RIYADH, 23 July 2006 — An Arabic language elementary teacher in the capital has started a magazine that specializes in promoting and strengthening patriotic values among Saudi citizens in the education field.
The magazine, entitled “Abnaa Al-Watan” (Sons of the Nation), is a bi-yearly publication.
According to the managing editor of the magazine, Bader Al-Wahaid, the idea first came to him after he had realized there was not enough focus on patriotic values in public schools.
“I noticed there were no brochures, pamphlets, or anything of that sort being distributed in schools about national values or patriotism,” he said. “The only thing we see is someone talking about the achievements of the country in a certain ceremony for a couple of minutes and that’s all.”
So to answer this need he started the magazine with a focus on education, patriotism and social issues.
He said that despite his efforts his project has no financial support from the Ministry of Education and that the publication is being produced out of his own purse.
“Unfortunately, when I gave officials in the ministry a complementary copy of its first edition and asked them for their support, I was told that there were not sufficient funds to finance the magazine,” he said. “All I got from them were letters of appreciation. Nothing more.”
Al-Wahaid, a former Al-Jazirah newspaper staffer, does most of the work himself, including research, photo editing and writing.
Bader estimates that he spends about SR21,000 per issue. The circulation of the magazine is between 2,500 and 3,000. He said he distributes the magazine to high officials in the country, officials in the education field, and significant members of society as well as teachers.
He also mentioned that some school teachers in his own school were rallying against him to stop the publication of the magazine since they said it was “not necessary”, wanting instead to circulate their own magazine that focuses on patriotic values to students and teachers in the school.
“This is ridiculous. Teachers in student counseling are rallying against me even though our goal is the same at the end of the day which is to create more awareness among students and teachers on patriotism and the love of the country,” he said.
He said the main topic he had chosen in the magazine’s latest edition was the characteristics of the founder of the Kingdom, the late King Abdul Aziz.
“I wanted the readers to be enlightened about his generosity, his wisdom, and his noble ethics in dealing with not only his family and sons but with members of the community,” he said.
“One of the dangers this generation faces is the lack of guidance either from home or from school,” he said. “The other is the venom aired from some satellite channels that feed the minds of Saudi youngsters without supervision from their parents at home.
“Unfortunately many youngsters in this generation do not even have a sense of loyalty to their country,” he said. “When they throw a soda can in the street do they realize that this street is theirs, built for them and for the generations ahead?”
