Saudi Arabia was almost the last to end slavery officially in 1974 yet by
nature retain all the instincts of slave-running alive
Miskeen — by Mehboob Qadir, a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army
Miskeen is a spoken Saudi equal of ‘poor wretch’ used to denote mainly the
Asian labour force, coloured workers and expatriates from Pakistan, India,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. For those of African
and North African origins, they have different titles. More than a word, it
shows a whole Saudi racial, social and national attitude and a rancid
hubris. In this context, Ummah is either a misnomer or merely a convenience
for the Arab. They are Saudis, Iraqis, Egyptians, Yemenis, Kuwaitis
Bahrainis, Emiratis or whatever, but brothers in the Ummah. That notion is
basically a political convenience. We, in the subcontinent, are emotionally
more transparent and excitable. An Arab, like his camel, is emotionally
frigid except when he is slighted or his female space is threatened.
Despite a strangely adversarial disposition towards females, they count
them among their possessions like the black tent, camels and cattle. One
realised that the Saudi men’s honour and prestige seem to be tied more to
their ability to control their women by diamond necklaces and gold biscuits
than any equation of a sublime human relationship. Their family canvas is a
sorry mess because of institutionalised licentiousness through a flood of
divorces and multiple marriages. A society short of familial affiliations
and internal gravitation disintegrates sooner or later.
Saudis, and Arabs for that matter, have an obsessive love for money,
matched in our part of the world by thePathan or the Sikh somewhat, if not
fully. The difference is that Pathans and Sikhs both have plenty in the
lands they live in, not the Saudis. Less the oil, they have always been
short of food and means of livelihood as hardly anything grew in their
deserts. Their harsh unsupportive environment forced them to become
highwaymen for hire, ferrying the trade goods of richer nations on the ends
of the desert and beyond. Those who were not involved in running trade
caravans were busy raiding the same. Their land bridge geographical
location between productive Asia, Africa and Europe helped them to become
exchange traders or midway transit men. Since they produced literally
nothing but had to sell others’ goods, therefore they developed excellent
linguistic skills, which is why Arabic is such an eloquent language.
Arabs are racial exclusivists and the Saudis, a degree more, arrogant
too. However,
Kuwaitis excel in both fields. This racist arrogance does not stem from any
real world class achievement but their age old ability to ply one’s
merchandise to the other at exorbitant rates, making the other believe that
the deal was fair, employing a clever-merchant syndrome. The other reason
has been the inelasticity of their bare bones social capsule, which was
unable to absorb any external influence or people. Their mercantile ability
was polished after the advent of Islam with a large dose of missionary zeal
and truth on the pain of divine condemnation forever. However, a few
centuries on, this zeal waned and skillful statecraft replaced the art of
salesmanship. Both required nearly the same neuro transmissions.
I have been Director General (SPAFO) of Pakistan Armed Forces
deputationists, mainly, doctors and engineers, to the Saudi Armed Forces
from 1998 to 2002.This was one of the most privileged positions for a
non-European/American military officer in the Kingdom. I used to sit in the
Ministry of Defence sharing the floor with US, British and French military
missions. Another unique privilege that I enjoyed was that I could move
anywhere in the Kingdom without the indispensible written permission and
saw them closely in both urban and rural landscapes. That regretfully
shattered many a myth that we Muslims in the subcontinent carry almost as
articles of faith, and along with that a part of my better self too.
However, it was an invaluable education in reality and measurement of one’s
worthiness or otherwise.
Within weeks, I realised that for a self-respecting person, it was nearly
impossible to work honourably with those men. But for the call of duty to
the fellow deputationists and mutuality between our two countries, I
seriously considered repatriation. Hardly an occasion goes by without
making an expatriate realise the tentative nature of his lower stature
among these stiff-lipped, stuffy men. Our best, even a PhD in Space Sciences,
weighs invariably less than a Saudi camel-herder from the Empty Quarter.
Saudi Arabia was almost the last to end slavery officially in 1974 yet by
nature retain all the instincts of slave-running alive. The Iqama (work
permit) is the principal instrument and is issued on behalf of the Saudi
employer (Kafeel) for one year at a time. This is literally a dog collar that
provides the Saudi master unlimited and rather coercive powers over the
hapless expatriate. Regardless of innocence, merit, right to be heard and
the number of years of hard work, one could be packed off and deported
within hours. An expatriate has practically no legal stature, let alone the
much talked about basic human rights. I know of a senior Pakistani banker
who helped set up a renowned Saudi bank, rose to the position of
vice-president and after 29 years was ordered out at a week’s notice, his
invaluable service and lifetime of hard work notwithstanding. His fault?
