Like millions of Americans, I often took my incredible freedoms for granted — until I visited Saudi Arabia. For years, I’ve done marketing communications work for technology companies. About a decade ago, a client asked me if I was interested in joining her on a project in the kingdom.
“Heck, yeah,” I responded. How often does one get to visit the Middle East, all expenses paid? No sooner had our Saudi Arabian Airlines plane lifted off from Dulles International Airport in Virginia, however, than I got a quick taste of how limited my freedoms suddenly were: Alcohol is banned on Saudi flights, as it is throughout Saudi Arabia. I don’t enjoy flying’s cramped unpleasantness.
A few snorts of Irish hooch always calm my nerves. But I was out of luck. “No problem,” I thought — “I’ll watch American movies.
” I’d been bumped into first class and had my own monitor. But several scenes were edited out. These included any scene depicting a scantily-clad Hollywood starlet, an actor cussing or anything that the Saudi’s considered wrong.
Since most of the movies were unwatchable, I had to pass the longest 14 hours of my life watching “Cats & Dogs” — five times. Going through customs in the Jeddah airport, I became instantly self-conscious. My sport coat, slacks and large, pale Irish-German-American noggin shouted “American.
” It was worse for my female colleague. She wore a headscarf so big — we call them “babushkas” in Pittsburgh — she could have .
