Muttawa Encounters Volume 2

I noticed that a post on one of my favorite subjects, the Saudi religious police, was long overdue. "Muttawa" is actually the third most popular search word that lands people on Blue Abaya, so something about them just fascinates (or disturbs) people and they want to find out more.

Read volume 1 of muttawa encounters here.

For many expats coming to the Magic Kingdom the concept of a religious police force is just incomprehensible or downright insane. Why do Saudi people need morality cops to tell them how to behave? Are they really THAT bad? If Saudis are supposed to be the role models of Muslims to the rest of the world, then why is it the only country that needs religious police chasing down people on the streets and enforcing morals on its citizens?

I hear so many muttawa stories from my friends all the time and unfortunately they are 99% negative. That said, there are some smart religious cops out there, I swear! Check this post for one example: Muttawa Gets It Right.
There are too many similar stories to mention here, most relating to women and covering hair and being chased by muttawa in malls. I thought of compiling another muttawa encounters list with the top most disturbing or hilarious incidents. These are all very recent cases from around the capital that happened to friends and family.

My mother visited us for few months here in Saudi and the few times we went to the mall (she hates malls) every single time would a squad of the morality cops chase her. I think we had bad luck but also during that time muttawa were on a roll. This was before the old Hai'a boss was sacked.
Her first encounter happened at Sahara Mall, she was on her own browsing shops while we were with the baby in another shop. Three muttawa came up to her. She said they could not have been much older than her teenage son (19yrs) and there she was, a 60 yr old woman minding her business when suddenly these three men started very aggressively shouting at her.
At first she did not even understand and just got scared and thought she had committed some crime. When they motioned at the scarf she understood and put it on. But that did not satisfy this blood thirsty moral squad. They continued shouting at her and by this time everyone was looking and she was mortified.

Apparently they didn't like how she had wrapped the scarf on. My mom walked out of the shop and tried to escape because she didn't understand what was wrong but they followed her like sharks. She had felt frightened and cornered.
Finally when they saw my husband and he shouted for them to go away they left. After confirming he was the "owner" of this red haired woman causing a stir of course. The same squad came three consecutive times to check on her if she still had the scarf on. I was so angry when I heard this that I wanted to go check their ID's and names and make a complaint but they had already left the mall by that time.

Mom wanted to make a complaint to the human rights commission because she felt her dignity and basic human rights had been violated, which was of course true. I felt so angry and frustrated that this was the experience and image she was getting of Saudi-Arabia. And of course she told everyone about it, so this is how muttawa vicariously spreads image of muslims as aggressive harassers, hostile toward foreigners, women haters and intolerant people.

Another incident this year that happened to two young Finnish women in IKEA. Two Hai'a officers were browsing for Vice which apparently IKEA has plenty to offer. Just look at what they have to deal with:

The horror. An uncovered smiling woman, with a dash of lipstick and some decolletage to go with it!

The muttawa at IKEA had spotted the sinful uncovered westerners and started their customary yelling. These two women have been here for years and become accustomed and immune to the harassment so they continued shopping as if nothing had happened. This angered the bearded bullies and they started following the women repeating the same over and over and now adding they should leave the store. The women ignored and cheerfully talked in Finnish about the furniture, as if there was no disturbance whatsoever. They knew muttawa cannot touch them or make an arrest without policemen present. Pretending muttawa were just a tiny mosquito making some buzz had gotten rid of them every time. The muttawa left but this time only to return with two police officers.

The women did not give up and continued walking around trying to seem calm but at this point they were furious. Now one of the angry beards lost his cool. He grabbed the shopping cart one of the women was pushing and started to drag it in the opposite direction yelling barra (out)! She held on to it with all her might and pulled the cart back yelling no! This tug of war lasted for a while with onlookers gathering around. It ended in the victory of the woman and the defeated muttawa leaving with his tail beneath his legs.


Another Finnish iron lady and long timer here who also uses the ignoring tactic was shopping by herself in the Riyadh Gallery Mall. While inside a clothing store the muttawa squad entered and asked her to cover. She initially ignored but when it became apparent they would not leave she got frustrated, took a dress from the clothing rack and placed it on her head saying inshallah! She had forgotten her scarf home. Muttawa was satisfied.

Another similar incident at the same mall, a western woman is shopping with a group of friends, muttawa approaches and they all cover expect her, she had forgotten to take a scarf. The muttawa did not leave her alone but started getting aggressive and shouting for her to cover her hair. The resourceful woman took the plastic shopping bad she was carrying and placed it on her head. Muttawa left the scene.

A friend of mine was at a frozen yogurt place and wanted to sit down but saw a sign saying women are not allowed to sit inside. She asked why not and the worker said Hai'a officers won't allow it. There was no clear indication it was single section, the place was secluded and there was nobody else around, so why not?

Why were woman allowed to enter, but not sit? The friendly salesperson then told her how the some Saudi women had sat there and muttawa had raided the place to prevent this HUGE vice. The women had left but the poor Filipino worker was accused of not preventing it and his "charge" was allowing women to sit inside. What happened then is the Riyadh Vice Cops had actually hand and LEG CUFFED the worker like he was one of the most dangerous criminals in the world. He spent two nights in jail for this horrid offense.. I don't think they even leg cuff mafia bosses. Or Hannibal Lecter.

Once while we were in a women's clothing store with mom, a muttawa came up to the entrance and started shouting in Arabic. First we thought he was shouting at us but he was targeting one of the male salesclerks. The Turkish clerk looked anxious as the muttawa approached him. The 4 ft tall muttawa continued for a good five minutes of nonstop blabbering and preaching and the clerk was nodding his head, staring at the ground, looking humiliated. By now everyone in the store and the hallway had stopped shopping and were staring at the clerk in a condemning manner as if he had committed a big crime.

