The students have been asked to stay home and not leave their homes after a surge in violence and looting that has seen a number of London's poor neighborhoods set alight. The unrest spread to the cities of Manchester, Birmingham and Liverpool on Tuesday night.
“Having a curfew in Ramadan is very annoying, as us Saudis have a certain tradition that we like to follow in Ramadan where we usually meet with our Muslim friends for iftar (breaking of the fast meal) and pray Taraweeh together,” said Eman Youssef, a 25-year-old MBA student. “I cannot even pass by the grocery shop and buy my daily supplies in order to cook for iftar.”
As well as following the news on TV and activity on social networking sites, what has also kept the students alert all day are the sounds of sirens wailing day and night in the neighborhoods, according to Razan Baker, a Ph.D. student in sports sciences and media. “It was honestly terrifying not knowing what would happen or when. Our porter told us the police came and advised that we should stay at home because it was expected that my area would be affected, so that is what I’ve done,” she said.
“After contacting the embassy, they advised us to follow what the police said and to stay in touch with them and with the Saudi Cultural Bureau in case of any emergency. I'm studying from home this week so I didn't need to go to university, but I know most of the shops there closed at around 2:30 p.m. and it was like a ghost town by that time according to what my friends told me. It’s really sad because to a certain extent London was considered safe. The government is reacting but I’m not sure things will be back to where they were.”
Scared Saudi students on Monday claimed the media had exaggerated coverage of the riots.
“My supervisor was coming from another city to meet me at 9:30 a.m. at the British Library. I was afraid to miss it and only slept for two hours. I was shocked when I saw how people and children were out and calm and the Underground was jammed like any other day,” said Roa Al-Taweli, a Ph.D. student in midwifery.
“On Tuesday I got worried again because my sister was flying from Saudi Arabia to Canada with a plan to transit in London at my place and my parents and brothers were calling back and forth the whole time to ensure we were all OK until she came and left.”
Mansour Abdulghaffar, a master’s students in technology entrepreneurship, said that the police presence everywhere made him feel safe to leave his house for iftar. “I saw in the news that the police were roaming the streets to stop any violence and their number had increased from 6,000 to 16,000 officers,” he said. “I did not have any problems leaving the house and coming back and seeing this much police gave me confidence.”
The Saudi Embassy and cultural attaché in London have called on all students on scholarships and their companions in the UK to take precautions and stay away from any places affected by the riots.
