JEDDAH, 16 October 2005 — Disgusted by the negative image of Saudi Arabia in the Western media, an expatriate American couple have a plan which would allow US opinion-makers to see the Kingdom firsthand and meet the Saudi people for themselves.
“There is a great need for interaction between powerful people in the West and Saudi men and women,” said Umar Abdul Salam, who with his wife, Rabia Abdullah, hope for financial support for their program of cultural exchange. “People need to see and be shown that Muslims from around the world live normal lives,” he said.
Their plan is to leave the politicians on the sidelines and instead invite people — without axes to grind — to get a good look at the real Saudi Arabia.
“The sad truth is that many media people have come to Saudi Arabia and have gotten access to the country, the people and the press, and the information has been distorted and misused,” Umar said.
Many Saudis were upset by the depiction of Saudi women, primarily as battered victims of spousal abuse. “Women are not being abused any more here than they are in a place like America — in fact, less,” Rabia said. “Women should know women and freely share systems of survival. Globally many of us are up against the same challenges — family, children and security. We women deserve every chance to examine these challenges for solutions. When we present only the European/American system of womanhood, allowing only thirdhand information, we deny that there is any other way to approach responsibility, which is untrue.”
Umar is a purchasing consultant who has been living in the Kingdom for eight years. Rabia is an educational consultant who has been here for 35 years. Both are from New York, another place often plagued by stereotypes.
“Until someone comes to America, they often think that the movie stars and movies they see on the screen represent what it is like in America,” Umar said. “Sex and violence without any respect for life or property is how many films portray Americans. If people watched only a few news broadcasts, they might think many people in America didn’t care if people caught in Hurricane Katrina could not get the basic help which is the right of anyone living in a wealthy country like America that has amazing resources. However, if you go to America you will meet many people who have opened their hearts and purses to the survivors of Katrina.”
According to Umar and Rabia, Hurricane Katrina provides a good example about the concern that Saudis and their Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) neighbors have for their friends in America. “How do you explain the millions in support that Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries have forwarded to help relieve the misery of the helpless victims of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita? If you hate someone, you do not send your money to help them when they are down,” said Rabia.
The couple want Saudi individuals or businesses to get involved with their outreach effort. Funding is an integral requirement, but they also hope others see the value of letting the Saudi people serve as their own spokespersons.
“We both believe that people can’t speak about what they don’t know,” said Rabia. “For example, according to a survey by the University of Pennsylvania, annually in America more than 200,000 children between the ages of four months and 16 years are sexually molested. Yet would you dare to call America a nation of pedophiles?”
For more information or to lend support to their plan, contact them at 0506621500 or e-mail Rabia at [email protected].
