Saudi Arabia, a response to J. White

     Linda Nyquist sees life from a perspective different from that of Jaqui White. She writes:
     Generally, I agree with Jaqui, but I'm concerned that Jaqui's view of Saudi Arabia may not be entirely balanced, based on the socioeconomic status of the people with whom she was consorting. She mentions princes and princesses, and other notables.
     Comparing that to my own experience living in Mexico for some years, I realize that a description I would give of the lives of the people with whom I socialized would have been equally glowing. Being entertained at this level was a marvellous experience and I was treated with love, affection, and extreme generosity, from people who were, frankly, worth millions of dollars.
     Then, however, I went into the Sierra of Oaxaca to do my doctoral research. Certainly the people were as generous as they could be, and welcoming. Many of them are still friends today. But their lives had absolutely nothing in common with the lives of the privileged. Actually, by my standards, their lives were pretty grim, and I believe that alcoholism and wife/child abuse was considerably more pronounced. Of course, I have no statistical data on this, but in the village where I worked, nearly every adult male had problems with alcohol.
     Wife abuse was rampant, and sexual behavior by the men toward their wives, which was revealed to me privately by women whom I knew well, bordered often on assault. Frankly, this whole area is another dissertation.
     I don't believe we can assume that Saudi women are satisfied based on the life led by the richest women in the country. Of course they have some privileges (who hasn't seen them shopping in Harrod's, or being brought to the US for medical treatment?).
     I respect Jaqui's opinions very much, but has she been able to experience the lives of lower class and ordinary women?

Ronald Hilton - 10/22/99