http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/05/middleeast/middle-east-eventful-24-hours-analysis/index.html
The GLF was a huge eye opener for me. Even though I have had
the chance to travel extensively, and meet people from
different cultures before, to get together with 150 fellows,
with so much in common, but with so different backgrounds in
the same building for a week, was a completely different
experience.
Many prejudices were broken to pieces, a lot of lessons
learned. But also some stereotypes were reinforced. It would
be stupid not to acknowledge that.
If I had to put an explicit example to all this, I would
have to use what I would call the “Saudi example”.
Before going to the GLF the information I had about Saudi
Arabia was scarce, and my opinion about that country and the
religious system that rules it was filled with the normal
prejudices a person from a Latinamerican republic and with
almost no religious background can have about a Muslim
monarchy where women can´t even drive around freely. Of
course, my impressions were not very good.
Before coming to Phoenix I had the chance to talk with an
American girl that works in the Uruguayan embassy who just
had come back from five years living in Saudi Arabia. And
even though she would assure her experience had been
fantastic, some of her stories seemed more like hell to me.
That was reinforced but other narratives, mostly by
Uruguayan soccer coaches and players that had gone to that
exotic market just for the quick money.
But during the GLF I had the chance to understand how
stereotypes can fool you when you try to understand other
culture. On one hand I had the chance to talk to Hadeel, an
occupational therapist from Ryad, who was exactly the
opposite of anything I would have imagined in a woman from
that country. A young and well travelled professional, full
of self confidence and a modern/western approach to life,
career, human interaction. But who also admitted her love
for her culture and roots, and was very passionate when she
explained the political situation and reforms going on in
her country.
On the other hand there was this other woman, to whom I was
introduced but with which I could hardly interact. From her
look you could tell she was way more conservative, more
reserved, more distant in the personal interaction. One of
the most vivid images I kept from the forum was when the
last night there was a party in the upper floor of the
hotel, and while everyone was dancing, drinking and having a
good time, this girl was just sitting there, unexpressive
and rigid. Probably to constrained by her own beliefs or by
social and cultural pressure to just release and enjoy the
time like the rest of the people there.
The lesson I got was that even when you are talking about a
society that from outside can be seen as homogenic and
strict, there are always things going on inside that can
destroy your quick judgment and prejudice. It only took 48
hours to realize that, and the other big issue suggested for
this post: the power of networking.
The day I arrived home in Phoenix, the big news of the day
was the massive arrest of 11 high ranked princes and
government officials in Saudi Arabia, in a move that
surprised even the most experienced observers, and could
have a massive impact in the region. What was going on? What
direction was this going? Is this good or bad for the shy
reforms that have been implemented in the country
recently.
Since the GLF gave me the chance to meet personally with a
person from there, with whom I had talked and created a good
link, I just wrote to her and she gave me an excellent
explanation and even some clearer vision of the facts. A
vision that would have been impossible to get just by
reading CNN or BBC.
A perfect example about the positive effects both of the GLF
and networking at a personal level.
