The Expats of Saudi Arabia

CHAPTER 1 “ARE YOU A CLEANER?” THE Saudi customs officer sneers as she scans both Yasmin and her passport. Although Yasmin is fully aware that people who look like her are considered second-class citizens in the Middle East, she still bristles at the official’s words. A cleaner! How dare this semi-literate Bedu speak to me in such a condescending manner? How many bloody cleaners does she know who own a Ted Baker leather tote bag? Yasmin calms down a tad when the thought crosses her mind that this bumpkin probably has no clue about the Ted Baker brand. Yasmin’s immediate family emigrated from the Indian subcontinent when she was two years old and settled in Britain. While her upbringing is in keeping with the Muslim traditions of the motherland, she has only visited Pakistan twice during her twenty-eight years on the planet. Yasmin’s father owns a thriving carpet business in the community of Hall Green, Birmingham. Thanks to his discipline and industry, he provides his wife and children with a solid middleclass lifestyle in London. Currently, he’s grooming his one and only son to take over the business when he retires. His three daughters have all received a quality higher education. Yasmin, a graduate of the University of Bristol, with more education and cultivation under her belt than the Saudi official, isn’t prepared to let the arrogant woman get away with such insolence. Counting silently to three, she composes herself. In a clipped, British accent she retorts, “No, I’m not a cleaner. It so happens that I’m a consultant for the British Council.” The official looks at Yasmin with disdain before stamping her passport and returning it to her. Inwardly, Yasmin’s seething at the slight, but refuses to give the official satisfaction in knowing the degree to which her insulting words stung. Holding her head high, she snatches her passport from the official and struts over to the conveyor belt to collect her luggage. After collecting her suitcases, Yasmin clears customs without any further unpleasantness. In the waiting area of the terminal, she looks around for the driver that the school informed her would be picking her up. When Yasmin sees an Indian man holding a placard with her name on it, her mood improves. She puts aside the ugly incident and walks toward him. Several minutes later, as their van weaves in and out of traffic, she looks around in excitement. The clean, wide streets are lined with sleek, imposing buildings. Some have security officers in front of them, while others are equipped with CCTVs. The massive malls, all tastefully designed, house some of the most exclusive boutiques and upscale international stores in the world. Wow...I’m really here! Yasmin says to herself. Silently, she thanks Allah for her good fortune in landing this job opportunity in the cosmopolitan city of Al-Khobar, Saudi Arabia. Tired of her predictable and boring job as an adjunct professor at a community college in London, when Yasmin saw the advertisement for a start-up female college on Dave’s ESL Cafe, she decided to apply. The 25 percent bonus for completing the contract is quite enticing; besides, her religion requires all able-bodied Muslims to make the Hajj Pilgrimage to Makkah once in their lifetime, and she plans to do so during this assignment.