Paranoia or Greed?

Many foreign expat workers who come to Saudi Arabia endure, among other hardships, isolation, stressful living and working conditions, severe climate, and separation from their families, sometimes for years.  Saudi Arabia is now exploring yet another way to make these conditions even more difficult - by threatening to ban internet social communications platforms to make it harder for people to communicate with their loved ones outside the country.  On the chopping block are programs such as Skype, Whats App, and others.

Saudi Arabia ranks near the top on the worldwide list for usage of electronic technology, surpassing many other countries in the use of social media sites like Twitter, Facebook, and other such applications.  Saudis pride themselves on having state-of-the-art electronics and services.  

These past few months, there have been threats and warnings by the Saudi government issued to several communications platforms to comply with unclear and unspecified regulations - or be shut down.  It has been reported that local servers have apparently been requested from these companies so the Saudi government can monitor and censor activities of their users.  In 2010 under the threat of being closed down, Blackberry surrendered and provided the required servers rather than risk being banned.  

The first casualty of this censorship campaign is Viber, a company based out of Cyprus.  Viber was the easiest and most popular service used by Arab expats because of its Arabic formatted version and its compatibility with all computer operating systems and wireless networks.  There have been conflicting reports as to exactly why Viber was shut down.  According to reports, the suspension was put into effect because monitoring is difficult for the government and it robs licensed telecom companies of profits from international calls.  However Viber claims that the Saudi government agency in charge of this action made no prior request of the company.  

So is this just an act of desperate need for control by a paranoid Saudi government?  Or is this action motivated purely of greed?  It’s probably a combination of both.  With unrest wafting through the air since the Arab Spring, the Saudi government is no doubt on its guard.  Saudization, the government plan to replace foreign workers with Saudis, may also be a factor in this move, making it expensive for foreigners to call family back home when they have been able to do it for free for the past few years. 

Internet service and mobile phone costs in Saudi Arabia rank among the highest in the world.  With these applications providing users the ability to make free phone calls, exchange text messages, and photo file sharing, Saudi telecom providers are being deprived of potentially gargantuan revenues from these free services that, if controlled by Saudi telecom companies, could line their pockets with an exorbitant windfall.  
   
Considering how these applications are not only used by expats staying in touch with their families, but also by many Saudi students and travelers to maintain contact with their families, as well as by many businesses for basic communication needs, this move by the government is not welcomed by anyone other than the powerful and greedy Saudi telecommunications industry.   I’m convinced that the powers that be in Saudi Arabia just want to make simple things as difficult as they possibly can for the country’s residents.  The theory is that this type of thing is done to keep people’s focus on more trivial matters and keep the glare away from the government. 

At any rate, there will always be some other ingenuity used to circumvent these roadblocks put up by the Saudi government.  It’s just a pain in the meantime for those of us who aren’t that technologically astute to find a suitable detour.

More reading:

Arab News:  5 Expats arrested in crackdown against internet calls

Arab News: Interview with Red Sea Mall Exec

The following interview is a reprint from an Arab News article published December 30, 2012, and discusses one of the most popular and well known malls in Jeddah, the Red Sea Mall.     

(Arab News) The city of Jeddah has dozens of big and small malls. And many more are mushrooming. A striking feature of the malls is the presence of major international and local retailers with their new or established brands. There are many global brands like H&M, Danube Supermarket, Adolfo Dominguez, Burberry, Ferrari, Paris Gallery that can all be found under one roof, according to Mohammad I.B. Alawi, CEO, Red Sea Markets Company, which operates Jeddah's prestigious Red Sea Mall.

"The Red Sea Mall, which boasts a number of such global and local brands, also comprises of cafes and other high-end facilities that can accommodate hundreds of cars with an immensely big parking area and witness the organization of many sporting as well as social events and promotions, all taking place simultaneously," Alawi told Khalil Hanware of Arab News in an exclusive interview.

Mohammad I.B. Alawi, CEO, Red Sea Markets Company (photo credit: Arab News)

Following is the text of the interview:

Red Sea Mall is one of the largest in Saudi Arabia. Please give some information about this mall?

