Americans celebrate their Independence Day on July 4th every year. This year’s celebration marks the 238th birthday of a nation that later emerged as the world’s superpower. When it was formed, it consisted of 13 states and as time passed the United States had 50 stars on its flag representing the number of states. Many people outside America think that America consists of 51 states. They always count the American capital, Washington, D.C. as a separate state.
Ironically, the Americans celebrate their Independence Day two days late. History books say that the legal separation of the 13 colonies from Great Britain occurred on July 2, 1776. But at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter which day you hold a celebration. At the US Consulate in Dhahran, the event was held two months earlier not two days late.
On May 8, I was invited to attend the ceremony at the US Consulate. During the ceremony, I met the new US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Dr. Joseph Westphal. It was at the same function that Joey Hood, US consul general in Dhahran, announced the relocation of the consulate to Alkhobar in a few years.
The present location in Dhahran marks 70 years of Saudi-US ties. It is the same place where in 1944; the first US diplomats were stationed in Saudi Arabia. The location is at a walking distance from the most famous oil well in the world, oil well No. 7, which was discovered in 1938 and marked a historical turn in Saudi history and its relation with the United States. So, as guests we were delighted to hear a speech full of historic events by a Saudi former Saudi Aramco employee, Ali Alblushi, during the ceremony. Both the US ambassador and consul general highlighted Saudi-US relations. Seeing a Saudi former Aramco employee giving a speech is very good and important gesture to show the people’s appreciation of the Saudi and US pioneers who were the driving force behind building and maintaining the biggest and most complicated energy infrastructure in the world. And it is important and interesting to see old pioneers or members of their families come together to discuss the good old memories and talk about better future for the next Saudi generations.
The American Independence Day is celebrated in Saudi Arabia couple of months earlier to avoid the summer heat. In addition to that, most of the guests leave on summer vacation with their families within the Kingdom or abroad. This annual event is a good opportunity to gather many of the American community with their friends and business partners not only from Saudi Arabia but also from other expatriate communities in the Eastern Province. I enjoyed the event and my chats with many people at the consulate and what is more is that I left the consulate with three small presents consisting of a photo of myself with a large portrait in the background of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the US President Barak Obama. Also I left with a package of New Hampshire sweet and more surprisingly, I left with a pair of reading glasses. Yes, reading glasses? I was given the pair of the reading glasses by a very nice young American. I was trying to send many messages using my mobile phone and he saw that I was facing difficulty because I had forgotten my reading glasses. So, out of the blue an American introduced himself as John whom I had never met or knew insisted not only to lend me his glasses but he insisted that I keep them. So, whoever you are John, thank you for the reading glasses, which amazingly were the perfect prescription for my eyes.
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