When the muttawa finally left we went to talk to the salesclerk because he looked absolutely devastated and about to cry. He told me how this same muttawa comes to his shop almost everyday and always picks on him. I must mention this was a well mannered, friendly young fellow, he was definitely not one of those overly "helpful" and slimy salesmen there are out there. He continued that the muttawa always complained and lectured him on his appearance and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

The first time the muttawa midget came, it was the ear length hair which had been deemed too long. The Hai'a guy made him leave work right there and then to cut the hair short or face jail sentence.
Now the hair was short but he'd put hair gel in it which was what the lecture had been all about this time.

The young man said it felt like being publicly shamed and bullied by this so called religious representative. He told us how he couldn't wait for his contract to finish to get out of this horrible country! I told him to please ignore what the Hai'a say and that they don't represent Islam or Saudis. We tried to make him feel better, he had done nothing wrong. We told him we understand how bad that feels and were sorry he was targeted. My mom talked with him too and afterward he seemed more cheerful about it and thanked us for the support.

Last week there was an incident in Riyadh where a Saudi woman got harassed by muttawa because of her nail polish and asked to leave the mall. The video has now gone viral all over the internet. Here is the video clip with English subtitles:

Thumbs up for this brave lady for standing up for herself against her harassers. Saudi-Arabia needs more women like her!
More on this incident from these two blogs:
Saudi Jeans: http://saudijeans.org/2012/05/25/saudi-jeans-8-nail-polish/
Saudi Woman's Weblog: http://saudiwoman.me/2012/05/25/the-immodesty-of-nail-polish/

Some more reading about the religious police on Blue Abaya:

Meet The Saudi Religious Police

Lower Your Gaze Mr. Muttawa!

Muttawa Gone Wild

Commission Of Ex Thieves And Drug Addicts

Do you have a muttawa story, positive or negative, to share?

P.S Non-Muslim women are not required to wear head scarf or face veil In Saudi-Arabia, only the abaya is compulsory and all women mentioned in this post were wearing abayas.

You Know It's Summer In Saudi When..

-the second you step outside you feel as if you've walked into a convection oven.

-you at the same time dread and wish for a gush of wind or even a breeze

-that gush of wind feels like someone is blasting the hairdryer on your face on full heat

-you take the sheets out to dry in the sun and after five minutes they have dried into something resembling crispy potato chips

-Saudis will only be seen outside after 8 p.m

-when all the trees and bushes in the desert have become brown and the camels have stopped eating them due to burnt taste

-camels hair turns black from burning in the sun

-your children thank you and actually laugh at pouring ice cold water on their heads and faces

-you can cook eggs on the car hood

-the car door handle is so hot you need to open it with the sleeve of your abaya

-you are thankful for the abaya that protects from second degree burns when you enter the car now turned sauna and sit on the leather benches

-you leave the house in your bikinis, under the abaya

-all movement in the city stops from noon to 4 p.m

-the Saudis finally think it's warm enough to swim in the pool but you think it has turned into a hot tub

-when your sunglasses turn foggy the minute you step out

-your face looks like a cooked tomato after about 2 minutes spent outside

-the hose water coming from the water tank is almost boiling hot and you can say your goodbyes to cold showers

-the temperature doesn't drop below 40c even in the night


-that Bebsi cola you left in the sun for 10 minutes has started boiling

-that book you read outside has melted and all the pages dropped off

-your cats scream and run back inside in panic after touching the scorching hot ground

-you discover that outdoor candles can handle fire, but not the Saudi sun!

Check out the Saudi-Finnish temperature table here:
http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/11/saudi-finnish-temperature-table.html

Saudi Hospitals, Bureaucracy And Bullying

A colleague I used to work with recently asked me, don't I miss work? My first reaction was yes in a way I do miss it. I miss the patients mostly. I miss interaction with them and the opportunity of meeting so many different Saudis from all levels of society and learning about the culture and customs. Especially I miss having the Bedus as patients and seeing those smiles on the pediatric patients faces.
Read more about quirky bedouin patients here: :http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/06/bedouins-as-patients.html
And more about why I love working with Saudi patients here: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2010/11/thank-you-my-dear-saudi-patients.html
Learn about the amazing Saudi hospitality I experienced with patients here: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2011/12/saudi-hospitality.html

Patient care was always the best part of the job. Naturally I miss some co-workers as well. Many, many awesome people from all over the world I was lucky to meet along the way. I made some great friends and found many like-minded people during the years. I miss the social aspect of work and of course the extra money, who wouldn't!

What I don't miss in particular however is the bureaucratic nature of the hospital. Everything is just so DIFFICULT. Things don't work anything near to how they do in the west although the hospitals claim to be run by the American model. This is 100% a Saudi model complete with a mix of discrimination against sex and nationality, pecking orders, red tape, complicated policies, gross incompetence, random unfairness, cosmetic campaigns, some unprofessional management and so forth.

I don't miss that one bit. If I could just interact with the patients and not have to deal with the rest of the load, I would be running back. But in the end I think, is it worth the stress and hassle? At the moment I feel it isn't but I might change my mind in the future, who knows.

Let me give you an example of making simple things complex. Say I have a patient complaining of headache on night shift. I assess her pain and want to give her a mild pain reliever. What I would do in Finland:  Go check her computer file for any allergies, previous medications, current medications and illnesses, then proceed to medicine cabinet, open it with the keys I have to get the pain relief of my choice based on my education, knowledge and experience and then go give it to her and document it. Taking about 3 minutes in total.