Red Sea Mall is a mixed use property, which is different from Jeddah shopping malls. It is a retail property with a five-star hotel and a high-end offices' tower. Internationally it is not easy to run a mixed use property because it has different users and different approach in their service, and to combine them together in one unit is a costly affair. In Saudi Arabia, there are only three mixed use properties - Kingdom Tower and Faisaliah Tower, both in Riyadh, and Red Sea Mall in Jeddah. This usually needs a lot of international experience in design and in the alignment between retail and other services.
In 2011, the mall was acknowledged with many prestigious awards locally, regionally and also globally. It received the Red Sea Mall 13 million visitors' award. Other accolades include the Award of Excellence in Tourism from the Tourism and Antiquities of Arabia for the best marketing experience in the Kingdom, the award for Excellence in Retailing at the level of Asia Asian retail trade body, the Gold Award for Best marketing Campaign to stimulate sales in the Middle East and North Africa, and the nomination of the International Council of Shopping Centers for the VIVA Golden Award at the level of shopping malls in the world.

Who are the shareholders of the Red Sea Mall?

In 2004, the shareholders agreed together to go into this investment. It is a long-term investment and not a short- or medium-term one. Because if you are building a shopping mall, the usual average return on your investment is seven years but when you do a good mixed use property you could get back your returns in 10 years. The shareholders conducted a feasibility study and they contracted an international design firm from South Africa and with local consultants together they developed the whole master plan of the project. The work on the Red Sea Mall project started in early 2005 and we opened the mall in March 2008. It is 110,000 GLA (gross leasable area), GBA 250,000 plus Elaf, a five-star hotel, with 180 rooms and tower with seven floors.

Red Sea Mall

What is the occupancy rate? Is the mall fully occupied?

In 2008, when we opened the mall, there was a big challenge for us because of the global financial crisis. A lot of global and regional retailers, who committed to open stores, put on hold their expansion plans because they were not sure about the impact of the world financial crisis on Saudi Arabia. What we ended up doing is that we held one to one talks with retailers and succeeded in opening 75 percent of the mall in 2008. Since then, we are growing year after year and there is now 98 percent of occupancy in the mall.

The mall is a little bit away from the city. Does it affect its popularity?

Let us go with international practice. The Red Sea Mall is considered, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), a super regional mall because of its size. Super regional malls anywhere in the world never built inside a city.
Jeddah's growth is toward the north. We are in the growth corridor and actually the quality of the corridor is good. So in early stages when you do planning, you do it on the basis of population growth. This mall is for 30, 40, 50 years and I think this mall is on the right corridor of population growth. The mall is in the northern suburb of Jeddah and it became part of the city with the expansion of Jeddah toward the north. With the strong anchor we have, it is like a magnet. Last year about 13 million visitors visited the mall and this year we expect the number to reach 15 million.

Red Sea Mall

Is the Red Sea food court popular among visitors?

It is true. We believe F&B (food and beverage) is an important component in mixed use property. Food Court is the place where visitors spend their time more. One of the dilemmas in shopping malls is to expand the average stay per visit. In the US, it (the average stay per visit) is 1.9 hours and in Dubai 2.6 hours. In this mall it is over 3.2 hours per visit. Shopping is one of the only social windows in this country where people sit, relax and enjoy their time. So food court is an important component of the mall. We are strong in the F&B concept in the country and we are expanding.

Are you planning similar malls in the rest of the cities in Saudi Arabia?

Our shareholders have lots of lands. Yes. We are studying plans but we have not taken any decision yet. You know building projects as big as Red Sea Mall are not easy. There are some restrictions also. To get financing for such big projects is also not easy. Ten years ago, if you had gone to the bank with such a project plan, you would have got financing, but now it is not easy. So building this size of project is not easy anymore. The Red Sea Mall project proved its name among the properties not only in Saudi Arabia but in the region. We have today a waiting list of retailers for 75,000 sq m space who want to be part of the mall. The waiting list is long, so if we want to build a new mall we can do that. At present the Red Sea Mall is the largest mall in Jeddah and with our future expansion we could be the largest mall in Saudi Arabia.

How do you gauge the performance of tenants?

From time to time, we are assessing and reassessing the performance of our tenants, and those with good names we retain and we don't renew the contracts of non-performing retailers, and we keep adding new international brands. New retail is dynamic, everyday there is a new retailer with a new brand with a new trend, some of them with proven record stay in the market while those who cannot sustain disappear. So this is our job. We have to follow up their performance all the time. We have implemented a contract sales report. We get quarterly sales report from our tenants to judge their performance. We put their reports in our data base and we evaluate their performance at the end of every year. If any tenant is not doing well then we say goodbye to them because it hurts our performance.

What was the total cost of building Red Sea Mall?

To build the mall, it cost the shareholders about SR 800 million without the land price. SEDCO Holding is the major shareholder and there are other Saudi businessmen involved in the Red Sea Mall project.

