of admirers. “You live in our hearts,” Almaeena told him. “I have always wanted to shake hands with you. The whole world draws inspiration from you. You are a courageous man.” Almaeena’s reaction was understandable because here was the man who helped break the back of communism in Eastern Europe.
Walesa seemed to appreciate the attention and willingly answered, with the help of a translator, a couple of questions from this diarist. “I am very impressed by Arab values,” he said. “When we lay the foundations of the new world, we will need your values. They are essential.”
Walesa felt the West should take a look at how the situation in this country has been managed. “In Europe and the United States we can observe anarchy in democracy. There is a serious lack of one stable authority. Oftentimes situations in democracies get out of control. If we try to combine your ideas with ours, maybe we can have a better solution. That is why I am here at the JEF,” he said.
Walesa, the son of a carpenter who went on to become the president of Poland, was certainly upset with an unbalanced world. “It is not good. We don’t know how to react in this unipolar world. We have only one superpower, the United States, and it has taken the role of a traffic cop manning a crossroad. We are confused. We don’t know whether to support the United States or the United Nations. The US does not have the authority to act in many areas. It is the United Nations that has the authority to act, but it is not effective. So who should we support of the two? That is the question.”
Walesa said the pace of progress in the Kingdom amazed him. “Of course there is this element of oil money in the progress, but then other countries also have oil and have not been able to move as fast as you are moving under King Abdullah. Besides, here you have a successful combination of private and government sectors. I am attracted to this system.”
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The forum was by all means a success despite the initial stumbles. The story will never be complete without acknowledging the role Saudi women college students played. They were at the forum in large numbers lending a helping hand to the organizers. They were proud to be there. Arab News talked to some of them, and they were all happy to be contributing their might to the success of the organization.
“It was challenging, but as volunteers we worked as a great team,” said 18-year-old Doha Ghouth, an English major at King Abdul Aziz University in Jeddah. “Many of us had no background in economics. So we wanted to meet these incredible people from all over the world. We did. But our work kept us busy most of the time. We worked from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.”
The group of volunteers underwent two weeks of training at Effat College and met a couple of times with officials at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“This was my first time as a volunteer at the JEF,” said Ferdous Abbar from the College of Business Administration. “We contributed not just to the forum but to the country at large by projecting the right image of Saudi women. We showed the world that Saudi women are extremely capable. It was good to hear the positive feedback from people. Being with influential people encourages us to be like them. So this is not just volunteer work. It means a lot to us.”
“It was awesome,” said Umniah Al-Zahery, who works as an executive assistant of a company. “When I heard about the volunteer program for JEF, I immediately seized the opportunity. Despite the training, everything was a new experience. To get to know all these people is unbelievable. Where else could we get such a chance? I thought they only would discuss trade between countries, but when I came here I found that was not the case. It was a pleasant experience.”
“Of course, we have improved our communication skills and also hopefully cleared many misperceptions about Saudi women in the outside world,” said Nada Al-Mojadedi, a marketing student at CBA. “I want everyone to know that Saudi women are capable of improving their society. We can make a difference in the world. Being here was big step forward for us. No two opinions about that.”
“The reasons I volunteered were because I believe in social responsibility. I want to do something for my country,” said marketing major Sara Abdullah Bakhashwain, a young lady who has been raised both here and abroad. “Honestly, in most of the countries I have visited they have this perception that Saudis have a lot of money, sun, oil and camels. They wonder why I am walking around in jeans in the West. They don’t know that we Saudi women are educated people. They need to correct their perceptions of us. They need to come here and see for themselves.”
The volunteers were not just Saudis. There were Pakistani and Indian women students among them. One Pakistani volunteer was the young finance student Sumera Ghias. “It was a fascinating experience,” she said. “It really exceeded my expectations. I had an idea that I would just go around helping people at this forum. Actually I learned a lot. It definitely helped me improve my communication and networking skills.”
Another Pakistani volunteer, Hiba Ali, was equally excited. “It was the first such opportunity for me to get started with this networking phenomenon. We business students can gain a lot from the speeches and the interactive sessions at such prestigious forums.”
As leaders of the world came to learn and understand more about Saudi Arabia and the Middle East, it gave all of us a chance to learn more about them. It also served as a reminder that the powerhouse economies of the world have their foundations in education and empowerment of all their people to power those economic miracles. These incredible young Saudi women showed us they are ready, willing and able to join in.
The Jeddah Economic Forum should be a wake-up call that the world won’t wait for Saudi Arabia. Too many nations are anxious for the trade and commerce that make nations prosper. If Saudi Arabia doesn’t start moving forward in overcoming all its economic challenges soon, then it will take a very long time to catch up.
