[gallery size="medium" td_select_gallery_slide="slide" td_gallery_title_input="Ramadan: Establishing spiritual bonding" ids="152367,152368,152369"] By Saeed Haider THE holy month of Ramadan is an occasion when not only Muslims but people transcending all social, religious and cultural barriers come together on a single platform and endorse the spirit of Ramadan. The cultural fusion between different socio- religious group let the evolution of a unique spirit of sacrifice and humanity. Interaction of different cultures and their fusion bring forward the universality of Islam and its message of peace and sacrifice to the will of the Almighty. Class segregations, socio-cultural divisions and hierarchical order are all forgotten and put behind. The humanity unites and form one cohesive group of humans — the best of all creations. In the whole holy month people try to invite each and every one to their Iftar or Sahour. Be it Iftar in a mosque or a mass-scale Iftar in Al-Khobar and Dammam where more than 10,000 people sit under one tent and break their fast. On the street corners and major road signals various cultural and social organizations station their volunteers to distribute Iftar packets to motorists and pedestrians alike. In the corporate world Iftar parties for its employees, customers, clients and officials are becoming more and more popular. Almost all the five star hotels in the Eastern Province reported full booking of their Iftar buffet during the month of fasting. In addition some corporate houses book farm house and beach resorts for their Iftar party for their employees. It will be a Herculean task to report all the Iftar and Sahour parties organized by firms and corporate houses in the Eastern Province but few parties singled out for their uniqueness and their spirit of unity in diversity. One such Iftar party was organized by Al Ghazzawi Group of companies for all of its employees based in the Eastern Province at the grand Al Samar Hall in Moaibed Carlton Hotel on last Sunday. The Vice Chairman of Al Ghazzawi Group, Hussam T. Ghazzawi, shared the vision and mission of the Group. He also highlighted a few major developments within the Group during 2016-2017. The Group HR Director, Bashar Bargouthy talked on the HR integration process across the divisions and locations of the group companies. The managers of different divisions of the group gave a brief presentation on the progress and milestones achieved by those divisions. The management recognized the services of employees serving different divisions of the group and awarded certificates to them. It also awarded certificates of recognition to the employees who have served the group for long tenures. Safi H. Jannaty, firm coordinator anchored the event. Founded in 1968, Al Ghazzawi Group of Companies is one of the renowned business conglomerates covering different spheres of economic activities. Dammam Airport Company that manages King Fahd International Airport also organized an Iftar party at newly opened Kempinski in Dammam. Later they also hosted Sahour at Movenpick Hotel in Al-Khobar, which was attended by airport officials and members of the press. The General Electric Company (GE) in Dammam also hosted a Sahour party exclusively for the media. The group had already hosted an extensive party earlier. The Ground Engineering Contractors (GEC) celebrated their Silver Jubilee of holding Annual Iftar dinners since last 25 years. The function was held at Dhahran International Hotel in Dhahran It was attended by large group of people representing almost every walk of life and diverse spectrum of various. It included engineers, managers, businessmen and technicians of many companies including that of large corporate sector. The function was nicely organized and conducted by Abdul Mohsin, the business coordinator of GEC. On this occasion General Manager of the company Parvez Naushahi presented a brief history of Iftar parties in Saudi Arabia.
