Italy’s first woman consul general sees a multi-layered, dynamic Saudi society

By Siraj Wahab
sirajwahab@arabnews.com
Published in Arab News on Wednesday, March 8, 2017

She is a rarity in the foreign diplomatic corps in Jeddah. Ever since she arrived in January 2015 for her first foreign posting as Italy’s consul general, Elisabetta Martini has carved a niche for herself and her country through her extraordinary work and outreach efforts. On the eve of International Women’s Day, she spoke to Arab News about the challenges she has faced as a female diplomat, and her observations about Saudi women.

She chose Saudi Arabia as her diplomatic posting “because it was an extremely challenging post, and that was the hook for me. When somebody throws a challenge at me I immediately accept it. When I was asked to apply for foreign posts, I chose Jeddah.”

Martini describes Saudi Arabia as “a very powerful country in terms of natural resources, in terms of being a regional power, a country that maintains the regional balance in the Middle East. Before coming here, I knew of Saudi Arabia as a giant that wasn’t fully awake. It has the potential to become the most powerful country in the region.”

She started her diplomatic career in 2012. She was posted in Rome for two years, where she dealt mostly with European affairs and foreign policy. She graduated in political science and completed her master’s in international relations.

She interned for six months at the Italian Embassy in Washington, DC, while she was doing research for her final thesis at John Hopkins University. The subject of her thesis was the Silk Road. During her time in the US, she was associated with a well-known Italian think tank, the International Affairs Institute (IAI). “That’s when I realized the importance of think tanks,” she said.

From the US, Martini moved to Brussels as the assistant of the representative of the Italian Senate at the European Parliament. “That was an extremely useful experience for me,” she said.

Later, she worked as an export manager for a German design company. “I represented this German firm and I used to sell a lot of their products to mostly Arab clients,” she said. All this experience stood her in good stead. “I got to know the private sector, the powerful role of think tanks and then the public sector,” she said.

In the first week of her arrival in Jeddah, King Abdullah died. “So change started to happen very quickly. That was another challenge for me, because my first public appearance was to give condolences for the death of the late king in the (presence) of the governor of Makkah,” Martini said.

“They were all men. There was a discussion between me and my colleagues, and with other consul generals, about how I should be dressed, how I should look… and how I should behave when paying condolences (here). At the same time, it was my first public appearance.” She said she covered her head out of respect for local traditions. “That really went well.”

On how challenging it is for a female diplomat in a country where women are not the predominant force in public life, she said: “It’s difficult for women, not just a female diplomat, all over the world, not just in Saudi Arabia. In my country, when I deal with my own people as myself and not as a diplomat, I support women’s rights. Everyone should give this contribution to the development of his or her own country.

“However, one shouldn’t interfere in the policies of other countries. In Italy, there’s a top-down policy that tries to push women into key areas. Women around the world have to work from the bottom up, instead of top-down.”

She said people in Italy are surprised to know that she is the consul general in Jeddah.

Regarding Saudi women, Martini said she has seen a lot of changes. “When I came here, I was a bit surprised because the American consul general was a lady before me. The British consul general was a lady some years ago. The German consul general was a lady, so I wasn’t the first lady in the diplomatic service here. The difference was that I was young, so I had to prove myself.

“Women are more critical toward other women because we know how much we have to fight and struggle for something. But when you see someone has made it to the top, you ask how she achieved it. Maybe because she’s the daughter of an ambassador? They try to belittle your success.”

Martini said she has interacted with a lot of women here. “Saudi Arabia isn’t one Saudi Arabia. There are different layers of society. There’s a big difference between the various classes of society. Some women who come from opened-minded families don’t have to face any problem. There are women who participate in municipal elections and civic activities.

“But there are some women who face lot of issues. So there are different layers. There are some women in Saudi Arabia who are more qualified than me and can do whatever job they want. Their fathers, husbands and brothers admire them. It’s amazing. But others have to struggle a lot.”

