Arriving at a Saudi airport and going through immigration is the first Saudi experience for foreigners. Unfortunately, it is usually not a pleasant experience. Upon arriving at the passport check desk, travelers are greeted by an official whose job is to direct GCC nationals to one queue and foreign travelers to another. I have gone through this process myself, and I am always reminded of how rude, rough and disrespectful some airport officials are to foreign travelers. “Foreigners here,” says the official in a rude and authoritative tone while pointing to a long queue of mostly low-paid laborers. When a foreign traveler mistakenly goes to the GCC queue the official repeats his directions and then asks, “Are you a diplomat or businessman? NO. Then here!” While many countries are trying to attract foreign investors and tourists and have already trained their airport staff, taxi drivers and service personnel to smile and pleasantly greet foreigners, we Saudis are still frowning. Even New York, which was known for being a rude city, organized a large campaign to improve its image. Even taxi divers participated and started to smile more and offered help to foreigners. No wonder we have a bad image worldwide. We, Saudis, would like to believe that the negative image is solely due to a few Saudis who have been misled into terrorist activities. The truth, however, is way beyond that. We are responsible. It hurts to admit it, but many Saudis feel superior to laborers. I am ashamed to say it but we are a racist society. We are ungrateful to the workers who have broken their backs to build our country. We forget that foreign labor built our schools, hospitals, ministries, roads and highways. Today we are proud of Aramco and Sabic as international companies, but we forget that they were built by foreign workers. Today we are proud of our shiny five start shopping malls and skyscrapers, but who is polishing its floors and wiping the windows 100 meters from the ground? Nearly every week we hear a sheikh preaching on TV how Islam is a religion of equality and that all Muslims are equal. Even non-Muslims must be treated with respect in Islam. But that's not what I see on the streets, homes or even airports. Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said that the simple act of a smile to another person is greatly rewarded. We should practice what we preach, only then will we improve our image internationally. * Suzan Zawawi is a Cross Cultural Consultant with an MA specialized in Cross Cultural Communication. Share your cross cultural experience or send in your cultural questions to [email protected] __