Red Sea Mall's Anaqeed Gift House

Do you maintain any customer profile, especially about their spending habit?

We do keep a customer profile during both high and low seasons. So we know sex-wise and income-wise, and we also know where they come from, which parts of Jeddah and which parts out of Jeddah. Last year, according to our study, families spent an average of SR 680 per visit. During high seasons like Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr the average exceeds SR 900. We keep doing. We have a very dedicated team and international consultants who conduct a lot of market studies. We also get sales reports from tenants, their average transactions and value.

How do malls such as Red Sea Mall contribute to Saudi economy?

Our total sales of the projects are almost between SR 1.5 billion to SR 1.8 billion a year. By improving our tenant numbers every year, we are heading between SR 2 billion and SR 2.5 billion in the next two to three years. So it is a large chunk of money in the market. We are the only shopping mall in the country with a busy calendar of marketing events all through the year, not only sales promotion but also social and community activities. This year, we are going to close with 70 events. We have to engage ourselves with the community so that whatever they spend they also must get some returns. In health matters, we are a favorite of the Ministry of Health in Jeddah.
Divisions of the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Youth, the Ministry of Interior, the Governorate of Makkah and Jeddah, and the Municipality of Jeddah hold their major events in the mall regularly.

Red Sea Mall, lovely ceiling detail

What is the role of Red Sea Mall in CSR?

Three things we are doing in corporate social responsibility (CSR). First of all, one of our commitments is to the issue related to men and women in the society. There are certain times we keep the boys out because they tend to create problems. We are always focused on sorting out such problems. For the last 5 years, and especially in the last three years we have conducted a lot of programs to engage youths and make them come to the mall as is normal anywhere. Number two is charity. We do a lot of activities in charitable work sponsoring events every year, such as the Jeddah Marathon. Now we are demonstrating our responsibility by trying to engage female workers.
Today in our mall there are 60 stores run totally by women only. We think we will have 100 to 150 stores out of 400 stores by the end of 2014 run by Saudi females only. This is another responsibility of ours to the society. Women come, find jobs and are happy to earn their salaries and even spend some money in the mall or in the city. A lot of people are against this, and that is the challenge. But I think we are proving them wrong. Women are doing great. The kind of feedback we are getting from retailers is positive. I believe women are the best for retail jobs. They work with commitment. They have patience and they have their sacred touch. Now working women are a success story all over the country. Our company's commitment is to hire more women staff in customer service. By 2015, our huge customer service department will be handled entirely by women.

How many shops are there in the mall?

There are a total 450 stores in the mall plus we have 6 major anchors, the hotel and offices. We are working on expansion of the mall. We are studying to add 30,000 GLA. After the feasibility study we will obtain approval and then go ahead. There is a big demand. We have a 70,000 GLA waiting list. So we want to capitalize on this by expanding the mall.

Are Saudi males and females working in the mall?

Total employees in the mall are nearly 2,500, some 50 percent being Saudis. At least 300 female employees are working in the mall and the number is growing day by day.

Red Sea Mall, floor fountain

You were elected for the vice presidency post for the Middle East Council of Shopping Centers in 2004 and you are also a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers. What role do these councils play in the Middle East and internationally?

The Middle East Council of Shopping Centers is affiliated to the International Council of Shopping Centers in New York. They have about 12 regional offices around the world where their job is to improve the shopping industry's ethics and practice. I am a member of the board since 2000 in Dubai. In 2004, I was elected as the third president. In 2007, I was the first from the GCC elected as the president of the Dubai office. We try to promote and educate, and do a lot of training programs in Dubai and elsewhere in the region. We do a lot of events and conferences, seminars to promote ethics and best practices in shopping malls according to the international standards.

If you travel in the region, you would see no big difference between this region and Europe. Moreover, the market here is open to all retailers around the world. If you go to a shopping mall in Italy, you would find 60 percent of the brands are Italian and maybe 40 percent from other parts of the world. But if you come to Saudi Arabia, or in Dubai or in Bahrain, you will see brands from all over the world from East to West.

From Syria with Love - Athr Gallery Group Exhibition

Oil on canvas, by Abdullah Murad

I recently had the pleasure of attending the opening night of Athr Art Gallery's current exhibition called "From Syria with Love" by a group of outstanding Syrian artists. 

Oil on canvas, by Abdullah Murad

You can click on any photo for a larger view. 

The artists featured in this show are:  Abdullah Murad, Asaad Arabi, Fadi Yazigi, Farouk Kondakji, Ismail El Helou, Malva Omar Hamda, Mohammed Tlernat, and Mustafa Ali. 