As a diplomat, did she encounter conservatives in the Kingdom, and if so how did she deal with it? “In Saudi Arabia, people recognize authority. They have a very strong sense of authority. They might say ‘you’re a lady and young,’ but they know I represent Italy in Jeddah. They have a strong respect for the state. So as far as I’m the consul general, they respect me. Everyone meets with me in a very respectful way.

“So far, I’ve never met someone who refused to shake my hand. I found Saudis super welcoming. I’m always being welcomed to their houses for big and intimate gatherings. They try to make me feel at ease.”

About women journalists in Saudi Arabia, Martini said: “It’s very important to encourage female journalists because it’s very important to have their point of view. They’ll always have a different point of view. Only they can understand their issues well.”

She said in advanced countries, women do not want to celebrate International Women’s Day as they have already reached gender equality. “But for me, this occasion reminds us of the importance of women in society. We need to push the role of professional women in the world. We’re the other 50 percent of society. My message to women is not to rely on the fact that they’re women. They must think of themselves first and foremost as human beings, and go ahead in life.”

US diplomat’s ringside view of a changing Saudi Arabia: Interview with Consul General Matthias J. Mitman

• Departing US consul general reflects on witnessing a dynamic transformation during his two years in the Kingdom

• Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman captures the dynamism that exists within Saudi Arabia, says Mitman


By Siraj Wahab
sirajwahab@arabnews.com
Published in Arab News on Wednesday, June 13, 2018

Matthias J. Mitman could not have imagined what was in store when he arrived in Saudi Arabia two years ago to take up his post as the US consul general in Jeddah.

“I did not anticipate the degree to which change would occur in the Kingdom when I came here in 2016,” he said.

“The changes have been very rapid. I think they have been welcomed by the vast majority of Saudis, so it has been more than I expected. I think we have developed a very good and solid relationship with our Saudi counterparts, and that has been very useful and productive.”

Mitman’s job as a diplomat meant that he had a ringside view of these momentous changes. He took time out from his preparations to leave the country — now his posting is almost over — to welcome Arab News to his residence in the US Consulate in Jeddah’s Al-Ruwais district.

During an exclusive interview, he reflected on his time in the Kingdom and shared his thoughts about an eventful assignment, his impressions of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and his views on the Saudi people — in particular the youth.

“It has been a very dynamic and interesting period,” he said. “The Saudi Arabia that I came to two years ago is not the Saudi Arabia we are living in today. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has put into place his Vision 2030, which has resulted in remarkable changes in the economic landscape, as well as in the cultural and social environment.

“I feel very fortunate to have served here in a period when there has been more change than perhaps in any other period in Saudi Arabia.”

Mitman said the crown prince had impressed him with his leadership, his vision for the country, and his ability to strategically plan its implementation.

“I have met (the crown prince) and I think he is a very dynamic leader,” he said. “He has a vision for the future of Saudi Arabia. He thinks strategically and he is dedicated to formulating a plan to bring about that vision. He wants to work closely with the United States so we have worked very closely with him on a number of issues related to Vision 2030.

“I think he captures some of the dynamism that exists within Saudi Arabia — and because the majority of the Saudi population is under the age of 30, that is captured by the support they give to the crown prince.”

Mitman met many young Saudis during his posting, an experience that gives him confidence for the future of the country.

“I am very impressed with young Saudis who are interested in working in the private sector, their use of technology, and the fact that they are so familiar with what is going on everywhere,” he said. “I have been very impressed with how knowledgeable they are about world affairs, politics, international trade, and their interest in studying in the United States.”

Among the many changes that Mitman has witnessed in the past two years, a few stick out as particularly noteworthy.

“One of the reforms that I have seen is the promotion of the private sector as an engine of growth in Saudi Arabia,” he said. “The Saudi economy was traditionally dependent upon the export of hydrocarbons — oil and gas. Graduates at one time expected to work for the government, and what I have now seen is a vibrancy, dynamism and entrepreneurship, especially in young people who are interested in forming their own companies and businesses. These will be small- and medium-sized enterprises — and in any economy the engine of growth for job creation is people who start out as small businessmen.

