Popular perceptions of Saudi Arabia as a desert kingdom, swimming on a sea of oil, and populated by a radical and barely literate population, is not only antiquated but overtly ignorant and untrue. The truth? Saudi Arabia is a highly moderate country which plays a pivotal role in keeping extremist Islamicists at bay; functions, alongside Egypt, as the powerhouses of an increasingly troubled and explosive Middle East; and plays an integral role in the global political economy – a role which many in the West, especially the United States, fail to grasp the true import of. Suffice to say, its economic importance to the average Western citizen stems from the volume of Saudi investments in the United States, Europe, and to a lesser degree, the Asia Pacific region. The so-called Western political pundits and energy security gurus are forever arguing the dangers of relying on Saudi oil and the imperatives of fining an alternate energy source and/or supplier. Besides that being a virtual impossibility in light of the fact that Saudi Arabia holds more than half of the world’s known oil sources, can Americans and Europeans so easily find alternate foreign direct investors or rich economies to open wide their doors to qualified American and European job seekers? No. They cannot and they will not. It is best, therefore, to accept the one and only reality – the West needs Saudi Arabia and Saudi Arabia needs the West. It is high time to embrace political and economic realism and cease any/all efforts intended to satinise the ` Other.’
As for the ` ignorant Saudi’ argument, it hardly makes any sense and is irrefutably negated by on-the-ground facts and figures. Until mid March 2011, the Saudi Government allocated 25% of its national budget to education. Since then, it has injected several billion more into its educational system, with the primary focus and intent being the production of a generation which is not simply in possession of a world class education but, importantly, is an integral part of the global political economy from which many erroneously assume that the average Saudi is isolate. No country is spending as much on scholarships to Australia, the United States, Great Britain, Canada and leading European countries such as France and Switzerland, as is Saudi Arabia. Recently, and given the rising importance of these nations, the Saudi Ministry of Education is also sending its graduate and post-graduate degree-seekers to China, Malaysia and Japan, amongst other Asian nations. From undergraduate to postgraduate studies, the Saudi government is footing the bill for close to 35,000 students and, in so doing, is betraying its determination to utilise learning as a strategy for the bridging of cultural gaps and to remake the Saudi individual into a cosmopolitan, multicultural individual, capable of communicating and travelling across nations and cultures with ease.
What does any of this mean? It means that contrary to popular prejudicial assumptions, Saudi Arabians are not represented by the terrorists behind 9/11. Certainly, some of the implicated had entered the United States and other countries under a student’s visa but, what percentage do they represent of the overall figure of Saudis studying abroad? What percentage do they represent of the overall figure of Saudis vacationing in the West at any point in time? An infinitesimal percentage which is too small to calculate. Saudi students studying abroad are painted with the same brush as are these murdering thugs who know no religion and have no humanity. How is that, in any way, justifiable? Why are Saudi male students in the West monitored and why are their student visas readily revoked if they miss one of their dissertation submission deadlines?
Why should any of this be important? It is important because, not only does it nullify the popular anti-Saudi stereotypes which abound in the West, but it clearly shows that the 9/11 mass murdering, psychopathic terrorists are not representative of the average Saudi individual. Unfortunately, Western governments and universities, despite their pontificating about cultural understanding and bridging divides through education, fail to see that. Yes, they talk of multiculturalism, helping foreign students acclimatise but just one missed dissertation task deadline and the Saudi student finds himself threatened with the revocation of his student visa. Illogical and racist are the best descriptors for this approach.
The simple fact of the matter is that Saudi students, as do most all graduate and post graduate students, will overstep deadlines. One should not forget that they are studying in an educational environment which is very different from that which they are accustomed to, are probably homesick and are trying to find their way in a new country. They are trying to acclimatise and to integrate and should be given a chance to do so, without the threat of student visa revocation hanging over their heads. Is one missed dissertation submission deadline proof of potential terrorism? No, it is not. It is proof of the international, in this case, Saudi, student’s vey natural dissertation researching and writing difficulties. Let’s face it – neither are simple and when most educators, as in academic dissertation supervisors and committee members are overloaded with work and barely have time to breathe, they cannot extend Saudi students the support they need.
Unfair is hardly an adequate descriptor of the situation. Saudi students are not terrorists – they are students who possess a tremendous amount of will and determination to overcome cultural barriers, to enter an education system which is very different from that which they are accustomed to, to live amongst people who define them in terms of the worst type of stereotypes imaginable and they do so without complaint; they do so because they are intent on self-betterment, on understanding the other and helping their nation make the cultural leap into the 21st century. They live amongst individuals who can barely tolerate them, are homesick, and have to contend with over-worked, underpaid and unbearably busy dissertation committee members and supervisors who cannot give them the time and effort they need to make a successful transition from one educational system to another. This is precisely why countless of thousands of Saudi students turn to model custom research centres to help them with their work and most especially, the transition. Many who have worked with them know that they are the very antithesis of the clueless, lazy student who just wants to buy a research or dissertation to unethically, and contrary to all principles of academic ethics and integrity, submit as their own. Rather, they are amongst the most dedicated of the foreign students studying abroad and have a very clear idea about their thesis direction and what they want to argue; they just need a model research or dissertation to show them the way. This is a testament to their dedication and determination and not proof of their academic dishonesty. Unfortunately, being novices at this, they often are taken in by scam companies which take their money, provide them with shoddy, plagiarism or completely unusable work. The onus is on them to find an honest company which will help and support, rather than scam them. In essence, the Saudi overseas student is doing all she/he can to succeed. It is time we let go of our prejudices and, at the very least, meet them halfway.
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