Oil on canvas, by Ismail El Helou

As you can see, the artwork was quite varied.

Wood and bronze mirror, by Mustafa Ali

Many of these Syrian artists are well established and their works have been sought after, bought and housed by collectors around the world.  

Acrylic on canvas, by Asaad Arabi

Painter Asaad Arabi received his PhD in aesthetics from Sorbonne University. 

Acrylic on canvas, by Asaad Arabi

Acrylic on canvas, by Farouk Kondakji

A quote from artist Farouk Kondakji:  "My paintings are the only photographs that resemble me."

The young hip crowd attending the opening night festivities are enthusiastic and supportive of Jeddah's art scene.  

Acrylic on canvas, by Farouk Kondakji

Oil on canvas, by Malva Omar Hamdi

Artist Malva Omar Hamdi now resides in Vienna, Austria.

Mixed media, by Mohammed Tlemat

Modernist painter Mohammed Tlemat has lived in Egypt, Libya, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

Mixed media on canvas, by Fadi Yazigi

To see the entire collection, please click here for Athr Gallery's website. 

Mixed media on flour bag, by Fadi Yazigi

The "From Syria with Love" exhibition is on display at Athr Gallery through January 10, 2013.  Athr Gallery is located at Serafi Mega Mall at the corner of Tahliah and Siteen in Jeddah. 

Let's Be Reasonable!

One of the most ridiculous and unfair “rules” of most retail businesses here in Saudi Arabia is their “return policies.” Some businesses have absolutely NO return policy whatsoever! You buy a product - and if it doesn’t work, or if it doesn’t fit, or if you just changed your mind – well, TOO BAD! There are some businesses that have a return/exchange policy. However, most of the companies that DO have a return policy have a measly three day time frame in which to return or exchange the product.

Now let me put this in the proper perspective for you so you don’t think that I’m on one of my unreasonable rants again. First of all, women in Saudi Arabia are NOT allowed to drive. Let me stress to you how difficult it is for many women in Saudi Arabia to get around due to the transportation issue. This means that she has to get her husband or father to take her shopping in the first place. Or if she’s lucky enough to have a driver, the driver must take her, or she can pay to take a taxi to and from shopping. So she gets the product home and for whatever reason she needs to return it - she has only THREE days maximum to get back to the store (if that is their policy) to return the item, again involving her husband or father or the driver or a taxi. On top of that, the traffic is horrendous, plus store hours aren’t anything like what you might be used to in other parts of the world. Businesses have odd and limited operating hours because they are required to close for the five daily prayer times.

But that’s not all!

There are virtually no female dressing rooms in which to try on women’s clothing inside shops that cater to women. The religious police have banned female changing rooms for a variety of ridiculous reasons, including that it’s sinful for women to be in a state of undress outside the home, or that lecherous, perverted male sale clerks might sexually assault women in the dressing rooms, etc.

At some malls, women purchase the item, and then go into the ladies restroom to try on the clothing. If it doesn’t fit and she wants to try a different size, she must go back to the store, go through an exchange process for a different size and repeat the scenario in the mall’s restrooms, trying on the clothing again. But of course, when you go back to the shop, it may be closed for prayer times, in which case you would have to wait around to make the exchange. But some women are not able to try on the clothing in the restroom before they leave the mall, so these women have to wait until they return home to try on the clothing. If the item doesn’t fit, she must make another trip back to the store to exchange or return it, bothering hubby again or taking another taxi ride and timing the trip so the shop will not be closed for prayers.

I guess I’ve just been spoiled all my life by clothing stores in America that have changing rooms where I can take items that strike my fancy and try them on without any hassle. I’ve also been spoiled by being able to drive myself to and from the malls when the urge strikes me and not have to bother my husband - who hates to shop and hates to drive - to take me. I’ve also been accustomed to stores in the US which are generally open from 9am til 9pm or longer. And I’ve also been spoiled by the liberal return policies of most businesses in America that normally allow at least a 30 to 60 day grace period in which to return an item that I was able to try on there at the store before I bought it, but then later decided I wasn’t really that crazy about in the first place.

Businesses in Saudi Arabia are ripping off their customers, especially their female customers, by their lack of a reasonable return or exchange policy. I, for one, dislike shopping for clothing in Saudi Arabia specifically because of these reasons.

As a side note, however, I must express my delight and approval of the new Saudi law requiring lingerie shops to employ female salesclerks, so no longer are Saudi women forced to purchase their undergarments and sexy lingerie from male salesclerks. That is definitely a step in the right direction!