“Apple, Google and Microsoft started out as small companies with one or two people, and in many cases they were working in their garages. Yet now they employ hundreds of thousands of people, and the net worth of a company such as Apple is approaching $1 trillion in capital value. That is what the private sector can do.

“But the basis of that really is individual entrepreneurship and starting out with your own company, which grows from an idea that uses technology. I see a very strong interest in this among young Saudis. They are very technologically sophisticated. I think that is a very positive sign for the future of the Saudi economy as they will be able to form companies.”

Ultimately, Mitman said, the Kingdom’s most valuable resource is not oil, but its people. As such, the empowerment of Saudi women is a crucial development.

“I have visited universities in Madinah, Tabuk, Taif and Abha and I have seen the majority of students are women,” he said. “These women are a tremendous human resource that is skilled, talented and educated.

“I think one of the most profound changes is the one that enables women now to enter the labor force more easily, with greater flexibility, and part of this is a greater understanding of what is necessary to facilitate women working in the private sector.

“There is also the transportation issue, and we saw this week women getting their driving licenses. Thus you see a process by which women will have greater independence, freedom to drive themselves, and that will facilitate their being able to work and their entering the labor force.”

This, he said, “will have very positive long-term benefits for the Saudi economy.”


A career diplomat with the Senior Foreign Service, Mitman arrived in Jeddah in August 2016. He speaks Greek, Russian, Spanish and some German, and is a distinguished graduate of the National War College, earning an MA in National Security Studies in 2006.

Prior to his career with the State Department, he was an assistant professor of economics at Ball State University.

Before arriving in Jeddah, he was consul general in the Iraqi cities of Irbil and Basra. Earlier in his career, he worked at the US embassies in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, and Moscow.




“Coming (to Jeddah) as consul general was my first assignment here and my first trip to Saudi Arabia,” he said. “Jeddah was a new experience for me and one which I thoroughly enjoyed.”







Tourism is an important area that the Saudi authorities are keen to develop and promote as part of Vision 2030, and Mitman believes that the Kingdom has plenty to attract visitors.




“The United States is well-known for its natural beauty,” he said. “Equally, Saudi Arabia has natural attractions and I have visited several of them. I think Madain Saleh is clearly outstanding, and from an archaeological and historical standpoint it is one of the most interesting sites that I have seen. I think it has tremendous potential for tourism development.”

There is no shortage of opportunities, he said, to develop and promote the Kingdom’s natural beauty.

“I have gone up to Tabuk and along the Red Sea coast, where there are two of the projects launched by the Crown Prince — Neom and the Red Sea Project. I think both have tremendous potential,” he said. “I own a condominium in Florida, on the state’s Atlantic coast, and the area on the Red Sea is much more beautiful. There is the potential to attract people who want to go scuba diving or who just want to go to the beach.

“I think there are lots of opportunities in Saudi Arabia and I believe this is one of the crown prince’s priorities, which he has outlined. I think it will take some investment in infrastructure, and US companies have a lot of experience along those lines.

“I think they will be interested in being part of the hospitality or travel industry, or any industries that facilitate tourism.

“We already have about 75 travel agencies in the US that organize trips for Americans to come here for Hajj and Umrah, so we are talking about more than 20,000 people from the US who come here every year for religious journeys. The same skills and knowledge in arranging those trips can be used to arrange tourist trips that will appeal to Americans.

“Most Americans have never traveled to Saudi Arabia. In the past, it was somewhat of a challenge to get a tourist visa, but I think the Saudi government is now looking at ways to make the process easier to facilitate tourists coming to the Kingdom.”

As part of his work, Mitman met religious leaders and reported back to Washington on evolving attitudes, to give policymakers a more accurate present-day view of the country.