None except the sweet pleasure of his employer and the weapon, the
guillotine of Iqama. Once your Iqama is withdrawn you are an immediate
nonentity and must leave the country posthaste before they imprison you for
an indefinite period. Moreover, one could see horrible exploitation of
female expatriates by their masters, particularly that of Sri Lankans and
Philippinas. Pathetic insensitivity that was. (why you people keep coming
here? reply I got from a close Saudi friend)
Peculiarly, Saudis have a cold and impersonal system of designating
expatriates that they hire. Miskeen is a derisive phrase of pity and
loathing that tends to massage their ego in a kind of perverted manner. It
tends to be a device of superiority, distancing from the mass of toiling
expatriate men and women working in the Saudi households, farms, factories,
shops, hotels, offices and all places where an ordinary Saudi considers it
below his dignity to work. The next lower phrase in their not so civil
glossary is siddique, which very eloquently conveys: ‘You work for me but
mind your place. No liberties to be taken.’ Siddique is a belittling way of
directly addressing one out of innumerable expatriates already held as
miskeen.
European and American expatriates are a different and far superior
category. For them notions of pity are transformed into a view of
admiration and longing. They are considered and addressed as rafique,
meaning ‘dear friend’. Americans top this list, followed closely by the
British and other Europeans, depending upon how much they can benefit
materially. There are cogent reasons for this preferential treatment.
Americans and Europeans negotiate their terms of reference very carefully
and hard. They are better networked, bring in more lucrative business, have
better work ethics and their parent governments are unrelenting should
Saudis maltreat one of their citizens.
There is a third but unspoken class who are mentioned with a smile and a
wink. These are fair-skinned Central Asians, Lebanese, and blonde-haired
Syrians. They are neither miskeen nor rafique but have the privilege of
being the pleasure mates of a superior sort but not equals. They have half
an access to the privacies of Saudi households; some even married in. Late
Rafique Hariri was a kinsman of the Saudi royal family.
In all this business of labelling who was who in the shoddy Saudi esteem,
they missed the forest for the trees. They know but never acknowledge that
all of the Kingdom’s infrastructure, services and amenities were built by
expatriates from all over the world. Saudi oil money drew the best of the
foreign societies into their service but tragically, they failed to absorb
them into their own society. It was because they were unfortunately blind
to the power of diversification, induction of new talent and ideas. Their
genetic disability had been that want and scarcity of thousands of years
had made their tribal society grow inwards with no scope or space for
expansion and accommodation.The net result is that not only the Saudis
floundered a once in centuries chance to enrich their country and society
with a mix of talented foreign men and women but also have a huge rootless
foreign mass in their midst that can go out of hand any moment. The
consequences could be devastating. More about this some other time.
The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army and can be reached
at clay.potter@hotmail.com<http://us.mc1619.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=clay.potter%40hotmail.com>
*
nature retain all the instincts of slave-running alive
Miskeen — by Mehboob Qadir, a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army
Miskeen is a spoken Saudi equal of ‘poor wretch’ used to denote mainly the
Asian labour force, coloured workers and expatriates from Pakistan, India,
Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Philippines, Indonesia, etc. For those of African
and North African origins, they have different titles. More than a word, it
shows a whole Saudi racial, social and national attitude and a rancid
hubris. In this context, Ummah is either a misnomer or merely a convenience
for the Arab. They are Saudis, Iraqis, Egyptians, Yemenis, Kuwaitis
Bahrainis, Emiratis or whatever, but brothers in the Ummah. That notion is
basically a political convenience. We, in the subcontinent, are emotionally
more transparent and excitable. An Arab, like his camel, is emotionally
frigid except when he is slighted or his female space is threatened.
Despite a strangely adversarial disposition towards females, they count
them among their possessions like the black tent, camels and cattle. One
realised that the Saudi men’s honour and prestige seem to be tied more to
their ability to control their women by diamond necklaces and gold biscuits
than any equation of a sublime human relationship. Their family canvas is a
sorry mess because of institutionalised licentiousness through a flood of
divorces and multiple marriages. A society short of familial affiliations
and internal gravitation disintegrates sooner or later.
Saudis, and Arabs for that matter, have an obsessive love for money,
matched in our part of the world by thePathan or the Sikh somewhat, if not
fully. The difference is that Pathans and Sikhs both have plenty in the
lands they live in, not the Saudis. Less the oil, they have always been
short of food and means of livelihood as hardly anything grew in their
deserts. Their harsh unsupportive environment forced them to become
highwaymen for hire, ferrying the trade goods of richer nations on the ends
of the desert and beyond. Those who were not involved in running trade
caravans were busy raiding the same. Their land bridge geographical
location between productive Asia, Africa and Europe helped them to become
exchange traders or midway transit men. Since they produced literally
nothing but had to sell others’ goods, therefore they developed excellent
linguistic skills, which is why Arabic is such an eloquent language.
Arabs are racial exclusivists and the Saudis, a degree more, arrogant
too. However,
Kuwaitis excel in both fields. This racist arrogance does not stem from any
real world class achievement but their age old ability to ply one’s
merchandise to the other at exorbitant rates, making the other believe that
the deal was fair, employing a clever-merchant syndrome. The other reason
has been the inelasticity of their bare bones social capsule, which was
unable to absorb any external influence or people. Their mercantile ability
was polished after the advent of Islam with a large dose of missionary zeal
and truth on the pain of divine condemnation forever. However, a few
centuries on, this zeal waned and skillful statecraft replaced the art of
salesmanship. Both required nearly the same neuro transmissions.