Now if we could just get these stores to change their unfair business practices of unreasonable return policies…

Hijab in the Workplace

The topic of hijab (the cloth which covers the hair of Muslim women) has been garnering attention around the world for many years, affecting law in France, causing conflict in US courts, spurring cries of discrimination at an amusement park in the US, even inciting a woman's murder in a court in Germany, as well as a multitude of various other worldwide incidents linked to wearing hijab.

Are you a woman who has worn hijab in the workplace? Has your experience been positive or negative?

If you didn't wear hijab and then later decided to do so, did you place it on one day and show up to work with it unexpectedly? If so, how did your colleagues react?

Did you tell a superior or other colleagues that you wanted to start wearing hijab first? If so, what were the responses and how did they react once you started wearing it?

What are your thoughts on discussing your plan to begin wearing hijab first verses just showing up one day with hijab on?

Have any of you interviewed for a position without hijab and then later began working with hijab?

Are there certain working environments that seem to be more hijab-friendly than others? What environments have seemed hostile?

If you do not wear hijab but have experienced interaction with a hijabi worker, what was your impression of the encounter?

If you'd like to participate in this discussion focusing on hijab in the workplace, please be sure to indicate in your comments what country your encounters occurred in, since this factor can greatly influence one's experience.

For great tips and demonstrations on wearing hijab, check out HijabTrendz Channel on youtube.

Up in Smoke

A spectacular fire on July 9, 2011, of a Jeddah six-story office building that totally destroyed the structure has raised questions about a dubious policy that many Saudi employers follow. Ravaging the twin towers of Alesayi Plaza near Madinah Road, the blazing inferno also destroyed some 17,000 foreign passports belonging to expatriate workers employed by companies such as Panasonic, Moulinex, and over 60 other businesses which were housed in the complex. The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

It is the policy of many employers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to confiscate the passports of workers and hold them until the employees leave the country. Unfortunately this policy has paved the way for many abuses to occur within the system with potentially disastrous ramifications, such as slavery, blackmail, withholding pay, and inability of workers to switch their employment to another company within Saudi Arabia.


There is no law in Saudi Arabia which requires workers to surrender their passports to their employers, however some companies falsely claim that they are following the law by holding their employees’ passports or may simply say that it is company policy. Companies explain that keeping workers’ passports is their way of protecting their investment by bringing workers into the country. The Kingdom requires that foreign workers have a legal sponsor, which would be the Saudi company they work for. According to Saudi law, workers are allowed to freely change jobs or employers and to change their sponsorship, however there is no government entity to ensure that foreign workers rights are protected.

For many foreign workers who had plans to leave the country, their departures will likely be delayed. This unfortunate event should be a wake-up call for the Saudi government to take control of this serious situation and enforce policy regarding the possession of foreign workers’ passports.


Related Arab News articles:

“Jeddah's Alesayi Plaza gutted by fire” – published July 9, 2011

“Second Alesayi tower on verge of collapse” – published July 10, 2011

“Alesayi fire burned 17,000 passports” – published July 18, 2011

“Your company is keeping your passport illegally” – published July 21, 2011

Photo Credits: Arab News and Abdul Sami Naik.

Trust in Business

The other evening, my husband and I went out just to walk around at a small local mall here in Jeddah. I like to look at the traditional long dresses that many women wear here, so we went into one of the small dress shops in the mall so I could take a look. Many of the traditional dresses are embroidered, or embellished with beading.

I found three that I liked - and you've heard me complain about this before - but generally there are no dressing rooms here for women to try on clothing.

I've been given many excuses for why there are no dressing rooms for women in clothing shops here in this country, ranging from the problem with women shoplifting clothing by just putting it on underneath their big black abayas, to the potential problem of men sales clerks molesting women who are undressed in the dressing rooms. FYI - there ARE no women sales clerks allowed in Saudi Arabia - don't get me started! Suffice it to say that this country is big on "prevention" when it comes to the matter of women and sex, no matter how remote the possibility of whatever it is that might occur.

Anyway, back to my story... I guess business was rather slow that night, so I figure that this shopkeeper was anxious to make a sale.

What he did next almost floored me.

He took the three dresses off the hangers, folded them nicely and put them in a bag for me. In Arabic he told my husband, "Take the dresses home and let your wife try them on. Keep what she likes and bring back what she doesn't want. Then you just pay me for what you keep."

He took no money.
He didn't ask for my husband's name or phone number.
He didn't make a note of the merchandise that we walked out of the store with.
He didn't request that we bring the money or the items back by any particular date.