“I have had very positive and productive discussions with the religious leaders about Islam and I have come away very impressed with their level of tolerance and their emphasis on moderation in the practice of Islam,” he said.

“I have also been impressed by their understanding of the importance of having friendly relations with Americans. We have about 3 million Muslims living in the United States and there are several thousand mosques there. We brought the imam of one of the Washington, DC, mosques to Saudi Arabia to conduct workshops and to talk about Islam as it is practiced in the United States. He also performed Umrah while he was here.

“We are always looking for ways in which we can help people understand that we promote freedom of religion in the United States … that is an integral part of what it is to live in America. Many of the first settlers who went to the US hundreds of years ago went there because they faced religious persecution in Europe, and they wanted to go somewhere where they could practice their religion freely.”













With so many professional obligations, time for recreation was perhaps limited, but Mitman fondly recalls a few highlights.

“I enjoyed going out on a boat along the coast and snorkeling,” he said. “I enjoy swimming. I have visited a number of cities. In Taif, I walked along the mountains and saw the baboons — I never realized there were baboons in Saudi Arabia. And I visited some of the museums that feature Saudi history and show the cultural development of the Kingdom.”

Mitman said he is also a big fan of art and had enjoyed exploring Jeddah’s “very vibrant artistic community, with world-class galleries.” He added: “We have worked closely with the Saudi Art Council, chaired by Princess Jawaher (bint Majed bin Abdul Aziz), in bringing Arab-American artists such as Helen Zughaib here and holding an exhibition of her work.”

With the reopening of cinemas and the Kingdom’s recent participation for the first time in the Cannes Film Festival, it is fitting that Mitman also enjoyed a professional visit by American filmmakers.

“We brought people from the Hollywood film industry here who are producers and writers and they gave workshops,” he said. “This is important as Saudi Arabia is now creating its own entertainment sector. One of the areas will be film production — and producing films about Saudi Arabia directed by Saudis, acted by Saudis — and so we brought in two Hollywood experts. They went to Effat University, where there is a course in filmmaking, and this was something that I enjoyed a great deal.”







As his time in Saudi Arabia draws to a close, there are memories Mitman will carry with him.



“I have been invited into Saudi homes during the month of Ramadan, which is a very special month for all Muslims,” he said. “I have been taken into the homes of many Saudi contacts who have become close friends and who invited me to break the fast and to stay up much later for sahoor. On some nights, I have had iftar in one house and sahoor in another.

“Those have been special moments because Saudis have opened up their homes and shown me great hospitality. I am not a Muslim but they allowed me to participate and be a part of their celebrations. Those have been very special moments for me as I was away from my family. My wife works in the State Department in Washington and we have two adult children, both of whom are working (abroad).”


During times of change the role of a healthy media is to monitor and report on events truthfully and fairly. Mitman believes Arab News has a key part to play in this.








“I think Arab News plays a very important role in reporting developments in Saudi Arabia for the expatriate communities and for people who don’t read Arabic,” he said. “It is one of two newspapers that I read every morning.

“I have an excellent relationship with Editor in Chief Faisal Abbas. I saw him regularly and we exchanged ideas and had conversations about what was going on in Saudi Arabia.”



Mitman has a few parting thoughts for Americans and Saudis, based on his time in the Kingdom.



“For the Americans, I would say if you haven’t visited Saudi Arabia recently you might be pleasantly surprised with the natural beauty, the attractions, and the warmth and hospitality of the people,” he said.

“To Saudis, I would say thank you for hosting me and allowing me to live for two years in your country. I am grateful for the friendships that I made with many Saudis who helped me to build a bridge between America and the Kingdom. And I thank them for the great cooperation between our two countries in economics, trade and investment.

“Many Americans are interested in investing in Saudi Arabia and many Saudis are interested in investing in America. The exchange of goods and services between our two countries will continue to grow.”

