DAMMAM, 2 June 2004 — Even before the terror attacks in the Kingdom began, there was debate among the expatriate community over the pros and cons of living in compounds. A minority of Westerners shunned these enclaves, preferring to live in apartments that allowed them a modicum of contact with the culture they were living among even as they decided to forgo the swimming pools, health clubs and barbecues the compounds offered.
In the wake of a string of attacks on residential compounds for foreigners since May 2003, many others in the Eastern Province are beginning to see the wisdom of the minority.
Western expatriates now say they are sitting ducks in compounds that present easy targets for terrorists in search of large concentrations of Westerners. Spread out in apartments across Alkhobar and Dammam, they feel they can reduce the risk of being targeted.
Some Western expatriates even complain that their companies put them up in compounds as part of their package, though businesses feel they only responded to what they say was overwhelming demand from the expatriates themselves. A number of large companies built their own lavish residential enclaves, which were often coveted by staff of other businesses.
Upmarket compounds are mostly the home of Europeans and Americans, with some Asians also living there. The annual rent ranges from SR45,000 to SR120,000 depending on the facilities, status and the size.
Other expatriates in the high-income bracket live in independent villas. They are mostly non-Saudi Arabs — like Lebanese, Egyptian, Palestinians and Jordanians — and South Asian executives. Villas cost between SR35,000 to SR100,000 per annum.
The third category, in middle-ranking jobs, live in apartments costing between SR8,000 and SR60,000 a year, often shared.
Estate agent Musleh Al-Shamrany told Arab News he received several inquiries for apartments from a number of companies. “It suddenly looks like everyone wants to live in apartments,” he said.
Asian and Arab expatriates, on the other hand, are wary that if too many Westerners move among them they themselves will then become targets of the terrorists. “At present attackers are selective, but in the absence of a definite target, they will start attacking randomly,” said Hamza, a Jordanian who refused to give his last name.
But perhaps it is too soon to say if early reactions to the devastating attacks in Alkhobar will crystallize into a definite pattern. “Once things settle down and people get their sanity back, a true picture will emerge,” Al-Shamrany said.
