ALKHOBAR: “On behalf of all Saudis we deeply condemn the terrible or sorrowful events that you had to witness.” So read plaques titled, “Apology,” which were hand-delivered on Sunday by Saudi youngsters from the Khobar Voluntary Club to the managers of establishments damaged by last Wednesday’s vandalism in the seaside community. The Saudi youths visiting the businesses were not involved in the mayhem but wanted to express their sincere regrets concerning the misery caused by the hooligans.
The visits to the companies took place as Alkhobar’s residents waited to learn what actions the authorities will take against the miscreants now in custody. According to Brig. Gen. Yousuf Al-Qahtani, spokesman for the Eastern Province police, of the multitude of young men arrested after the violence, 80 were held for further questioning and possible punitive action. Of that number, 14 were determined to be underage and were transferred to a facility for juvenile offenders. Al-Qahtani denied that any of those arrested had already been punished.
“Those who engaged in this violence have to learn their lesson, but a decision is yet to be made on the punishment,” Al-Qahtani said.
There were unconfirmed reports in the Arabic media on Monday that 21 of the detained youths were publicly flogged.
Al-Qahtani remarked that the vandalism on Wednesday evening broke out spontaneously after large groups gathered along the Corniche Road at the conclusion of the Eid holiday festivities. “There will be plans put forth for the future to ensure public safety on these occasions,” he added.
With the ruffians off the streets, attention has been focused on the consequences of their rampage. On Thursday, the Consulate General of the United States in Dhahran put out a security notice by e-mail stating in part: “Acts of vandalism occurred at American-franchised restaurants on the Corniche in Alkhobar last night (Sept. 23)... Similar events may occur this evening and over succeeding days ... US citizens are also cautioned to be selective regarding establishments they choose to patronize.”
In fact, there have been no further acts of vandalism in Alkhobar’s seaside commercial area. The US security e-mail is circulating widely and some Saudis wonder why such a notice was issued at all.
“They made it look as if this was an attack on Americans. This was inaccurate. They did not help the situation. Rather the advisory complicated things,” said Suleiman Al-Anazi, a journalist at a local Arabic newspaper. “These were hooligans. And they did not just attack American franchises, as claimed in the US Consulate’s advisory. They went on a rampage wrecking anything and everything they came across that night.
The advisory only heightened tensions and caused nervousness among the general population. We can understand the nervousness on the part of the Americans, but this was no way of reacting.”
The managers of Optica and Selected Gifts said they each suffered more than SR500,000 in damages on Wednesday night. The two shops have been operational in Alkhobar for decades and never suffered a major material loss.
“I have spent the last four days clearing broken glass from my shop,” said Atif Kanso, manager of Selected Gifts. “I have had to borrow money to replace the glass surrounding my shop and to repair my showcases. They stole all our expensive crystal figurines, all the jewelry and 350 sets of prayer beads. What they didn’t steal they smashed. We are 90 percent destroyed and no insurance will pay for this.”
Kanso was overcome with grief and rubbed his face with his hands. “We will go on with our business,” he continued, “but it will be hard. Please encourage people to come and patronize the shop when we reopen next week. We are anxious to put this behind us.”
At Optica the situation was no better. “Our walls were lined with designer sunglasses and eyeglass frames,” said Ata Kanani, Optica’s manager. “What they didn’t take, they destroyed.” He showed a twisted Gucci frame as an example. “They stole our lensometer and photocopier and broke the fax. They damaged our displays.”
All day Thursday people came to Kanani, bringing back sunglasses and portions of eyeglass frames found discarded along the seaside. The shop now has little to sell while they wait for new stock to come from Italy.
“We always had a glass front on our store so people could see what we had for sale, whether we were open or not,” Kanani said looking out to the street with sadness. “Now we will have to put up steel shutters. Young men must be offered places to use their energy productively so they don’t turn to violence.”
