Dr. Khaled M. Batarfi

Our “Festival of Nations” project of the International Relations Committee of the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry seems to have caught the attention of our readers. Many have offered valuable suggestions. Some have experiences of similar projects to share. Others are ready to take a break from their jobs or studies to help — one of them is based in Riyadh and another in Rabigh, while the event will be held in Jeddah. I am touched. 



Ramon Mohamed lived in an ethnically mixed London community before moving with his Saudi wife to Riyadh. While he enjoys the sophisticated facilities of the luxurious compound here, he feels something is missing and wrong. He sent this note:



“I’m an educationalist and a practical man. I believe that my multi-heritage (English, Pakistani, Saudi) background has given me an insight to a greater understanding of the benefits of inter-culturalism and the challenges faced by institutional racism. 



“Why can’t we live in a mixed environment and build a landscape that brings host and guest communities together instead of the situation where we have these gated communities becoming the rule instead of the exception. 



“I think that because of the way Saudi Arabia and its cities are evolving, the segregated landscapes are becoming the physical barriers that are not helping with the headline of your article (which I agree with by the way): ‘Bring down that wall!’ As a multi-cultural teacher, I agree with all your sentiments and if I can support the ‘Festival of Nations Day’ by all means please let me know,” he wrote. 



Yara Anabtawi is a Saudi intellectual who joined our IRC Friends group, and helped in making the Jeddah Economic Forum a success. Her contribution to our discussion with main speakers and VIP guests showed much depth of knowledge and a talent for sophisticated communication. Reading my last article about how we should make our guest communities feel welcome, she shared her experience in the United States working with a similar project. Here’s a summary of her letter:



“While I lived in Salt Cake City, Utah, I was involved in a citizen’s diplomacy initiative which promoted the idea that it is the duty of every individual to act as an ambassador for his/her country, town or community. Not only does that help in nation-building but it also encourages individuals to represent their own identity, culture and nation to ‘friends’ encountered whether in casual settings or organized and planned events.



“The program invites people from all over the world, from different backgrounds and skill sets, and it plans two or three days of not only cultural tours but relevant visits with counterparts. As an example that hits home, a group of supervisors from the Saudi Ministry of Education who were responsible for religious studies, visited the state (Utah is dominated by the LDS religion and has a strong religious culture).  



“The program planned a series of tours and meetings that included touristic sites, schools, state senators and state congressmen, radio stations, universities and libraries that had a large collection of very old Islamic publications. More importantly, the program focused on small gatherings where visitors had dinner with volunteering local families and the 12 people that came were in 12 different homes. From this particular visit, I kept in touch with a few people on both sides and this ended up in building friendships and in collaboration on some work.

“They all came from very different backgrounds and lifestyles but they found enough aspects in common to bring them together. In some cases, visitors actually stayed with local families for the duration of the visit. In other instances, musicians were invited from North Africa and evenings with musical exchange were arranged as well as lectures by historians in music. The program included film screenings, folkloric performances, and interactive activities, again all aimed as a two-way exchange.



“Sometimes youth are involved as the concept of tolerance should start at a young age. Scientists in certain areas are invited and meetings are more geared toward scientific exchange but all the while allowing for friendship and bonding to take place. Therefore friendship comes first and everything else is secondary. The program uses a good number of volunteers who are interested to meet people with different backgrounds and to host visitors. I for example took people shopping or out to a restaurant or accompanied visitors to their meetings. That helped me a lot in understanding many different cultures. Language is not a barrier as interpreters were always arranged.



“The program has no political agenda and only focuses on bridge building on an individual level with the aim of collectively making a difference in promoting tolerance. Once people realize how much they have in common, it is amazing how that triggers genuine acceptance of one another.



“So it is a two-way approach but instigated from one side. The IRC can start growing and developing in that direction with structured programs that initially build recurring events (start with one or two a year) and build on that gradually with one-off visits. Such efforts need to take place within several facets of society but the IRC can act as the ‘enabler’ and perhaps as a role model in such efforts.”

 

Thanks Yara, thanks Ramon. It is hearts and minds like yours that can tear down the wall of racism.  

— Dr. Khaled Batarfi is a Saudi writer based in Jeddah. He can be reached at: Kbatarfi@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @Kbatarfi.