Reflection 9

This week, I had the opportunity to go and listen to Prince Turki bin Faisal al-Saud of Saudi Arabia. I found it incredibly interesting, and I was also really glad that Saudi Arabia is the country I picked for my country team. Without the knowledge I’ve acquired through country briefs, I would’ve been very confused about some of the topics being discussed and would have no idea on many of the issues and questions raised. Overall, I found Prince Turki to be quite the politician. He glossed over some of the less desirable aspects of Saudi society while emphasizing what a great country and all of the improvements Saudi Arabia is making. He stressed the importance of youth: whether it be education, employment, or equal rights. The youth population is extremely large and overwhelmingly underemployed. Prince Turki spoke of how great US-Saudi relations are because of our colleges that allow 17,000 students from Saudi to study in the states, leading to a better chance for them to find jobs. As Emily mentioned in her reflection of the same event, quite a few people in the room were visibly upset when he said that an education for a woman is a means used to get a husband. He seemed to avoid questions that showed a negative side of Saudi, and instead kept mentioning how the country is moving forward towards modernization. I was very surprised when an observer asked him how he felt about Bahrain banning all forms of protest (a ban currently in effect in Saudi as well). He answered by simply commenting on how the government must do what it can to protect its people- and quickly moved to the next question. The event was informative on Saudi society and helpful for me to see how leaders and politicians can easily talk their way out of an uncomfortable subject.