Reflections on Indian Independence

By Siraj Wahab

Published in Arab News on August 15, 2009

On this anniversary of India’s independence, as an Indian I am both happy and sad. I am happy because we attained freedom after a long and painful struggle and because India has made great strides in many fields over the last 60 years. Most importantly, we have managed to maintain the sanctity of the ballot. Democracy has been our guiding principle, and that is a remarkable achievement.

I am sad because my community has not been given due representation in some spheres. My community is still eyed with suspicion. The contribution of our ulema to the fight for independence seems to have been totally forgotten. Hundreds of Muslim scholars died in the run-up to independence. Now, mere lip service is paid only to Maulana Abul Kalam Azad. Although we attained independence in the physical sense, mentally we Indians still remain trapped in the British-engineered divide-and-rule ideology of the past. That is very sad and something that should change.

All of our problems could be solved provided we accepted the existence of those problems rather than ignoring them. Correct diagnosis is key to fighting any disease. Our foreign policy has always been Pakistan-centric. We are obsessed with Pakistan. We have always blamed our neighbor for all our problems. This is not to absolve Pakistan from its occasional misdeeds, but we are a big country, and we should act like an elder brother. We should be magnanimous in our approach toward our neighbors.

Pakistan aside, Sri Lanka has reservations about India; Nepal has gripes against us, and Bangladeshis aren’t too happy with us. We are a great nation because we have a great history. We shouldn’t squander that by being parochial and jingoistic. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took a great step forward in Sharm El-Sheikh recently. We should build on that first step and isolate extremists on both sides. Let us not forget the courageous decision of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in taking that bus ride to Lahore and seeking a meaningful resolution to the many issues dividing India and Pakistan.

If we, the Indian people, don’t get the deserved social and political status in the new world, even in Arab society, it is because our leaders have not been able to see the big picture. They bog themselves down in domestic affairs and limit our foreign policy simply and almost exclusively to Pakistan. We seem unable to get out of that vicious tit-for-tat cycle. We never took proactive steps to capitalize on the strength of our economy and civilization. To be very honest, we have had no real statesman since Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru.

In the 1980s, African nations and Arab nations looked at India with awe and respect. Our stand on Palestine was unflinching. But then we lost that status because we diluted our stand on a number of issues. There was a conscious effort to get closer to Israel, so much so that we even helped put an Israeli spy satellite in space. We started being seen on the wrong sides and gradually people looked at us with suspicion. Arabs have a begrudging admiration for India because of its educational renaissance, especially in the field of information and technology. We should capitalize on this and win the hearts and minds of both the Arabs and Africans. This is possible, provided we stop looking at the small details and concentrate on the big picture.

As an Indian who has lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for some time, I think the Gulf countries offer Indian expatriates a great opportunity to better understand the problems of our neighbors. Just as we are fighting poverty so are Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Their problems are very similar to our problems. We had Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale, Pakistan had Baitullah Mehsud and Sri Lanka had Velupillai Prabhakaran. They were all extremists. We all grapple with the same problems.

Once we Indians are out of the country, we look at things with fresher perspectives. In India as well as in Pakistan, it is the mass media that has made things worse. That is not the case here. When India and Pakistan came very close to war in the aftermath of the Mumbai attacks, I remember talking to two taxi drivers: One non-Muslim from Kerala and one Pathan from Swat Valley. They both were worried and both were praying for the war clouds to clear. They had their families and loved ones in their respective countries. All of us surely encounter such people on a daily basis here in Saudi Arabia and in the other Gulf countries. We should carry the message of good will to our respective countries and work for the greater good of the entire Subcontinent. And we can.

Many people like to speak of an undivided India, but such ideals are far from the present reality. It upsets our Pakistani friends. They think, and perhaps rightly so, that we have still not accepted them as a sovereign nation. What happened in the past happened, and we cannot undo it. There is no need to. We may be separate countries, but nothing stops us from joining hands as the European nations do. France and England have centuries of war and trouble behind them, yet the two are part of the European Union. Why can’t we follow that example? Our films are hugely popular in Pakistan, and Pakistani television serials are adored by Indians. Pakistani cricketers, such as Wasim Akram and Imran Khan, have huge followings in India, and Indian cricket legends such as Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar have many admirers in Pakistan.