I'm still shocked.

Would a scenario like this ever happen where YOU live?

(NOTE: The dresses shown in this post are from Artizara.com)

Children's Day Care in Jeddah

Children's day care is not that easy to find here in Saudi Arabia. Many families employ foreign domestic help as maids or nannies, and not that many women work here - so there is not the demand for day care here like there is in the states where both parents often work. There are usually child care facilities available in Western compounds where working expats live or at schools where a large percentage of employed women work.

Mommy Deb's Day Care opened in Jeddah in 2010. It is centrally located in An Nahda District.  The normal daycare hours are from 8 - 5 week days only.  The facility provides care for children of all ages, including infants.

Other services provided are tutoring and English conversation classes for school age kids and adult women with flexible hours daily after school and into the evening. Children can enjoy activities such as reading, painting, singing, dress-up, building blocks, or other imaginitive play.


Mommy Deb has lived in Jeddah on and off for about 40 years. She has raised six children of her own and has babysat since she was a teenager.

Mommy Deb also has lots of teaching experience too, having taught Kindgarten through 12th grades throughout the years. Aside from her natural motherly instincts, she has also taken a training course to become a certified daycare provider in the states.

For rates or more information, please contact Mommy Deb via email at: mommydebsdaycareis@gmail.com

Zain Commercial: Window of Hope

Zain is a well-known mobile phone company here in Saudi Arabia, even though they are a relatively new company here, launching their operations within the Kingdom in August of 2008. This is the second outstanding television commercial they have produced that I am sharing with you on my blog (here is the link to the first Zain commercial I previously posted).

Whatever firm Zain hired to produce these exceptional commercials for them was a brilliant and inspirational move on their part. The one-minute commercial below is a tribute to the people of Gaza. It shows the deplorable conditions they are forced to live in, the war-torn rubble their children must play in, and the resilience, strength, and hope the people of Gaza continue to have despite their circumstances. The accompanying music is a shortened version of the beautiful and haunting song "Wonderful Life." Seeing these poor smiling children amidst their depressing and devastated surroundings while singing "It's a wonderful, wonderful life" is very moving.


Zain has partnered with UNRWA (United Nations Relief & Works Agency) in this worthwhile fund-raising campaign to provide relief aid for Palestinian refugees. Zain customers can make contributions by simply texting a message. Taken from their website: "The campaign’s main highlight was a 'reality' TVC that was shot in Bourj el-Barajneh, Lebanon, capturing true life moments of Palestinians living in the area. By allowing the camera to transmit reality, and by using actual Palestinian refugees as cast, Zain is hoping to open the world’s eyes to the cruel conditions endured by the Palestinians, and to give the refugee population a better future."

To view more of Zain's wonderful television commercials, here is the link to their website page listing them.

All in a Day's Work

"Tighter Measures Urged Against Runaway Laborers" reads the headline of a recent Arab News article. The article elaborates about how runaway construction workers in Saudi Arabia have become quite a problem in getting construction jobs finished. Legal construction workers here are generally paid about 50 Saudi Riyals (about $12.50 US) for a day's work, whereas illegal runaway construction workers can make about 200 SR per day (about $50 US). Most of the money earned by foreign laborers in Saudi Arabia is wired to the workers' homelands and is not spent in Saudi Arabia and therefore doesn't contribute to its economy. Saudi men generally would never work as hard laborers, even though many Saudi men are currently unemployed - but many jobs are considered beneath a Saudi man's status, so foreign workers by the millions are brought to the country to perform these menial tasks. All of these workers, including many foreign women workers hired as domestic help, must have a legal sponsor.

Historically, Saudi employers have a reputation for mistreating, underpaying, and overworking unskilled foreign workers. Working conditions for many foreign workers have often been described as modern day slavery and their living conditions can also be deplorable. And sadly, there is little, if any, legal recourse or government protection for mistreated workers. White collar professionals, on the other hand, are generally treated quite well and have a totally different experience compared to those unskilled laborers from poorer countries. But even among the professionals, there can be marked discrepancies in wages and treatment depending on what country an employee is from. A professional engineer from the USA, for example, might be hired at a much higher salary and with better fringe benefits when compared to maybe an Indian national with the same education and experience.

I can't really speak from my personal experience on this subject, and fortunately the minimal number of housemaids and drivers I have come in contact with appear to be happy in their positions and have been treated well. However I have received several emails imploring me to speak up about this topic.