For comparison lets look at how this simple procedure in Saudi-Arabia turns into something so complex and frustrating it will have you pulling your hair out in no time. Same scenario, patient with headache. I go check her file in the automated medicine dispensing system called PYXIS and find she doesn't have a pain killer on her list of approved medicines. Then I go to her paper files to double check if there's any written orders by the physician for a Tylenol (also known as paracetamol, the only drug a physician in a Saudi hospital will write as telephone order) that has been missed by previous nurse. No luck.

Next I have to page the correct doctor. I need to check which team my patient is under and find out who is the on call doctor. If I'm lucky I find it relatively quickly but it might be under a service i'm not familiar with and I will have to do a computer search. I page the number and wait for a reply. If I'm lucky he might actually call back within minutes. According to policy I have to wait 10 minutes. The time goes by and I call again, no reply. Another 10 minutes and finally a reply, the doctor was busy (in some cases, he was sleeping).

Next I have to explain to the doctor the whole history and current condition of this patient just to get this simple medication that anyone can purchase by the truckload at any Saudi pharmacy no questions asked. He finally gives the telephone order and I write it down in the file. Another nurse has to come sign it with me as a witness. The order is STAT meaning the pharmacy should prioritize and activate it right away.

Next I have to fax the order to the pharmacy. The pharmacy staff may or may not be helpful. Usually the latter. I wait for a while next to the machine tapping my fingers on it and then decide to log in to check if the pharmacy has activated the medicine in the machine yet (nothing comes out of this machine without it being on the patients list, not even hand cream). Naturally sometimes nurses take the same drug out under other patients files but this is not the correct way to do it.

Meanwhile the patient has rang the call bell every three minutes. Because I didn't have time to go to their room and none of the Asian colleagues sitting nearby gossiping in their own language are offering help to resolve the issue, the angry relatives have now ventured out of the room to the hallway demanding for pain relief. I have a reassuring conversation trying to explain the procedure to the shouting male relative and they may or may not calm down and go back to the room.

After waiting another 10 minutes I call the pharmacy and in the most polite way possible (knowing the night shift person is usually in the worst of moods) remind him of the missing STAT order. He goes nuts on me and slams the phone on my ear. I take a deep breath and go back to the machine. Someone is using it so I have to wait until they finish. The relative is breathing down my back looking at me like I'm the most incompetent, lazy nurse in the world.

Finally I get the medicine out and can go give it to the poor patient who has had to wait in the worst case scenario for over an hour for this basic medicine. For nurses the priority is always the patient and their well-being and not being able to help because of these silly limitations imposed on the nurses is very annoying.

The nurses in Saudi hospitals are treated as incompetent, unreliable and uneducated staff. Mere maids sometimes. At least this is how the western nurses often feel about it because they are used to something very different. The lack of independence in the nursing field is the single most maddening and frustrating factor for most western nurses here. It comes up in every aspect of a nurses work in Saudi, not just giving medications, but everything. A nurse has to have doctors orders to give water to the patient after surgery, sometimes to change her position or get her out of bed, or even for applying skin moisturizer (no joke people!) Sometimes it feels as if our whole education was a just waste of time.

So as we were chatting with this colleague she told me how things are still the exact same on the ward. The same problems still exist despite a cosmetic attempt to correct some issues. Such as the bullying. This is not only a problem specific to the ward I worked on, but this particular organization as a whole and in fact the entire Saudi-Arabia wherever there are mixes of nationalities.

The reasons behind the bullying problem are complex but ultimately it has to do with human nature and psychology. Regardless of our backgrounds, religion or nationalities, humans will start acting in certain ways and displaying negative behaviors if placed under certain circumstances. When one nationality is paid 10x less for the same job than another just based on their passport color, problems will arise. When the majority of the staff are of the lower paid nationalities and there are only a small minority of personnel getting the significantly fatter paycheck, more problems arise. If management is under-educated and lacks skills to deal with workplace violence, more issues arise. If the organization and system favors bullies and allows them to easily climb the ladder to higher positions, obviously the problems worsen. And when there are no set rules or policies against bullying, the problem not only persists, but gets worse by time.
This is the sad equation in many Saudi work places, particularly hospitals where people work under extremely stressful circumstances.

The typical Saudi way of doing things at the workplace is having things appear as if something is being done, but in reality it was just for show. Posters, campaigns and workshops against bullying can be issued to make it seem as if the problem has been dealt with. Behind the scenes however if a victim of bullying steps out, or someone exposes the problem or dares talk about it, he or she will in fact be facing denial or brushing off of the issue from most of the management. In other words problems are best swept under the carpet and the people who speak out better silenced.

Now this is typical for most workplaces around the world, bullying will always be a problem and management usually won't know how to or want to deal with it. In Saudi-Arabia the issues however become more severe and the victims more vulnerable. For one the staff is mostly a mix of expats, all or most far from the support of their families, working in a land with strange culture and customs, perhaps suffering from culture shock. They work under pressure to perform and sometimes using a foreign language. The mix of nationalities can be rewarding in many ways but it can also back fire if there's a significant imbalance and one nationality feels spite for another because of the differences in treatment and salaries.

I could go on about this problem but I will leave that to another post.

So after talking to my colleague and thinking it over, I don't miss the hospital and the problems that lie within it but I DO miss the patients!

Saudi Women On Top Of The World

We often hear people say the word "can't" when talking about Saudi women.
This time I'm very happy to say oh yes they CAN.

Climb Mount Everest that is!

A campaign called "A Woman's Journey: Destination Mount Everest" headed by Princess Reema Bint Bandar Al Saud, one of the founders of the Zahra Breast Cancer Organization, follows the journey of 10 Saudi women to the base camp of Mt. Everest.

