THERE’S a recurring theme you encounter as a Saudi living abroad engaging with people from various cultures. For some reason, having basic common courtesy or being a little approachable seems incongruent with the prototypical idea of a Saudi citizen. The truth is that a lot of non-Saudis seem surprised that some of us are actually nice.
This might seem like an overgeneralization but it didn’t emerge from thin air. A great number of Saudis have a belligerent sense of entitlement that is not only entirely self-indulgent but also extremely uncalled for. Yes, it’s lovely to have a sense of pride in where you come from, your roots, your heritage, etc., but when it starts to become a joker card used to establish a class hierarchy based on fantasy and not facts, then it’s time for some self-reflection.
Fantasy number one entails a circular argument that goes something like this: we are better because we are Saudi because being Saudi is better. Although based on government policy alone this statement is true, the intention here is to address individual self-concepts and relationships in our society. A close friend of mine has told me of the time a retailer in the Kingdom was rude and dismissive of her just because she happens to be Egyptian. Another friend remembers a time when she was illegally escorted out of a mall in Saudi Arabia but was afraid to resist because of her Syrian nationality. Just this week, I was surprised when a friend of mine whom I have known for two years told me that upon learning that I was Saudi, he assumed I would be “selective” with the kind of people I hang out with. He did not mean it in the standard character-based judgement everyone has when choosing company, but was hinting at the classic Saudi or Khaleeji “less-than” attitude toward foreigners.
The question is why? Why do so many Saudis think or behave like superior human beings when all the evidence goes against them? The entire Kingdom was built on the backs of immigrants who came with the honorable desire to make a living for themselves and their families. A 2015 UN survey estimates that immigrants make up 30 percent of the Saudi population; they run our companies, treat our sick, build our roads, educate our children, clean our homes and do the jobs we’re too lazy to do. It should be intuitive that we’re not doing them any favors because we need those positions filled. Still, Saudi entitlement continues to prevail.
While this issue is multidimensional and impossible to discuss thoroughly in one article, my aim is to get a simple message across. You - as a Saudi - are not entitled to anything nor are you better than anyone. Social, historical, and economic circumstances make the Saudi nationality a privilege at this moment in time but these things are never set in stone and human decency is universal and timeless. It’s okay to admit to our faults, it’s not treason and it’s not self-hate, it’s the complete opposite. It’s a sign were mature enough and secure enough to take matters into our own hands and to make progress.
Sana Fatani,
Toronto, Canada
