JEDDAH, 5 May 2004 — Last Saturday’s bloody events in Yanbu have sent a shockwave through the Western community in Saudi Arabia. Reactions range from the defiant to the thoughtfully analytical but most have a core of steely determination. None of the Europeans Arab News contacted are considering leaving immediately.
“I have absolutely no intention to cut and run,” said G., a middle manager for an industrial services firm in Jeddah. G, who is single, has spent 10 years in the Kingdom and has a few years of working life left before retirement. “It’s tough and deeply saddening that this has surfaced and people of several nationalities have been killed and injured. We can’t all run away,” he said.
Commenting on the effect that the attacks might have on the economy of Yanbu and the Kingdom, he wondered if there would be a “knock-on effect just as the industrial area is really coming on-stream and building.”
W., a South African senior manager, who has worked in the Middle East for six years — two and a half in Jeddah — showed the same determination. “I’m going nowhere,” he said. “I have a job to do and fully intend to stay.” He conceded that his wife was “a little nervous” but was certainly staying for the foreseeable future. “A worrying aspect is that it appears to be spreading toward Jeddah.”
He elaborated, “You can go to any part of the world and walk round a corner in New York or London and find violence. What concerns me particularly is that misguided young men can cause this kind of problem. The authorities have got the lid fairly tightly on the terrorist groups, it seems, but the education system and unemployment among the young are contributing to disaffection among youth.”
W. observed that it must be an incredibly stressful time for the family of the four brothers who were responsible for the attacks.
Taking precautions and increasing personal safety is the standard embassy advice to their nationals. F., another South African who lives in Jeddah with his wife and children, expressed robust views on the matter of security. “It’s crazy to think you can stop a random attack,” he said.
“It will happen again — it is a numbers game.” He quoted his experience in South Africa during the turbulent times at the end of apartheid. “Individually, you prevent what you can; don’t go looking for trouble and make your decisions carefully. The only time I would consider leaving is if we see organized violence on the streets.”
The Yanbu incident has reportedly been linked to Al-Qaeda. There is a feeling that this is a predictable reaction and many expatriates are deeply skeptical of the easy attribution to a high-profile terrorist group.
A., a British senior management consultant, echoed W. expressing concern over the seeming creep of violence toward Jeddah and reiterated the idea that armed action might seem attractive to unemployed and frustrated youth.
“Sixty percent of the Kingdom is under 20 years of age,” A. said. “Something has to be done about the education system so they can widen their view of the world. What we may be looking at is a number of seriously discontented youth jumping on the terror bandwagon and striking out.”
He took the long-term view, like so many others. “I am here to stay — but I will be keeping an eye on developments to see where things happen next,” he said, “as they certainly will.”
