Hassan Conversation

Hassan and I were able to recently meet again. Prior to our meeting I attempted to do some reading into Saudi Arabia. While I had previously been familiar with many basic aspects of the country, I really wanted to learn additional information so that I could more fully appreciate Hassan’s home and culture. Before conducting my research I was already familiar with the Saudi royal family and their basic role within the country. However, as I read more about the royal family and the King (who acts as an absolute monarch) I became really interested because as an American citizen it is hard to imagine life in the absence of democracy. I really wanted to see Hassan’s view on the King and his absolute political power as Hassan is in the unique position of having experienced two extremely different forms of government. I was admittedly somewhat nervous to bring up the topic to Hassan because I was not sure how he would react. We American’s are certainly very proud of our democracy so I was unsure if Hassan would interpret my questions about his country’s government as an insult. However, to my relief, Hassan was more than happy to talk about the Saudi King and royal family with me, and he even seems excited to share additional knowledge about his country.

            At first I was having a difficult time reading what Hassan’s true feelings were about the royal family. On one hand he said that the royal family really seemed to care about the people of Saudi Arabia and always strove to make the nation better for the masses. Though when we continued to talk about the subject more Hassan was quick to convey that while the royal family does share some of Saudi Arabia’s oil money with the general public, he is somewhat unhappy because he believes the royal family could easily distribute a lot more of their wealth. After receiving these fairly mixed responses to my indirect questions, I finally point blank asked Hassan whether he liked the King and the royal family or if he would prefer to have a political system similar to that of the United States. I found Hassan’s answer to this question quite impactful as it continued to perpetuate one of the main traits that I have seen in him: optimism. After asking Hassan my direct question he took a second to ponder and gather his thoughts. He said that while he does not believe the role of the king and the royal family is perfect, he has many things to be thankful for in the country that they rule and because of that he is happy. Hassan described that he has several friends in the IEP program that come from dangerous parts of the world, and with that in consideration he just considers himself lucky to just come from a place where he always felt safe. I think many people in the U.S. would be served well to hear Hassan’s perspective on this issue and apply it to their own actions. I believe that we often get caught up in our political differences and in a result forget about many of the blessings that we have as an American. Though we may not be happy with every political aspect of our country, we have many benefits and opportunities that others do not.