The group of women participating in the cause have all been affected by breast cancer in their lives.
This campaign aims not only to spread breast cancer awareness but to educate Saudi women on the importance of physical activity in the prevention of breast cancer.
From their site:

"Through this attempt, and numerous side events that are happening in conjunction, the campaign will educate the public on the causes and effects of breast cancer and unite the women of Saudi Arabia in a momentous event. Together, the campaign organizers want to demonstrate the strength and determination of Saudi women and prove that through a united front that a difference can be made. The campaign invites women from all backgrounds to walk 15 minutes daily whether at home, at work or at school between 7-21st of May, 2012 in solidarity with the climbers and to demonstrate their commitment to each other and to good health.

The relationship between physical activity and breast cancer has been extensively studied, with over 60 studies published in North America, Europe, Asia, and Australia. Most studies indicate that physically active women have a lower risk of developing breast cancer than inactive women.

A Woman’s Journey: Destination Mount Everest campaign hopes to inspire women to maintain an active and healthy lifestyle in order to prevent breast cancer."

Read Princess Reema's interview by American Bedu here: http://americanbedu.com/2010/10/28/saudi-arabia-hrh-princess-reema-bandar-al-saud-speaks-out-on-breast-cancer/

Princess Reema was also one of the organizers of the Guinness World Record breaking formation of the largest human pink ribbon chain in Jeddah. Read about this event on Susie's blog here: http://susiesbigadventure.blogspot.com/2010/10/pink-ribbon-earns-ksa-place-in-history.html
  
More pictures and updates on their Facebook Group: A Woman's Journey: Destination Mount Everest
https://www.facebook.com/AWomansJourneyDestinationMountEverest

Photo from Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/AWomansJourneyDestinationMountEverest

Way to go Saudi ladies!!!

P.S. No group of Saudi men ever broke a Guinness World record, or climbed the world's highest mountain for a cause :)

Expats Guide: Flying To Saudi

Many expats find themselves worrying about their arrival to the Kingdom. The first flight into Saudi-Arabia and the initial shock experienced at the airports can be eased a bit by this simple guide!

Checking-in
When boarding the plane at the country of origin, the passenger should have his/her entry visa at hand. The dates on the visa are in Arabic letters and they've used the Hijri calendar. Sometimes the airport personnel will not be familiar with either Arabic letters or Hijri calender. To avoid frustration among yourself and other passengers, it's a good idea to find out beforehand where the dates are located and what it correlates to in the Gregorian calender.


Remember not to check in any of the forbidden items. A complete list of prohibited items here: http://saudi-arabia.shipping-international.com/customs/

The list seems very strict but with common sense and making sure you don't have anything offensive (who would bring firearms to Saudi anyways) you will be fine.
Most importantly and what the National Guard officers on arrival will be searching foreigners for are alcohol and products containing alcohol (watch out for liquor in chocolates and vanilla extract), alcohol manufacturing devices, porn of any kind, (bare in mind the Saudi officer's idea of porn might be Puss in Boots or your collection of Entourage DVDs which he might confiscate) pork products, gambling stuff and some religious items.

Contrary to common beliefs, it's perfectly fine for first time arrivals to bring in a Bible for their private use but it's not allowed to bring in many copies. They will suspect you are going to start proselytizing. People do bring in small Christmas trees and other such items but don't attempt to do it the first time you arrive. All personal medications that fall under the narcotics category should have a doctor's prescription to go with them.


A strange question I often get: Am I allowed to bring in stuffed animals (as in teddy bears and bunnies) to Saudi-Arabia? Answer pure and simple is: OF COURSE! They are not banned in KSA and I have no clue where the rumor has started that KSA has banned stuffed animals! Stores like Toys R Us are full of them so you might not want to bring other than your child's favorite ones.


If you're a diver I would recommend packing your diving equipment all in one bag and easily reachable because most likely this will catch the eye of the customs officers (apparently it looks like alcohol manufacturing equipment to them). It would also be a good idea to pack your CD's, DVD's and computer in the same place, these will most likely be searched if you're a male expat. Any items deemed unsuitable will be confiscated, to be ahem checked out and then of course destroyed by the officers!


Arrival Dress Code
This concerns mainly expat women. For the guys modest dress as in long trousers and no sleeveless T-shirts is fine, shorts would not be recommended on arrival, although you can use them once in the country.
Women often worry about the abaya and head scarves. There is actually no need to worry too much about it. There is no problem arriving at the airport without abaya as long as the woman is dressed modestly in long sleeved pants or a skirt teamed with a loose fitting shirt and maybe a coat on top if arriving in the winter. I've seen plenty of female expats arrive at Riyadh International without abaya and some were even dressed in T-shirts and jeans. Whatever you dress in be prepared to be stared at by men of all nationalities upon arrival, especially if you're a western female because you stand out and will always attract attention.

Boarding
Boarding the plane for the last length of the flight to Saudi always takes a bit longer because they recheck for the entry visas and passports when entering the flight. The staff want to make sure nobody gets on the flight without a valid visa because they will be fined if they slip. Personally I've had problems with my multiple exit re-entry visas at this stage again for the same reasons that personnel are not trained to check the dates.

You might get your first taste of gender segregation and queue jumping culture while boarding the aircraft. If you're a guy a Saudi woman most likely will want to change her seat next to a female. No need to get insulted by this, she will just feel more comfortable next to a woman. More rarely it works the other way around. Seat allocation just might take longer until everyone is comfortable.

 Don't fret if you see the pilots praying next to the plane. They're not praying out of fear the plane will crash, just doing their daily prayers.

