Further Reflections on National Day and Developments in KSA
Current mood: thoughtful
Category: Travel and Places
23 September was the 77th national day of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. In addition it was the second consecutive year in which the national day has been formally recognized as a national holiday. Making the national day an official holiday has done much towards instilling additional pride and sense of “nationalism” among Saudi citizens and particularly among the youth. Because the national day is now an official holiday there were special programs in the Kingdom which showcased the history and developments within Saudi Arabia and with a special emphasis on the past two years since the reign of King Abdullah. Interestingly before National Day was made an official holiday by King Abdullah the primary celebrations in honor of Saudi Arabia’s unification took place outside of the Kingdom at the Saudi embassies located around the world. When national day continued to be a regular working day the true meaning of Saudi Arabia’s unification and national achievements were not highlighted or showcased as they now are today. Saudi Arabia has made significant progress in the past two years since National Day has been recognized as an official holiday. Rather than continuing to be perceived as a “silent partner or silent ally,” Saudi Arabia is becoming a trailblazer and taking the lead in significant global activities such as the Peace Initiative; the Mecca Agreement; Saudi Sudanese Agreement; Saudi’s role in Darfur and Somalia; its progress internally and external in security and terrorism issues; womens’ issues; global humanitarian programs; medical developments; implementation of financial cities throughout the Kingdom; creation of the King Abdullah Financial City; changes in ability to obtain business visas without a Saudi sponsor which further promote foreign investment opportunities; and last but not least the pro-active role of the Kingdom in the medical sector as well.The above is not to say that problems have been resolved or no longer exist. While progress has taken place on the womens’ issues front there are many who say forward movement is not happening soon enough. However at the same time, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for example now has a cadre of women who will soon be deployed outside of the Kingdom as female Saudi diplomats. It is expected that several will be appointed posts as Ambassadors. Giving women the right to drive continues to be a heated debate and a group of women recently petitioned King Abdullah (on National day to be exact) on this cause. In my personal opinion while I believe that women should at least have the choice on whether they can drive or not I do not think the Kingdom is ready yet for women to be on the roadways. I feel that it will happen but it needs to happen at its own time and the right time. Too many changes which can be viewed in some factors in the Kingdom as radical can have adverse reactions and create larger problems. Women driving is one such issue in my view.I think it is worth noting that Saudi Arabia is among one of the leaders in providing humanitarian aid in places of crisis. The Kingdom has a tendency to minimize its achievements and goodwill gestures and as a result, most people not familiar with the Kingdom tend to hear only negative aspects. Saudi Arabia is also in the forefront on the separation of Siamese twins. Not only have many procedures been done in the Kingdom to separate Saudi twins but also of non-Saudi twins. And it should be noted that this is done as a humanitarian and compassionate gesture.While on the topic of developments and incentives Saudi Arabia is taking a significant lead in the medical sector in the area of Bone Marrow Transplant & Stem Cell Transplantation. The Kingdom through King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre will be hosting an international Congress on this subject at the end of November. 49 world-renowned specialists will be coming to the Kingdom to meet and discuss this issue. Interestingly stem cell transplantation remains a controversial issue. Stem Cell transplantation has many positive aspects towards advancements in cancer, defective kidneys, liver problems. And yes, a controversial aspect of stem cell transplantation is the ability to clone through this technology. As a result in the USA there are strict legal guidelines on stem cell transplantation. For Saudi Arabia to take the lead on this issue and host an international Congress on the subject is significant and newsworthy.So in closing this posting I’d like to end with there is much more to the Kingdom than meets the eye. It is not always about oil, camels, terrorism or extremism. I’m not denying that those are issues which exist and need to be addressed but rather encourage those who are not as familiar with Saudi Arabia to be willing to look beyond the negative and acknowledge all the positive forward developments as well. 9:37 PM - 0 Comments – 0 Kudos – Add Comment – Edit - Remove
Filed under: politics, Saudi Arabia
