AL-QURAYAT/DAMASCUS: It has become commonplace to see a young Syrian woman living with a Saudi family in the northern regions of the Kingdom, especially in villages located on the borders such as Al-Qurayat, Turaif and Tabuk.
The Syrian bride will typically leave her family and friends and see them only during vacations or in emergency situations.
Abu Ahmad, a 50-year-old Saudi man, says that he has been married to a Syrian woman for the past 10 years and they live happily. He said that one of the main reasons he married her was because Saudi marriages cost a fortune.
“I have heard much praise about Syrian women and how loyal they are to their husbands. They’re also good cooks,” he said.
Umm Abdulrahman comes from a Syrian village. She was 25-year-old when she went to marry a man with special needs.
“It’s tough to survive life. That’s why I opted to marry someone outside my country,” she said. She works as a farmer in a village called Kharbat Ghazala. She said that the marriage helped improve her family’s financial status.
Umm Suhail is another Syrian woman who chose to leave her home and country, although it was because her family abused her a lot. She married an old Saudi man after she was fed up with her treatment and prevented from earning a living.
“These marriages usually end up in divorce because of social incompatibility. It was hard for me to adjust to cultural differences and traditions,” Umm Suhail said.
Abu Khalid married a Syrian after he watched a television serial where women from the country were portrayed as good cooks and pampered their husbands.
Bab Al-Hara, which aired on MBC during Ramadan for the last two years, is one of the most popular television series in the Arab world.
The program chronicles the daily happenings and family dramas in a neighborhood in Syrian capital Damascus during the inter-war period. It was a time when the French ruled and the local population yearned for independence.
Abu Badr’s second wife is a Syrian woman. “Saudi women don’t accept husbands who wish to have a second and third wife. I found Syrian women to be very sensitive and very obedient. The simplest things make her happy,” he said.
Umm Faisal’s son married a Syrian woman after his first marriage to his cousin ended in divorce. She praised the current wife and says her son is really happy.
Yet a professor in sociology has warned marrying non-Saudi women can have a damaging effect on future children.“Children end up living in a constant psychological struggle,” she said.
The sociologist explained that children are usually influenced by their mother’s culture and background. Therefore, they never feel at ease mingling in their father’s society.
“They usually feel instability due to the clash of identities,” said the sociologist.
A nurse at a local hospital said her brother had married a Syrian woman who insisted on maintaining her own identity, accent and traditions and therefore could not integrate into Saudi society.
“The family didn’t welcome her because of her attitude. She eventually lived in isolation and it negatively affected my brother and their children. They divorced after much conflict,” she said.