Another recent news story pertaining to controversial employment issues in Saudi Arabia also prompted the writing of this post as well. Despite the King of Saudi Arabia recently banning the issuance of "fatwas" (religious rulings) by religious sheikhs without first getting approval from the King's advisory panel called the Shoura Council, it seems Saudi Arabia has its own religious maverick who is openly defying this order. Sheikh Al Ahmed has called for a boycott of the large and popular supermarket chain called HyperPanda for its new experimental initiative of hiring Saudi female cashiers. He has even claimed that it is a Western plot to destroy good Muslim morals. In Saudi Arabia, women are generally restricted to work in mainly the education and medical fields, with few exceptions. Now mind you, Sheikh Al Ahmed only has the welfare of the poor women in mind - he's concerned that women working as cashiers in a public supermarket puts them in harm's way because they will come in contact with horny men customers who are unable to control themselves. (Okay, so I put this into my own words, but this is basically the reason.) What I don't understand is: When Saudi men travel to other places around the world, they are expected to behave themselves and follow the laws of the country. But when they are in their own country, they are NOT expected to be able to control themselves around women or follow the laws of their own land? And in addition, as good Muslims, aren't they supposed to treat women with respect and dignity?

To HyperPanda's credit, an executive of the company blew off the Sheikh's threats and they plan to continue their new program. And by the way, HyperPanda has implemented certain conditions for the hiring of these women cashiers: they must be Saudi women aged 28 or older; they must be in financial need, be divorced or widowed; and they must dress according to a dress code. HyperPanda should be commended and supported for what they are doing!

You can read more about this subject: about Sheikh Al Ahmed's background and record on women's issues on Saudi Woman's blog post about it, and on Qusay's blog, an interesting article about the unique challenges facing Saudi Arabia's new Minister of Labor.

UPDATE: Extra! Extra! Read all about it! News Headline on 8/26/2010 - Saudi Cleric Slammed Over Fatwa on Women Cashiers

Breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia: A Fading Art

I was shocked when I first learned that a large percentage of women in Saudi Arabia do not breastfeed their infants - especially in view of the fact that Islam is very clear in encouraging breastfeeding until a child is two years of age. You might be puzzled like I was at how a country so steeped in culture and traditions like Saudi Arabia could reject this most primal mothering instinct and rebuff the health benefits afforded by this natural and nurturing bodily function related to motherhood.


So what exactly happened in Saudi Arabia to cause this surprising phenomenon? The answer is really very simple - capitalism, propaganda, and greed defeated mother nature. Several decades ago when the big oil boom exploded in KSA in the 1970s, foreign baby formula manufacturers discovered a huge previously untapped marketplace in this desert kingdom. Convincing the powers-that-be of the "redeeming qualities" of breast milk substitution, these purveyors of infant formula launched a relentless brainwashing campaign in Saudi Arabia to convince mothers that their own bodies' milk wasn't adequate for their babies and that processed canned or powdered artificial baby formula was superior. And the women believed them. The result was an unprecedented decline in the percentage of nursing mothers and a frightening increase in the number of infant deaths and children's health problems in the ensuing decades.


Dr. Modia Batterjee and her mother Anne became alarmed at the grim statistics and sprang into action. They opened up the non-profit Al Bidayah Breastfeeding Resource and Women’s Awareness Center in Jeddah - a place which educates, supports, and encourages Saudi women to return to breastfeeding their children. Dr. Batterjee has also recently published a book, A Fading Art: Understanding Breast-Feeding in the Middle East.


Breastfeeding has numerous advantages. Not only is breastfeeding much more economical than buying infant formula, but it is far more healthy for both mother and child. Dr. Batterjee says in her book, "Breastfeeding is critical for child survival, and according to medical research, no better way exists to secure the best start in life... Breastfeeding presents the perfect nourishment for all infants because it contains all the nutrients, antibodies, immune factors, and antioxidants infants require to thrive." Artificial infant formula does not.


A staggering statistic from a 2005 UNICEF report on indicates that a whopping 60% of Muslim children worldwide die before reaching their first birthdays, due to malnutrition and disease. This tragic result is directly related to the decline in mothers who breastfeed their children.


In explaining how she and her daughter came to promote breastfeeding within the Kingdom, Anne wrote in the Beginning of her daughter's book, "In April 1994, an article in the local paper caught my eye. A prominent OB-GYN had written an article about the sad state of affairs of breastfeeding in Saudi Arabia. I was shocked to see that he felt that less than 20 per cent of his patients breastfeed at all, but I knew he was right."


