Category News

More Women Demonstrate in Qassim

Blogger Khalid al-Nassir has been following the news since today’s afternoon regarding a second women’s demonstration in Qassim. The women were shortly moved to the governate headquarters for negotiation, which ended by detaining the mother of one the detainees. Reuters ran this story about the demonstration and reports that participants in the protest said the women carried placards bearing the image of King Abdullah and others saying “Ministry of Interior, try the detainees legally and openly”.

This is getting more and more intense. In a country where public demonstrations are illegal, two demonstrations during a short period like this should indicate that a significant change is probably taking place. Moreover, both demonstrations occurred in the most ultra-conservative part of the Kingdom. Some argue that these detainees deserve to be where they are, but I think that whether they were innocent or not, they have the right to a public fair trial immediately.

Divide and Conquer

After this, one can’t say he could not see that coming:

The Commission for Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice have asked the Municipality of Medina to segregate women from men in a sidewalk in the area behind the maternity hospital. The Commission have noticed mixing of sexes on the location and suggested making another sidewalk for men away from women’s sidewalk, Eng. Mohammed Al Ali, deputy GS of the municipality, told Okaz.

Oh and btw, news agencies have already picked up the news and it’s flying all over the civilized world now. Nice going, lunatics.

US Visa Web Chat for Saudi Students

For Saudi students who would like to pursue education in the United States, the US Embassy in Riyadh offer you a chance for a web chat with Council Kathleen Riley to talk about the visa application process. According to the Embassy website, she will discuss how to schedule an appointment for a visa interview, the documents that students should bring for their interviews, and the entry and registration requirements for Saudi students studying in the U.S. The discussion will take place on September 9th at 15:30, and you can join in here, but you need first to login using the address: student_visa@state.gov. No password is needed.

More Statements

dostor_logoFollowing the statement issued about ten days ago asking the Human Rights Commission to act regarding the reformists who were detained last February, another group of activists who call for an Islamic constitution and civil society have issued another statement that they plan to send to King Abdullah on September 13th.

The statement has repeated the call to release the reformists or grant them a public trial. It also detailed the justifications for the call, saying these reformists have been involved in peaceful civil action for more than 15 years, which challenges the allegations behind their detention earlier this year.

Moreover, the statement has included some very harsh criticism to the ministry of interior and its approach of dealing with the case. “If MOI possess of evidence that they [the jailed activists] were supporting and financing violence, why do they hesitate to present them for a fair public trial?” the statement asked.

More than 30 persons have signed the statement so far, and and it is now circulating in the hope that more people will sign it before they send it to the King. The current list of signatories included many well-known reformists such as Abdullah al-Hamid, Matruk al-Faleh and Khlaid al-Umrair. Fellow blogger Khalid al-Nassir, one of the signatories, has more on his blog (Arabic).

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Thank You Sami

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The official website of Sami al-Jaber has announced that the footballer has finally decided to retire, concluding a great career that lasted about 20 years in the beautiful game. The announcement was expected since the end of last season, in which al-Jaber has minimally contributed to his club al-Hilal who finished second in the race for the Saudi league title.

There is no doubt that Sami is one of the best footballers Saudi Arabia has ever had, and his career on the international and club levels is simply incomparable. He captained al-Hilal to win many trophies over the years, and the way he led the national team on their journey to qualify for the 2006 World Cup finals won’t be easily forgotten. His fans and Saudi sports media have given him many nicknames such as Sam 6, the Wolf, Samio, the Poisonous and Mr. Goal.

But despite his achievements and excellence, al-Jaber has come under some sever attacks in the media during different stages of his career. Many of these attacks were unjustified and unfair, in my opinion that is, but I guess being a big superstar like that has drawbacks that should be tolerated if one wants to go on with whatever he does. What he was doing is playing football and scoring goals, and he was very good at that. As for media wars and other stuff, that really should not matter, except for one thing that not many mention when they talk about him: in 2005, Sami was named Goodwill Ambassador for the UN; an honor no other footballer here has won.

Since he first joined al-Hilal as a teenager, Sami has become an indispensable part of the club and the national team. The highlights of his career are many, but playing in four consecutive World Cups is probably the most distinguished one. He is also one of the very few players who scored in three World Cups.

Being a big fan of Sami, I can go on and on talking about him for hours, but what I really want to say is simply this: I want to thank Sami for bringing joy and happiness to millions of football fans here in the Kingdom and around the world. You were great, we are proud of you, and we won’t forget you. Thank you Sami.

On Health Care Saudization

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Today’s Arab News is running an editorial by yours truly. The editorial is based on a post I’ve written on Saturday commenting on a headline the paper carried in which an “expert” claimed that the country is in need for 100,000 Saudis to work as pharmacists in the government and the private sector. The expert went as far as saying “Those who pass the degree will instantly be employed.”

But as anybody here can tell you, statements of experts are one thing, and reality on the ground is usually quite another. As a matter of fact, many pharmacy graduates like my own brother are unemployed because they could not find any proper jobs for their qualifications. I hope this piece would draw the attention of officials in the Government and Shoura Council to this situation.

Many thanks to my friends at Arab News for giving me the chance to write about this important issue, and I’m looking forward to contribute more to the newspaper in the future.

Al-Hilal Signs Huge Sponsorship Deal with Mobily

hilal_mobilyAl-Hilal is one the leading and well-known football clubs, not only in Saudi Arabia but in the Middle East and Asia. The Riyadh-based club have announced yesterday that they have reached an agreement for a sponsorship deal with Mobily, the country’s second telecommunication company.

Now this kind of sponsorship deals is common place for football clubs all over the world, and clubs here have been involved in similar deals for years. But what makes this deal special is the large scale that is unprecedented in the region. According to al-Hilal’s official website, Mobily agreed to pay SR 200 million over the next five years to associate their brand with the team.

Few details are available at the moment, but the club’s website says that al-Hilal will host a press conference following the official signing ceremony. This deal should be good for al-Hilal and for Saudi football in general, and I predict that more clubs will be looking for deals like this one in order to cover their increasing expenditure.