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Foreigners Seek Reassurance After Mayhem
The surge in terror attacks in the Kingdom has rattled the nearly nine million expatriates in the country. Worry is particularly strong among Westerners working in the oil sector, banking and other high-level businesses. But with many families going away for the summer holiday, the long-term impact of the attacks might not transpire before fall and may depend on what happens in the meantime, expatriates and diplomats said. Peace and tranquility were among the major reasons for many expatriates to stay in the country. There were thousands of families, both Western and Asian, who preferred to live in the Kingdom rather than in their own country because they felt safe here. But the bloodbath in Alkhobar on May 29-30 has cast one reason for their presence here into doubt.Many Westerners are not renewing their contracts, and some who said after past attacks that they wanted to stay changed their minds after Alkhobar, said Pam Simmons, a Canadian in her fifties. The taking of hostages at Alkhobar had a tremendous psychological effect, said a French Embassy spokesperson, explaining the missionâs decision to bring forward the summer holiday at the three French schools in the country by two weeks âto enable families who wish to go home earlier to do so.â An official at the International School Group (ISG) said the number of students enrolled in American, British and international schools managed by the group, now standing at some 3,000, had declined and a further decrease was expected in the next academic year. Lucile Pons-van der Slikke, a French business consultant, said she thought the âturning pointâ was the May 1 shooting spree that left six Westerners dead in the industrial city of Yanbu. Before that, Saudi Arabia had been hit by a wave of suicide bombings, but expatriates saw these attacks as part of global terrorism, she said. Yanbu, followed by Alkhobar, fell in a different category, âwith people having their throats slit and non-Muslims identified and targeted,â she said. Pons-van der Slikke said that while she works with Saudis and had received many expressions of sympathy from local acquaintances, other Westerners felt isolated and the government needed to be more outspoken in terms of making them feel welcome here. Posted by: Fred 2004-06-13 |
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