On Board
If you're flying Saudia there will be some extra interesting things going on. Kind of like watching an action movie! Check here to read more about them: http://imagesofsaudi.blogspot.com/2012/01/only-on-saudia.html

None of the flights coming into Saudi serve alcohol or pork. Some of the airlines will have a travel prayer announced before the flight takes off.
At some point the stewardess will give you an entry card which looks like this:

The first time they handed me this I was confused should I fill it in or not. I did and nobody ever asked for it. I insisted giving it to the passport officer as well as the customs officer but they just gave me a blank stare and threw it in the trash. None of my relatives or friends who were given this were ever asked for it either so its purpose remains a mystery.

If you were sitting next to a Saudi woman on the plane at some point don't be surprised when she comes back from her toilet trip fully transformed into Saudi gear meaning abaya and niqab. When exiting the plane you will wonder where all the women's faces suddenly disappeared!

When the plane lands be prepared for a scene from the Amazing Race:

Many of us have been on a plane and seen how strongly the flight attendants (especially the Europeans) react to people even daring to open their seat belts before the plane has come to complete stop, let alone standing up or God forbid opening the holy overhead compartments! The flight attendants would go berserk! That  person might even get arrested for such an offense of aviation rules and regulations.
But check out how the Saudis get away with it in this clip taken about 5 seconds after the plane has landed on Saudi soil while it's still moving along quite swiftly:

So in other words, get used to it. Some Saudis are so very important people and have such important things to do, they really DO need to get up the SECOND the plane lands to scramble to get their overhead luggage and be the first ones to stand in the aisles ready to barge out of the plane like it's the amazing race. You might see the poor flight attendants desperately trying to talk/shout/threaten them to no avail. It's of utmost importance to be able to be the first one out of the aircraft because this might save the person about 15-30 seconds of their precious time. And if anyone wants to take this as an insult instead of a sarcastic joke, be my guest :)

Arrival and Passport control
This might be the most daunting part of your trip. When you arrive at the Riyadh King Khaled International (KKIA) airport and make your way downstairs to the passport check lines you will encounter a taste of the Saudi way of doing things. If you're lucky there will not be long queues as can be seen here:

 There will be much confusion at this point. The only people who will seem to have a clue where to go are the Saudis that have all already rushed to their own queue on the far right labelled GCC. The signs seen above stating "first time arrivals" and "arrivals with multiple exit re- entry visa" have no significance whatsoever. Choose any line, preferably the shortest one. If it's the wrong one they will change you to the correct line. In general people will be directed in the lines according to nationality. As can be seen here:

All Afghanis in one line, Pakistanis in another. Looks like they've been waiting for few days. Might even be the case. If you're a western woman, they will all stare at you which might be very intimidating for first time arrivals. Better get used to this. Another common sight is to see a line full of Indonesian or Filipino women coming in as maids. They will also be sitting on the floors and be dressed in normal clothing, often looking rather fearful. It's a sad fact that your nationality determines how long you will wait and also how you will be treated at the airport.


Saudis naturally get out the fastest. They don't have visa issues and the process is fast but some use tactics such as jumping the queue in front of all the other lines. If this happens to you despite the hour long wait there's nothing you can do about it. Second luckiest are westerners. Especially women travelling alone. 90% of the time they will be picked out from the back of the lines by the Saudi officers and showed directly to the front. Men are not that lucky usually.
Next come the other Arab nationalities, sometimes families are allowed to cut in front of all those hundreds of immigrant workers. Basically anyone can cut in front of them with absolutely no consequences.

This is the law of the land. Immigrant workers always come last. The passport lines are an indication of the unfortunate discrimination of certain nationalities that can be found in Saudi-Arabia.


In general the passport dudes are rude, indifferent and NEVER smile. No need for concern though, it seems to be part of their job description and has nothing to do with you. This is also not an indication of how you will be treated by all Saudi people! You will be fingerprinted here as well.


For the females arriving alone you might be asked where your sponsor is. Usually the company sends a rep that will be standing right after the passport control booths picking up single female employees who are supposed to sign a paper that they've arrived. Sometimes they will not let the woman pass beyond this point if she does not have a male sponsor to receive her.


I once waited over an hour in the middle of the night here to be "claimed" by the hospital sponsor who did not have the decency to show up on time. After that experience I stopped informing the hospital of my whereabouts and the ridiculous claiming of the single woman-rumba ended. I would just brush it off by telling them my sponsor is waiting outside and move along.

Luggage and Customs
Once you've managed to pass through to the luggage belts you will be approached by men dressed in green overalls. They are the airport staff who you can hire (but you don't HAVE to even though they insist) to help to lift your luggage on the cart and push the cart around for 20SAR. The carts only are free of charge. Expect the luggage to arrive a pace befitting the Kingdom, taking their sweeeeet time!


This is a good moment to start adjusting to SMT.


After this you will proceed to the x-ray machines to have your luggage x-rayed for the above mentioned prohibited items. If you're lucky the officer will be too fascinated by the Youtube video he is openly laughing at on his iPhone or too busy chatting on his Blackberry to even glance at the screen.
With bad luck you will get one of the anal searchers that seem to want to open every foreigners luggage with suspicious items in them.

If the officer wants to check don't panic. Be co-operative and show him everything he wants. He will soon let you move along. I've never heard of anything else being confiscated from people I know than plastic "money" chips meant for Black Jack, few DVD's and CD's. and that's it. They really don't care too much about other stuff mentioned on the list such as books or magazines for example.

Once I had about 6 bottles of various juice concentrates packed with me from Finland. Good stuff like unsweetened lingonberry juice (a brain-burstingly sour juice) blueberry, strawberry, cloudberry and other Finnish wild berry juices. Admittedly, it might have looked suspicious.

The officer was convinced I had smuggled in alcohol, shook the bottles and with a beaming face said "AHA! Alcohol! Look, bubbles! Alcohol, too much bubbles!" I laughed and told him to go ahead and taste it (it was the lingonberry bottle so I secretly wished he did). He took me to the back office with the boss, they turned the bottles around for a while, laughed and looked at me like I was a lunatic (maybe they were right) for bringing that stuff in and told me to move along. Got to keep all my goodies though.