We need to build on our trust, on what is common to both of us. We have to inspire confidence in the nations around us. That would give no room to outside powers to play politics in our backyard.

Death of Kindergartners Shocks Indians

By Siraj Wahab

Published in Arab News on Monday, June 14, 2010

The death of two kindergartners, one in Saudi Arabia and one in Qatar, has upset the huge Indian diaspora in the Gulf. In both cases, the little ones were left locked inside their minibuses in the blazing sun. The Gulf states are currently experiencing extremely harsh weather with temperatures shooting up to 50 degrees Celsius every other day.

The two separate but similar tragedies, occurring in a space of three weeks, have resulted in an outpouring of grief from the entire community. Such is the fear and trepidation among Indian expatriates that some parents have stopped their little ones from going to school altogether.

In the first case on May 17, four-and-a-half-year-old Sarah Mohammad Gazdhar, a KG-1 student of DPS-MIS (Delhi Public School - Modern Indian School) in the Qatari capital Doha, died because of heat and asphyxiation after she failed to disembark from the minibus when it reached her school. She was left in the vehicle for more than four hours under the baking sun. Sarah, whose family is from Jodhpur, had enrolled in the school only in April.

According to reports in the Qatari newspapers, Sarah had boarded the bus belonging to a transport company from her house in the Wakrah district of Doha. Unfortunately, a teacher, who frequently traveled on the same bus and who used to help her get off the bus, was absent on that fateful Monday.

After dropping the children, the driver took the minibus back to his accommodation, without realizing that the girl had not disembarked at the school. Usually, the child returned home in another bus which takes nursery and kindergarten children back from the school around 12 noon. The bus which she takes to reach the school in the morning returns to the school around 2 p.m. to take children of Classes I to XII back home.

When the child did not return home at noon, Sarah’s panic-stricken mother rang up the school, only to be told that she had not come to the school. When the mother insisted that her child had boarded the bus to school, transportation section personnel from the school, accompanied by the Qatari police, went in search of the driver, who had parked the 15-seater bus out in the sun before going to sleep. Sarah was rushed to the hospital where she was declared “brought dead.” The bus driver was put behind bars.

Three weeks later, on June 13, Saudi Arabia was rocked by a similar and equally horrific tragedy when a five-year-old girl, Fida Haris, was left unattended for five hours in a school bus in the full glare of the sun outside the International Indian School in Dammam’s Al-Raka district.

Like Sarah, Fida too had started attending the school only two months ago. School officials said the driver forgot to ensure she came off the 15-seater minibus when he dropped off other children at the school in the morning. Ostensibly the child dozed off and remained inside the minibus, which had tinted windows.

On a day when the mercury reached 50 degrees Celsius, Fida apparently suffocated inside the minibus. “Her body had turned pale because of a lack of oxygen and the intensity of the heat,” said her class teacher Gita Radhakrishnan. “It was a horrible sight.”

As was the routine, the driver of the school bus picked up the child and a dozen other children from their homes in downtown Dammam between 6:30 a.m. and 7 a.m. He then dropped some of the children off at the school’s girls section and brought the boys and kindergarten children to the school’s main building. It was here that he forgot to take Fida off. All the other children got off and went to their classes. The driver assumed Fida also went to her KG-2 section.

As is the practice in Dammam, the 2,000-odd Indian school bus drivers park their vehicles near the school itself and then travel back together in their friends' smaller vehicles returning later when it is time to transport the children home. Fida was left in a parked minibus near the school's deserted side gates. The Indian school, which has 16,000 students, is located in a sparsely populated area of Al-Raka district. The building has multiple entrances, but once the children arrive, only the main gate remains open. If a child cried for help in a bus near the side gates, there would be little chance of anybody noticing.