I am proud to say that I myself was quoted in Dr. Batterjee's book as well:

"I personally find it fascinating that it was so easy for Saudi society to jump on the infant formula bandwagon. Sadly, they abandoned the best and most natural form of feeding their babies without even looking back. Every single day I hear the excuse about how slowly things must change here because people need time to get used to the change, for example, the idea of women driving, or of other social reforms. Why is it that infant formula was so readily accepted when there is so much information available about how much better, in so many ways, breastfeeding is for babies and their mothers? I just don't get it! Every single species of mammals on Earth breastfeeds their babies - yet Saudis are so easily convinced that it isn't enough, isn't good enough, and that formula is better? How in the world do they think that civilization ever managed to survive in the thousands of years prior to the introduction of infant formula? It just makes no sense!"

So exactly why were Saudi women so quick to make the switch from feeding their newborns the best possible nourishment of their own milk to the artificial imitation of it? Did Saudi culture and social pressures play a role? Most definitely YES. Could the fact that Saudi hospital policy dictates that all mothers of newborns are not allowed to be released from the hospital after giving birth until the baby is able to drink formula from a bottle have anything to do with it? A resounding YES. Are Saudi women perhaps too pampered, or lazy, or do they view breastfeeding as an inconvenient chore instead of as a loving gift of health and bonding from mother to child? Sadly, maybe some do. Whatever the reasons, one thing is certain: unless Saudi women take this part of motherhood seriously and breastfeeding returns to its rightful place in Saudi Arabia, the disastrous effects will be long-lasting and devastating.


Dr. Batterjee's book, A Fading Art, is available at the Al Bidayah Center in Jeddah, Jarir Bookstore, and also on Amazon.com.


For more information, please see this recent article in the Arab News on The Issue of Breastfeeding, which features Dr. Batterjee and her book and brings the problems facing Saudi Arabia to light because of the decline in breastfeeding.


You can also find out more on the Al Bidayah Center Facebook Group page and the Al Bidayah Breastfeeding Resource and Women's Awareness Center

If I Could Eat Anything ...

As you know, my husband recently had open heart surgery, and before we left the hospital, the doctor told him that for one month or so, he could eat anything he wants. After that, my husband and I will both go on a heart healthy diet, but for now, the doctor wants him to eat anything he desires, just to build back up his strength. So just imagine if you were given the go ahead to eat whatever you wanted, what would you eat? Well, my list would definitely contain dark chocolate, mashed potatoes, crab, steak, cheesecake, cashews, Crispy Creme Donuts, coconut creme pie, and Cheetos! Hmmm ... seems like an awful lot of those foods start with the letter "C" ... wonder what that means? Anyway, what would you have on your list?

Adnan has always been a healthy eater and doesn't crave sweets the way I do. And since the surgery, he hasn’t had much of an appetite, but the one decadent thing that he requested was a special dish here made with animal fat called “foul wu semn” (beans with animal fat). We enjoy eating the “poor man’s breakfast” here in Saudi Arabia, which consists of a regional bean dish called foul (pronounced fool) and wonderful flatbread which is called tameez. It’s very filling and quite tasty.


Every morning these tiny shops that pretty much only make and sell foul and tameez are bustling with male customers, most of them hard laborers starting their day. Oftentimes there is a crowd five men deep. This breakfast which will easily serve 3-4 people costs a total of 3 riyals, which is about US 75 cents. I had always waited in the car whenever Adnan got this for us for breakfast, but recently I went in to take a look at one of the little shops that sells foul and tameez.


The foul is generally accompanied with extra sauce (similar to salsa) to spice it up to your liking. Other spices are also added. Adnan usually likes to add olive oil as well. The foul is slow cooked in a huge round balloon shaped metal pot which is tilted over a charcoal burner.


Because the opening is so small and the pot is so big, a special spoon with an extremely long handle is required to stir the beans and extract them. The specially melted animal fat (I believe it is from goat) is a rich clear golden yellow color and is added to the foul to enhance the flavor.


Depending on which country the tameez maker is from, the flatbread can vary in size, consistency, and flavor. Most tameez that I have seen is at least the size of a large pizza in diameter.


Some are sprinkled with blackened sesame seeds, some have lines made with a spoked wheel running across them, and others are thicker and almost rubbery, but in a good way.


The tameez is baked in a huge tiled igloo-shaped oven and special long instruments are needed to flip and retrieve the tameez when it’s done. You can also order tameez which is filled with cheese.


Foul and tameez is one of the fabulous ethnic foods available in KSA that I have come to love.