After the x-ray you will be out of the luggage area and be met by a row of men, mainly people's drivers and taxi drivers. It's best to move on to the exit and get a taxi from the official taxi line outside. A cab to Riyadh city center should not cost you more than 70SAR. A single female can also hire a taxi alone from here without any problems.

Welcome to the Magic Kingdom!


As someone with a total of 56 Saudi exit re-entry stamps from the past four years on their passport I think I can say, been there, done that and hope my experiences can help someone out there!

10 Things I Miss From Finland

I find myself missing my family, friends and my country a lot lately. It's been a while since I was last there (well ok 5 months..but still). I make sure to go to Finland every summer because I just love how the nature is so wonderful and the weather is at its best. Last summer I spent almost the entire summer there with the baby and this year we're going to be there many weeks as well. I cannot wait to go to our summer house by the sea! Now that my daughter is almost walking she will surely enjoy the wonders Finnish nature has to offer and playing with her cousins on the beach.


There are some things that I absolutely LOVE about Finland in the summer and here are my top 10:

1. Sauna. What can I say? I simply cannot wait to get in a hot sauna and totally relax! Especially the one at our summer house which was built over a hundred years ago and has very traditional style with views out to the sea from the windows and the best "loyly" you will find! Afterwards eating some delicious sausages we grilled in foil on top of the sauna stove, teamed with HOT Finnish mustard and a nice cold drink..bliss..For pics from this old sauna plus how my husband came to experience it for the first time go here: http://blueabaya.blogspot.com/2012/01/saudi-son-in-laws-guide-to-surviving.html

2. Forest. The forest has always been very important to Finns. We connect with the forest and live beside it as friends. That's maybe where our environmental awareness ultimately comes from. Finland is basically covered with forest, I mean you can walk into a forest anywhere. Best thing is some government dudes (or royals lol) didn't hoard and close it all up from the public. On the contrary, everyone is allowed. There is even a law of "freedom to roam" which gives everybody the right to enter forests, pick wild berries and mushrooms, camp and make fire as long as they don't disturb anyone with noise, litter or destroying nature. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_to_roam








3. Midnight Sun.

There is something magical about the long midsummer nights in Finland!

4. Sea

I love going out to the sea for sailing, fishing, swimming or even water skiing! The Baltic sea is not that salty so swimming in it feels very nice and refreshing!

5. Food. Ahh, another thing I can't wait for! First thing I want to eat are rye bread with cottage cheese (NOTHING beats the Finnish cottage cheese folks), fresh strawberries (same thing goes for these sweeties and my husband's favorite) mom's blueberry pie, baby potatoes with butter and dad's smoked whitefish :) My mouth just started to water! Oh and not to forget all those ice cream flavors! It's crazy how people from such a cold climate love ice cream this much.

6. Festivals. The Finns really go all out and enjoy the very short summer we have and you can see this best from the ridiculous amount of festivals we have going on all summer around the country. For every weekend there are literally hundreds of festivals, events and exhibitions going on. There is something for everyone from small kids to seniors to choose from. Apart from some seriously awesome concerts with some big names performing each year, there are some pretty peculiar events such as the "Eukonkanto" (Wife Carrying World Cup) http://www.eukonkanto.fi/en/,  "Ilmakitara MM" (Air Guitar Word Championships)http://www.airguitarworldchampionships.com/en/event/agwc-2012, or "Suo Jalkapallon MM"(Swamp Soccer WC) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10675003 and believe it or not one of the most popular events of the summer is the Tango Festival http://www.tangomarkkinat.fi/en/index.html Finns love to Tango!



7. Peace. Finland is a country with only five million inhabitants but a large area so we have plenty of space for everyone. People in general don't like to cause lots of noise and will respect others privacy. It's easy to find your own quiet spot out there and just enjoy the sounds of the nature.

8. Bonfires. Especially during Midsummer Festival lots of people will be putting up huge bonfires by the sea and lakes. I haven't been able to enjoy this tradition for a long time so am looking forward to it this summer.



9. Sunsets. I've been around the world but still I attest to the fact that some of the most beautiful sunsets can be seen during the summer in Finland!

10. Flowers. I love how I can just go to my backyard at the summer house or any forest and pick up a beautiful colorful bouquet of flowers. These flowers look funny and they are called "Ukonhattu" which means something like old man's hat!

The Invisible Women

Few weeks ago at a friend's house we were watching a program that discusses social issues in Saudi-Arabia. I had actually never watched the program before since my understanding of Arabic is not that good to follow the whole discussion.

So the program called MBC 8pm (aired from Riyadh) has experts in their field come over to share their views on each episode's topic. I was surprised to see a woman with an uncovered face on the show sitting next to the men, participating in the discussion. How did they allow this mingling on Saudi TV?

We'd been watching for a while and then suddenly someone said, "you all realize there's five people sitting around the table right?" Wait, what? Where? OMG is there someone sitting in the far left corner?

A woman in all black was indeed there. She hadn't said anything or even moved and they had placed her in front of the black background to make her literally invisible. At first it seemed really funny and comical and everyone (including Saudis) laughed. Why would they even bother to have her on the show if she was not going to speak? And how about placing her in another seat to make her more visible? It was almost as if the director was making fun of her appearance.
Especially when they were picturing the stern and concerned expressions on the other participant's faces while listening to the audience calling in and they showed her "expression" too.

This image reminds me more of a character in Star Wars than of a human being. The form doesn't have much human resemblance to it. Maybe it was a dummy since there was no movement?