“A five-year-old is capable of knocking on the van doors. She must have done that but there was nobody to hear her cries nor was there anybody to notice the struggle for life inside the minibus,” explained Fida’s class teacher.

The driver, Naushad from Kerala, returned with the other drivers at 12 noon to pick up the kindergarten children. He realized what had happened only when he unlocked the van’s doors. He panicked and called one of his driver friends, Satish Chandran, and explained what had happened.

Satish found the lifeless child in her red-and-white uniform and called in the senior teacher. She immediately identified her as Fida. “It came as a shock to me. In the class register she was listed as absent that day,” said Radhakrishnan. They took Fida to the school’s first-aid room and later transported her to the nearby hospital. She was pronounced dead on arrival. The driver was arrested and put behind bars.

Fida’s grief-stricken parents, Muhammad Haris and Sajana Haris, also from Kerala, were consoled by school officials, teachers and members of the large Saudi Indian community.

For Indians with children at the school, the tragedies were far too close to home.

“The first thing I did after hearing the news was to hold my four-year-old daughter tightly and cry out loud. In my mind’s eye I was trying to imagine the situation little Fida and Sarah were in. Little angels -- they must have tried so hard to escape that situation. There was nobody to listen to them. What a painful death it must have been,” said Sameena Sajid, whose two daughters are enrolled at the same Indian school in Dammam. “My children refused to say anything or eat anything after they came back from school. They are in shock.”

For Indian business executive Yunus Raheem coming to terms with the tragedy is well nigh impossible. “Wherever you go and whoever you talk to, at home, at work, people are only talking about Sarah and Fida. They keep asking the same questions again and again, ‘What must it have been like for them inside the locked-up school buses? What must they have endured as they tried to get out of the hell they were in? What did they experience in those terrible hours leading up to their deaths?’”

Majid Kazi — the Indian Doctor Who Went on to Become Saudi King’s Personal Physician

Here is one of my best interviews. That Dr. Majid Kazi is a gem of a person is pretty evident from the quotes that he granted liberally in the following conversation with me. The interview first appeared in Arab News and then The Asian Age and Deccan Chronicle. It met with a huge applause from Saudi Arabia's expatriate community. Picture No. 1 shows the good doctor with the late King Fahd. In Picture No. 2, Indian President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam honors him with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award. — Siraj Wahab, May 1, 2007


Everybody Is Unique in His Own Way, Says Dr. Majid Kazi

By Siraj Wahab

JEDDAH, March 29, 2006 — Nov. 15, 1974, remains one of the most important days of Dr. Majid-Uddin Kazi’s life. For it was on that day he received a letter that would launch a brilliant and distinguished career for this noted Saudi royal cardiologist of Hyderabadi origin.

The letter came from Saudi Health Minister Dr. Abdul Aziz Khowaiter. “I am pleased to inform you that you have been selected as my personal adviser for the establishment of modern health facilities in Saudi Arabia for the prevention, detection and management of heart diseases,” the minister wrote to Dr. Kazi.

That letter came just five years after Dr. Kazi’s 1969 arrival in the Kingdom with his wife, Carol Ann Kazi, and a six-month-old son.

In 1977, he was appointed personal physician to the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and a decade later was promoted to the rank of a Cabinet minister when he became the personal physician to King Fahd. But that key post also meant that he had to keep a very low profile.

There is little disagreement that he is the highest-ranking person of Indian origin in Saudi Arabia. By virtue of being the royal cardiologist he was granted Saudi citizenship.

Now at 68, Dr. Kazi is still an adviser in the Royal Court having been reappointed last year to the ministerial-ranked position for four more years.

Dr. Kazi speaks with the precision of a surgeon, but he is extremely shy. At times one notes a little embarrassment in him when his public stature is discussed, perhaps because he thinks he owes everything to good fortune.

