Scary Stories Of Saudia

‘Saudi Arabia’- the name of the country itself scares many people around the world. When many of my friends and well wishers considered visiting the country itself a nightmare, destiny made me courageous to visit its capital city-Riyadh. Soon I was willingly falling into its lazy and relaxed life.

Air conditioned rooms, easy availability of all my favourite cuisines, a room with large windows to read in comfort, a home theatre to watch the latest movies, cosy bed to curl on in the afternoons, the large room to chat with the visitors, a good internet connection to chat with my friends back at home, a treadmill to work out whenever I feel to keep my shape, a room full of toys for me and little Shreya to explore, a good park just outside our apartment for evening walks, our shopping sessions in different malls, no nosy business to hamper our family life...what else I want to enjoy the life out here?

However, this comfort zone got alerted even before I begin to enjoy it. Two days back, Sree came home with a swollen face. When some of the native youth found it fun to throw rotten eggs at non-Arabs walking on their roads, he was one among the many victims whom they targeted on. Nobody attacked him in particular. He was just another victim of racial attack against the non-Arabs in Saudi Arabia.

We were definitely shaken to alert our friends and relatives here. Soon, the real stories were unveiling. It was just at the entrance of our flat that the Arabs manhandled our previous owner. They put him at knife point and looted all the money, mobile, groceries and wristwatch that he carried.

Our elder friends had another story to share. When they had a get together once, someone tipped them off to the Mutavas (Moral/Religious Police). The severe punishment followed in the form of beatings on our friends’ backs. The victims included elderly people above 70 years of old and even a Professor who taught the Princes at the King Saud University.

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Now, with all these I was actually shivering when I was waiting for Sree in the safety of our locked car at the parking lot. I was breathing a sigh of relief as he started the car... Bang! Our car had hit another one, just in front of us! I could see three young Arabs jumping out of the car. This was the moment I always scared! I knew our story is ending here...

Then...My vision was blurred as they were shaking hands with Sree. They all had smiling faces, in total contrast to the cony faces, I always imagined. They were friendly as we waited for the traffic police. Of course the mistake was on our side and we had to settle their damage through the insurance. But...the victims are Arabs! We are at Riyadh! Still we are left safe with a hit on our car!!!

This incident was an eye opener for me. Would we’ve left this easy, after a similar encounter with natives of Bangalore? Is India more safe than Saudi with natives attacking people coming from other states? Though we had no personal physical attack at Bangalore, I had been the victim of verbal racial attacks from some natives of Bangalore. Also some our friends had attacked physically by Bangalore natives too.

I have this solace now. No place is immune to troubles. At the same time I can find some rays of happiness at all places too. The happiness may be a mirage in the desert, but each and everyone has their own thread to cling onto a place. Once we find this thread, no scary story will stop you from enjoying the life out there.

Wherever I live in, that place doesn’t belong to me forever. I had left my birthplace and arrived at a new place. I had perceptions about the new place inscribed in my mind by others .I grew my own concepts about this new place during the stay out there and started to feel it as a home away from home. Soon, I had to leave the place to another new one. Here I am ready to impart my prescriptions about the place to its newcomers. The process continues...