Ironically perhaps they were discussing women's rights, this time in case of divorce and this woman was supposed to be the representative of the women's rights organization. Who does she in fact represent? The invisible, silent or silenced women out there? The ones who are all good with their rights been taken away by patriarchal legal systems such as the Saudi one? Women who think they should remain silent, patient and accepting of everything because the woman's word is not as important as the man's? Women who think their voices are too enticing for men to hear them? Or perhaps those women out there that sincerely believe (or were brainwashed to believe) that men were created a level better than them?

 The show also brought out these two very different approaches or interpretations of the Islamic women's dress code. The all black approach to me personally seems very extreme and unnecessary. The woman is literally handicapped by her outfit. She cannot see clearly, her hearing has been impaired by all those thick layers of cloth, her breathing has been restricted and her voice muffled. The gloves on her hands inhibit her sense of touch. Even moving around in this attire is difficult. Every sense in her body has been hindered. It is as if her dress places her in disadvantage not only as a participant in this program but also in public life in general.

Honestly is this really what God in all His wisdom wanted women to look like in public, 'black crows' as some clerics have put it? Would God really be so evil that He wanted women to suffer so much under those black layers while men can just strut around in shorts and go topless in public in the +50c heat? How can a human being even interact normally with all these obstructions? Would He make women cover every inch of their bodies and be deprived of fresh air, oxygen and the health benefits of the suns rays on their skin resulting in not only the woman's illness but her offspring as well? If this were what God intended for all women then how would women be able to wear this in the jungle or in the savanna where so many women live and work without even a hope of air-conditioning? They would die of heat stroke or dehydration in no time!

Now I believe in freedom of speech and dress but what bothers me about extremes like this is how it goes against the teachings of Islam. Extremism in any form or way always has a negative influence on humans. Going to extremes in any aspect of life is never good. And if this is not overly extreme, then what is?

Also disturbing is the fact that many truly believe this is what all Muslim women should look like and anything else is basically, going to hell. They think it's best women remain unrecognizable and hidden, without a trace of what is normally apparent from humans. Many women do choose this type of dress but others might be forced to cover so drastically by their families. Unfortunately some of those women who choose from their own free will, (including some western converts) tend to be very judgmental and even hostile toward those Muslim women who don't cover as much as they do. As if the more layers you hide yourself underneath, the better Muslim you become. The more invisible, silent and submissive a woman is in all aspects, the better.

I just don't believe God intended half the world's population to be invisible shadows. That just doesn't make any sense.

"Children of Adam, take your adornment / pleasantness to every Mosque." (Qur'an 7:31)

This verse addresses both women and men describing them as having a pleasant appearance and adornment. 

"(People), do you not see how God has made what is in the heavens and the earth useful to you, and has lavished His blessings on you both outwardly and inwardly?" (Qur'an 31:20)

This verse tells us how God made both women and men attractive inside and out. Why does only the other gender have to cover it all? Men can be outwardly beautiful and alluring to women as well as vice versa. Why would there be so many so called heart-throbs and top 100 lists of handsome men out there if women didn't find them attractive? If women were really ordered to cover every single inch of visible skin because they are attractive to men then by the same mentality, why shouldn't men cover from women's "lustful" eyes? Both should be modest equally, there is no differentiation here.

The verses in the Quran that speak about women and modesty have always been highly debated. There are many different translations and interpretations of verse 24:31 in the Quran which speaks specifically of men then women and modesty, here are few examples of the part for the women:

"Tell the believing women to lower their gaze and guard their private parts, and that they shall not flaunt their beauty except for what appears (naturally) from it, and let them put forth their covers over their cleavage" 

"And tell the believing women to reduce [some] of their vision and guard their private parts and not expose their adornment except that which [necessarily] appears thereof and to wrap [a portion of] their headcovers over their chests and not expose their adornment "

"And tell the believing women to lower their gaze and protect their private parts and not to show off their adornment except only that which is apparent (like both eyes for necessity to see the way, or outer palms of hands, or one eye or dress like veil, gloves, head-cover, apron, etc.) and to draw their veils all over Juyubihinna (their bodies, faces, necks and bosoms) and not to reveal their adornment"

So basically the one and only body part which is specifically mentioned by name that women are guided to cover here are the chest/bosom/breasts. Private parts should be guarded which I guess would come naturally. All the other versions of this are mere interpretations of the different meanings of words such as khimaar and Juyubihinna which is why there are so many varying views on what is the proper dress code for women. Everything in those brackets has been added by humans (misogynist men).

Personally I think the verse being ambigous and vague has much wisdom to it. This way it gives a certain degree of variability and freedom of choice because women live in such different climates and under many circumstances which all require different types of dress. The point is to maintain modesty and make sure your breasts are not popping out, that's it. 

Women were not created to be mere shadows of humans. 

Saudi Positives

In response to the line cutting post I was asked by a Finnish reader to write about an example of a very good behavior or a nice deed I witnessed done by a Saudi.
No problem! It's very easy to write about positive incidents in Saudi-Arabia because they do happen all the time, we just don't hear about them often. Or then, people are blind to the positives and can only see the bad and negative in things. This is often the case with many expats here, unfortunately.

I'm going to mention a few random things that came to my mind about Saudi-Arabia and GOOD manners, hospitality and friendship..

A very recent really nice deed by a Saudi man happened just last week. My husband and I had left for a long walk with the stroller on a Friday afternoon around Diplomatic Quarters. We had walked so far that we had actually gotten lost! Suddenly out of nowhere a vicious sandstorm hit. We started walking faster but realized it would take at least another half hour until we reached anywhere near home. Suddenly a car stopped and a man asked us to get in his car, insisting on driving us home without even asking where we live! So we gladly took the ride home (he insisted on taking us all the way to our door) and only then realized how far away we had still been. Here's a pic of the sandstorm rolling in:

Once I was flying alone with my then 8 month old daughter with three large bags. I had been struggling with all my stuff on the previous flight out of Finland, but no one had helped me. When I was boarding the next flight to Riyadh suddenly Saudi men were going out of their way to help me.

