EXPATRIATES in the Kingdom are fast catching up in the blogosphere to share news and views about local issues and bridge information gap through communication with friends and family back home. It turns out that expat blogs are gaining popularity. “It is amazing to see my brother – who came to Jeddah just six months back – so quickly well-acquainted with almost everything here. He knows the laws, popular shopping and eating outlets, Saudi culture, and all this with the help of blogs. Sadly, we didn't have blogs in our times,” said Joseph Bassion, a Filipino teacher working in Jeddah for the last 19 years. Most expatriate blogs revolve around the author's experience in the Kingdom, memories, their hobbies, laments and possible solutions. Julien Faliu, founder and CEO of expat-blog.com, a directory of expatriate blogs around the world, said that Saudi Arabia's section which list 25 blogs on the website is the most active in the Middle East, closely followed by the UAE. “Saudi Arabia is an active country, with several dozens of members, who are sharing their experience in the Kingdom in their blogs and on the KSA forum. We have also recently added a photo album and are already receiving several pictures from Riyadh,” he said.?The website represents 160 nationalities and receives around 5,000 visitors every day. Faliu said the project began as a passion. “When I moved to Spain in 2005, I was looking for online information about Madrid, and I noticed that I could find a lot of useful information through blogs by expatriates. I then thought that it would be very useful to gather all the expat blogs from round the world; as a result the expat-blog.com was founded in March 2005,” he said. ?He said the main idea of expat-blog.com was to create an interactive and entertaining space made by expatriates, and dedicated to expatriates from all around the world. ?“Who else than an expatriate in Saudi Arabia could better help and advise somebody who lives or would like to live in the Kingdom?” he asked. Faliu said expat bloggers are like international correspondents whose voices can be heard all across the globe. “They reveal the good things and the difficulties they encounter in the Kingdom. But more than everything, they make people feel that discovering Saudi Arabia, its culture and history is a really good experience! It is all about genuine life, great anecdotes and real discoveries,” he said. ?Going by the success of his website, Faliu said that plans are afoot to add new useful features, animate the website and find sponsors. “The expat blog project is really ambitious and it represents a lot of work. For each destination we are considering creating an ‘expat guide' designed to help and assist people along each step of their way – from the beginning of the expatriation process to the local life and facilities once settled abroad,” he said. Blogs also provide a mutual platform where expatriates and their Saudi counterparts interact with one another and learn about each other's culture, society, religion. Says Saudi Reema Zahir: “Blogs not only ask good questions and start interesting conversations, but also offer a much needed view on the scene of culture and arts in Saudi Arabia.” Reema said blogging is a good way of de-stressing one self. “By expressing our views, we can lighten our hearts, even if we chose not to express our identity and stay anonymous,” she said. “With the current levels of access to technology and the increasing number of Internet users, blogs are proving to be an important medium of communication on which I depend for news and to develop views,” said Ehtesham M. Aseem, an expatriate working as a supervisor here. “I began writing my blog solely for the benefit of my family and friends back home, so they would be reassured that I was okay here and so they could share in my adventure. I also realized that many people in the US have these preconceived notions about Saudi Arabia, and I was hoping to give them an insight as to what it is really like here as they have no clue how developed Saudi Arabia is. Several people have asked me if we have air conditioning!” says Susie of the popular [email protected]. “Another reason for writing my blog was to keep me busy and give me something to do,” she added. After 30 years of living with her Saudi husband in the United States, Susie said they moved to the Kingdom. “I always found the Middle East especially fascinating and exotic. When I met my Saudi husband, I felt that I would follow him anywhere. I think that in order to adjust to the huge change in lifestyle, especially for women, one must be flexible, accepting, and adaptable to change, and throw all expectations of life out of the window. I know that many of my friends back in America would never be able to cope with life here,” she said. About the name of her blog, Susie says, “When one of my friends found out I was moving here, she dubbed me “Susie of Arabia” and the name just stuck,” she said. “I still write for my family and friends, even though my blog is now reaching a larger audience. I try to write about things that I find interesting about life here, so I am assuming that my family and friends will also find it interesting,” Sussie said. Like any other expatriate, Sussie said that her new home fascinated her. “Most of all, I love the people here. They are so warm and hospitable. I feel comfortable and safe here. As an artist, I found the sculptures and works of art reflected in its buildings and in the traditions in Jeddah an interesting mix of the ultra-modern and the extremely ancient. I love that Saudi Arabia is so family-oriented. And I absolutely relish the food!” she said. Sussie said her photo blog HYPERLINK “http://susieofarabia.wordpress.com/” http://susieofarabia.wordpress.com/ serves up a new photo everyday of life in the Kingdom. “I try to never leave the house without my camera because I don't want to miss a thing. Some photos show how really similar life is here to the States while some others show how different life is at the same time,” she said. Sussie says that blogging has opened her to a world of new friends. “I had never read a blog before moving to Saudi Arabia. There is a camaraderie that exists between bloggers. Many of us are in similar situations and have formed support systems and cyber friendships. I cannot imagine what life would be like for me here without the Internet,” she said. Expatguru (a pseudonym) of www.workinginsaudarabia.blog.com lists why blogging is gaining popularity among expatriates. “First, expats in the Kingdom have a language barrier. Second, they do not know whom, where and how to approach for solutions to their problems,” he said. “My blog is meant to help unknown expatriates, and if someone gets benefitted by this, then my day is made,” he said. Many chose anonymity while blogging and to comment on blog posts, as they feel it gives them the security of saying things they might not otherwise say if their identity were known. Says Susie, “People have their own reasons for wanting to remain anonymous, and that is okay with me. A few times I have received anonymous comments on my blog that I felt were cowardly. The whole issue of privacy here in the Kingdom has been a difficult adjustment for me, but I am trying to be more sensitive about it.” User anonymity in the blogosphere is sometimes linked with verbal abuse of other users. The Internet Services Unit - ISU ( HYPERLINK “http://www.isu.net.sa” www.isu.net.sa), which manages web filtering in Saudi Arabia, offers an online form and e-mail address ([email protected]) that allows Internet users to report what sites they would like to see blocked. Meanwhile, there are many expatriates who have not jumped on to the blogging bandwagon. Syed Ashfaq Hussain, an accountant from Pakistan in Jeddah, has never used a blog. “Sure, we can share issues of our home country on blogs, but they should be more user-friendly so that it is easier for any kind of users to operate,” he said. Rizwan-ur-Rehman, an expatriate banker in Jeddah, says his busy schedule doesn't let him use blogs. “Blogs are time-consuming and I don't know how to use them. But I would like to learn to use them for constructive purposes,” he said. The expatriates' blogosphere in the Kingdom is still in a nascent stage. But there is no doubt that blogging will prove to be a key tool in this era of educated avant-garde citizens. __
