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.

Activists Release New Statement

A group of political and human rights activists in Saudi Arabia have sent an open letter to the head of Human Rights Commission (HRC), the government body concerned with human rights, asking the commission to act according to its responsibilities regarding the reformists who were detained last February.

The letter, which was also sent to the head of Shoura Council, the minister of justice and the head of NSHR, asked HRC to handle the case of the detainees and ensure to grant them their lawful rights which were violated upon their detention. It also pointed out to the arrests of other activists known for their social status and contributions who also underwent the same violations.

“These actions by some bodies violate basic human rights, and do not go well with the reforming steps led by King Abdullah,” the letter read, but it does not go as far as naming these bodies. It does not, however, take much thinking to realize that the letter talks about the Ministry of Interior, which said the arrest were related to allegation of financing terrorism.

The letter was signed by 76 activists, including many well-known reform figures such as Ali al-Domaini, Matruk al-Faleh and Khalid al-Umair. The list of signatories also included many Shiite activists such as Najib al-Khonaizi, Mohammed al-Ali and Jaafar al-Shayeb.

However, as Abu-Joori pointed out, the list reveals the absence of any prominent religious leaders. “It indicates the ignorance in which the leaders of Sahwa and Islamists in Saudi Arabia are plagued with when it comes to human rights issues.” On the other hand, many of the so-called liberals are absent from this list, he added.

I believe all the demands in the letter are fair and the detainees should be granted their rights according to the law immediately. But it is anyone’s guess if the receivers of this letter would actually respond to it. Let’s wait and see, but my advice is not to get your hopes too hight. I, for one, again, is not holding my breath.

Kuwaiti Bloggers Abducted

Some very sad and disturbing news coming from Kuwait:

At Saturday 8pm Kuwait State Police abducted 2 Kuwaiti bloggers Bashar Al-Sayegh from Al-Ohmmah.org and Jassem Al-Qamis without the due protection of the Kuwait Constitution while leaving work. The reason being that an anonymous commenter wrote something criticizing the Emir yet even though it was removed immediately by Al-Sayegh they are still holding him responsible.

You can keep up with the latest updates from the Kuwaiti blogosphere through Safat.

Saudi Genes Make Codeine Risk Higher

Codeine is an opiate used mainly to relieve pain and suppress cough, and it can be found in many prescription and non-prescription drugs. It has been known as a standard cough-suppressant, and the pain-relieving effect is due to the fact that some of it is metabolized into morphine upon administration.

One of the problems of codeine (and its metabolites) is that it is secreted in the milk of nursing mothers, and this can lead to morphine overdose for the baby if the mother was an “ultra-rapid metabolizer” of codeine.

This week, the Food and Drug Administration in the US have issued a warning following a report of the death of a 13-day-old breast-fed infant who died from morphine overdose. His mom had been taking codeine to treat pain from an episiotomy and was later found to be an “ultra-rapid metabolizer” of codeine.

Ultra-rapid metabolism occur with a big variation among different ethnic groups, and people who have it usually don’t know about it. However, Saudis in particular must pay extra attention to this case. According to studies, 16-28% of Saudis have the genetic potential, compared to 1-10% among whites, 3% for blacks and 1% for Hispanics and Asians.

This is a very high prevalence and doctors in the Kingdom should be very careful when prescribing codeine for nursing mothers. The Ministry of Health should take a quick action and issue a warning to all health professionals in the country in order to prevent any possible harm.

Codeine products remain safe for most people, FDA says, but drug manufacturers should add information to the label about the phenomenon of codeine ultra-rapid metabolism, especially as it relates to breast-feeding.