“Everybody is unique in his own way,” he says. “There is a hidden rainbow in each one of us. When a sunray goes through a droplet with the right tilt, and God’s help, a rainbow can be woven.”

The Saudi Arabia to which Dr. Kazi came in 1969 was a far different place than it is today. “At that time, Saudi Arabia was still an underdeveloped, sparsely populated, peaceful and charming place. There were sand dunes where now stands the modern, well-equipped King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Center.”

Dr. Kazi credits his wife for his successes. “She played and is still playing a vital role. She used to push me forward rather than pushing me around. I wished I were half as great a believer in the academic excellence of our children.”

Carol Ann Kazi is a certified art instructor who specializes in painting. Until a few years ago she used to run Riyadh’s Desert Designs, a popular arts-and-crafts shop. The couple is blessed with two daughters and two sons.

Dr. Kazi was thrilled earlier this year when he went to Hyderabad to receive the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award from President Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam. “What an exciting moment it was for me to be able to see, hear and shake hands with the Indian president. I consider it an honor for my family and me. I was deeply touched by Dr. Abdul Kalam’s wisdom, articulation, knowledge and humility. I couldn’t agree with him more when he called on Indians and persons of Indian origin to have wings for ascent in every walk of life but never to lose ‘Indian-ness,’ which essentially comprises civility, nobility and humility.”

Dr. Kazi hails from Aurangabad in Maharashtra. His father Kazi Hameeduddin was a leading lawyer and a prominent Muslim leader of his times. Dr. Kazi’s brother, Qazi Saleem, was a successful Urdu poet and politician. He represented Aurangabad in Parliament during Indira Gandhi’s reign. When Qazi Saleem died recently, almost all the major Urdu publications came out with a special edition on him.

Dr. Kazi’s elder brother always was an inspiration to him. “During my childhood, Qazi Saleem was already a famous new groundbreaking poet. I was enchanted by his style, thoughts and imagination. With a view to imitating him I used to compose childish poems. Several of them were printed in children’s magazines in India, such as ‘Phulwari’ and ‘Khilona.’”

Those sweet early years have left Dr. Kazi with many wonderful memories. “At age 11, I got my first gold medal when my poem was selected in the provincial middle school competition, and it was published in a children’s magazine from Delhi. I used to be thrilled to take part in the children’s program of the newly-established Aurangabad Radio Station. I used to write for the children’s program at times and was paid ten rupees a couple of times. Back then, it was a joyous moment for your work to be selected and rewarded with 10 rupees.”

Dr. Kazi’s early childhood and primary education were in, what he calls, “my beloved city of Hyderabad.” He returned to Hyderabad as a medical student in 1956 to seek a degree in medicine at Osmania Medical College.

“Immediately after graduation, I worked as a tutor for a year at Gandhi Medical College where I had spent the first six months of my first year in medicine, being among the top 40 students of that college. We used to call ourselves the ‘40 Pillars’ of the institute. Later, I was transferred to Osmania Medical College where I spent my early youth tumultuously, studying and celebrating our annual college day function that used to last three days.”

In college, he continued to develop his writing skills, penning sarcastic comedies and taking active part in dramas. “I used to enjoy being on the college stage with the nickname of ‘Sher Khan.’ We used to mix hard work with pleasure. Early in the morning, I would walk to the public gardens and study for exams under tall trees and enjoy the soul-nourishing breeze. The culture, education, interactions and celebrations of the city of Hyderabad all played a vital role in my life.”

The good doctor is never one to boast, and he advises those looking for good role models to look inside themselves rather than look to him. “I strongly believe in teamwork rather than a one-man show. It is good to be mild — but not meek. At least when it is your turn, get up and speak. I am no role model, so please don’t copy me. I am less than a dust particle floating in space. By chance, the rays of the sun illuminated it for a while.”

For the tens of thousands of Saudis young and old who live healthier and longer lives because of the healthcare system he helped to create, it is a dust particle that is likely to shine brightly for many years to come.