Aayat Asad, a 25-year-old Jordanian who was born in Saudi Arabia, found it very difficult to live in Jordan for four years. “My family’s been in Jeddah for 30 years. My elder brothers got married here in Jeddah,” said Asad.
“When I was 20, I was forced to move to Jordan to study in university. At that time my parents decided to move to Jordan forever, but my brothers and I refused. I only wanted to study in Jordan and then come back to Saudi Arabia,” she added.
“Although I spent four years studying in Amman, I found it very difficult to adapt to the different lifestyle. I feel a special link to Jeddah and the people who live here. After finishing my education in 2010, I immediately asked my parents to return to Jeddah to live here forever,” she said.
Asad also received several marriage offers while in Amman, all of which she refused saying she wanted to marry someone who lives in Jeddah.
Yassin Mardoud, a Syrian engineer who has been living in Jeddah for 35 years and is a father of five, has experienced many difficulties with his children who refuse to return to Syria.
“Although I have been living in Jeddah for many years, I have tried to make my children love their home country. I always take them there during the summer holidays. I always used to tell them positive things about Syria and taught them the culture and traditions of my home country,” said Mardoud.
“However, none of these things has helped to inculcate the love for Syria in their hearts. I have always reminded them about Syria and told them that we will one day return. They’ve never believed me because they believe they are from Jeddah and will never leave this city,” he added.
“Spending vacations in our home country has not been enough to persuade my children to live in Syria. They look like Syrians, speak the Syrian dialect, eat Syrian food and holiday in Syria, but they don’t want to live there forever,” said Mardoud.
He added that he has now been forced to remain in Jeddah because of his children’s wishes. “I now feel forced to obey my children. I spend six months in Syria with my parents and come back to Jeddah for six months,” said Mardoud.
Abdulzaher Riyad, an Egyptian teacher and father of three who has been living in Jeddah for 20 years, said he prefers to leave his children in Egypt while he lives and works in Jeddah.
“I initially brought my wife to Jeddah and all of my three children were born here. They all also went to primary school here. I later realized that they were behaving and speaking like typical Saudi children, and that their social activities were different from that of Egyptian children,” said Riyad.
“This made me worry that they might not be able to adapt to life in Egypt. They also wouldn’t be able to study in Egyptian universities as the education here is different from what we get in Egypt,” he added.
Riyad then decided to send his children to live in Cairo; a decision that he said was the best solution to ensuring his children remain Egyptian. “After I sent my children to study in Cairo, they faced difficulties adapting to the Egyptian lifestyle, but it didn’t take long for them to get used to the country. To keep myself close to my children, I spend a month with them every year. Sometimes they come to Jeddah and sometimes I go to Cairo. This limited time is, however, not enough. My children are close to Egypt but distant from me. For them I’m simply a bank that produces money,” he added.
Atika Kharad, a Yemeni grandmother who has been living in Jeddah for 50 years, believes Saudi Arabia is her real home. Kharad does not hate Yemen, but she says she cannot return there.
“I got married when I was 12 to a Yemeni man who then brought me to Jeddah. He opened a small supermarket and we had seven children together. We also earned a lot and became rich, but we refused to return to Yemen,” she said, adding that she loves Saudi Arabia more than Yemen.
“My parents and relatives are still in Yemen. They always call and ask me to return, but I refuse. I have a life here. I have friends and neighbors who have become part of my life,” said Kharad.
“My daughters and sons also like Jeddah and live here. My daughters prefer marrying Saudi men to remain in Jeddah forever … Although we did face difficulties in sending our children to Saudi universities and schools, and still face difficulties in owning property, my husband and I bought a building here where we live together with all our sons,” she added.