I have been Director General (SPAFO) of Pakistan Armed Forces
deputationists, mainly, doctors and engineers, to the Saudi Armed Forces
from 1998 to 2002.This was one of the most privileged positions for a
non-European/American military officer in the Kingdom. I used to sit in the
Ministry of Defence sharing the floor with US, British and French military
missions. Another unique privilege that I enjoyed was that I could move
anywhere in the Kingdom without the indispensible written permission and
saw them closely in both urban and rural landscapes. That regretfully
shattered many a myth that we Muslims in the subcontinent carry almost as
articles of faith, and along with that a part of my better self too.
However, it was an invaluable education in reality and measurement of one’s
worthiness or otherwise.
Within weeks, I realised that for a self-respecting person, it was nearly
impossible to work honourably with those men. But for the call of duty to
the fellow deputationists and mutuality between our two countries, I
seriously considered repatriation. Hardly an occasion goes by without
making an expatriate realise the tentative nature of his lower stature
among these stiff-lipped, stuffy men. Our best, even a PhD in Space Sciences,
weighs invariably less than a Saudi camel-herder from the Empty Quarter.
Saudi Arabia was almost the last to end slavery officially in 1974 yet by
nature retain all the instincts of slave-running alive. The Iqama (work
permit) is the principal instrument and is issued on behalf of the Saudi
employer (Kafeel) for one year at a time. This is literally a dog collar that
provides the Saudi master unlimited and rather coercive powers over the
hapless expatriate. Regardless of innocence, merit, right to be heard and
the number of years of hard work, one could be packed off and deported
within hours. An expatriate has practically no legal stature, let alone the
much talked about basic human rights. I know of a senior Pakistani banker
who helped set up a renowned Saudi bank, rose to the position of
vice-president and after 29 years was ordered out at a week’s notice, his
invaluable service and lifetime of hard work notwithstanding. His fault?
None except the sweet pleasure of his employer and the weapon, the
guillotine of Iqama. Once your Iqama is withdrawn you are an immediate
nonentity and must leave the country posthaste before they imprison you for
an indefinite period. Moreover, one could see horrible exploitation of
female expatriates by their masters, particularly that of Sri Lankans and
Philippinas. Pathetic insensitivity that was. (why you people keep coming
here? reply I got from a close Saudi friend)
Peculiarly, Saudis have a cold and impersonal system of designating
expatriates that they hire. Miskeen is a derisive phrase of pity and
loathing that tends to massage their ego in a kind of perverted manner. It
tends to be a device of superiority, distancing from the mass of toiling
expatriate men and women working in the Saudi households, farms, factories,
shops, hotels, offices and all places where an ordinary Saudi considers it
below his dignity to work. The next lower phrase in their not so civil
glossary is siddique, which very eloquently conveys: ‘You work for me but
mind your place. No liberties to be taken.’ Siddique is a belittling way of
directly addressing one out of innumerable expatriates already held as
miskeen.
European and American expatriates are a different and far superior
category. For them notions of pity are transformed into a view of
admiration and longing. They are considered and addressed as rafique,
meaning ‘dear friend’. Americans top this list, followed closely by the
British and other Europeans, depending upon how much they can benefit
materially. There are cogent reasons for this preferential treatment.
Americans and Europeans negotiate their terms of reference very carefully
and hard. They are better networked, bring in more lucrative business, have
better work ethics and their parent governments are unrelenting should
Saudis maltreat one of their citizens.
There is a third but unspoken class who are mentioned with a smile and a
wink. These are fair-skinned Central Asians, Lebanese, and blonde-haired
Syrians. They are neither miskeen nor rafique but have the privilege of
being the pleasure mates of a superior sort but not equals. They have half
an access to the privacies of Saudi households; some even married in. Late
Rafique Hariri was a kinsman of the Saudi royal family.
In all this business of labelling who was who in the shoddy Saudi esteem,
they missed the forest for the trees. They know but never acknowledge that
all of the Kingdom’s infrastructure, services and amenities were built by
expatriates from all over the world. Saudi oil money drew the best of the
foreign societies into their service but tragically, they failed to absorb
them into their own society. It was because they were unfortunately blind
to the power of diversification, induction of new talent and ideas. Their
genetic disability had been that want and scarcity of thousands of years
had made their tribal society grow inwards with no scope or space for
expansion and accommodation.The net result is that not only the Saudis
floundered a once in centuries chance to enrich their country and society
with a mix of talented foreign men and women but also have a huge rootless
foreign mass in their midst that can go out of hand any moment. The
consequences could be devastating. More about this some other time.
The writer is a retired brigadier of the Pakistan Army and can be reached
at clay.potter@hotmail.com<http://us.mc1619.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=clay.potter%40hotmail.com>
*
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