As I stepped on the airport bus I noticed it was full of Asian men (very common on flights to Saudi) and a group of Pakistani men were sitting and occupying all the seats but none of them moved their butts, they just ogled at me with no shame. I was standing there with all my things and a squirmy baby in my arms. One Saudi man had already helped me lift all the stuff on the bus.

Another Saudi man (looked like a muttawa btw) then noticed the situation and how uncomfortable those men were making me feel and told those staring men off. He made way for me to sit the benches, even PUSHING one reluctant guy to the side and asked men to clear three seats for me. The men reluctantly moved and seemed like they had been told to do a huge favor.

Later one young Saudi guy insisted on carrying all my things up the plane, then went to search for an empty over head locker for them and when we landed he fetched everything and brought it all to the airport cart for me. He was so polite and respectful and didn't try to chat me up or anything.
This was not an isolated case, I've been helped by Saudis with the baby and things every time I traveled alone with her.

Another incident from the airport, again I was alone with the baby and now had the stroller with me and needed to pass through the security check. I found it extremely difficult to maneuver with all the stuff and as we know usually all around the world the personnel don't usually assist much. Well this time the Saudi national guards saw my despair and motioned for me to pass the whole queue.

 One officer took the baby and started to play with her on the other side. The other one came to fold the stroller and lift it up on the xray machine. At this point the women have to go into a separate female check-up room so I left the baby with the men(they were so fascinated by her cute smiley face that they forgot to "check" her) and went in for the pat down. When I came out they were all gathered around admiring the baby, had re-assembled the stroller and placed all my belongings next to it. None of them were looking at the monitor :) That really warmed my heart and made me smile.

Just last week at Al Owais souq we had first a negative incident but it lead to such a positive response from others I want to mention it. I was walking along the souq alone while my husband was still at the car getting the baby out of her car seat. A car full of young Saudi guys pulled up and they all start trying to chat me up suggesting all sorts of things. I have zero tolerance for this kind of harassment and knowing my husband was nearby I started shouting back at them. I told them to eff off and their jaws DROPPED.

I turned around and followed them now openly flicking them off. They got really angry and shouted insults. I saw my husband approaching and pointed the car to him. When he realized the situation he RAN after the now panicked fleeing boys (with the baby in his arms). When the car reached the intersection they had to slow down and my husband was able to kick the car as hard as he could before they screeched away from the scene.
Immediately other Saudis watching the situation came to our defense asking my husband do we need any help and cursed those men out. One man said he saw how disrespectful and horrible they were and we were right to react. Then another passerby came and asked my husband does he want them to follow that car and catch the guys. People were also suggesting to report them to police and they had taken the license plates.
It felt good that this sort of bad behavior was condemned so strongly and people were openly supportive of us.

A few years ago the family of a long term patient of mine wanted to arrange a wedding party for me, after hearing we had just recently gotten married in Finland but we didn't have the chance to have a celebration yet. They insisted on hosting a female only party for me. It was so sweet and to this day I keep contact with one of the daughters.

Another family I got to know well through a patient over a course of few years became really close to me. They invited my whole family over for dinner when they were visiting Saudi the first time. They gave me a wedding gift when they heard I got married, and another gift when I converted. I became friends with one of the older women in this family and she is a big fan of my daughter! This family has given me so much warmth and made me feel like I am part of their family. The best moment was when the 90-yr old grandmother wanted to kiss me on the forehead as thank you and high respect she had for me for caring so well for her husband!

I can't count the number of times I've been asked to pass the line to the front by Saudi men. It has happened at grocery stores, airports, all sorts of offices and places where lines have formed consisting mainly of men. As the sole woman they acted like gentlemen and let me cut in front and nobody ever complained, it is taken as granted that women shouldn't be made to wait that long.

Once we had gotten stuck with our SUV in the desert with a group of expats and were unable to get the vehicle out of the sand. We were literally in the middle of nowhere (600km from Riyadh) there was a sandstorm and it wasn't looking good. Luckily some Bedouins had seen us dummies from far away and came to help us out. They pulled the Hummer out of the sand with a Toyota pick-up truck and then lead the way to a very nice campsite we could never have found without them and made us Arabic coffee on the fire!

I had a patient once whose grand daughter has to be one of the most beautiful persons inward and out that I've met during my time here. I was new to the Kingdom and she helped me with many things in the beginning. We often had long discussions over Arabic coffee during my breaks on night shift. She confided in me about many problems from her life and I felt a real connection between us. She was my age and the sitter of her grandmother and present in the room most of the time. She was not married which is very uncommon for such a stunning woman of her age.  From her own will she remained single because she simply had not found the right person and had refused all the cousins and other relatives! I was impressed by her strong will.

I was very sad to hear when the patient was moved back to Jeddah where they lived but kept in contact with this woman.
A year later the same patient was back in our hospital and when they arrived the family immediately called me in the room. I was so happy to see them and vice versa. The grand daughter gave me an incense burner like the one they had had in the room which I had so much adored! I couldn't believe she had remembered and brought it all the way from Jeddah for me.
What saddens me is I don't know what happened to her after they left the hospital again. Suddenly her phone was cut off and her Facebook page deleted. I often think of her and wonder how she is doing and hope her problems were solved and that she found true love.

There are many many more stories to tell but I will leave you with these which I think are good examples of the considerate and polite nature of Saudi people.