The Disruption of Thomas

by Jos Henry

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  Preparations began as soon as Cousin Sultan hung up. Sultan counted on Gunther to guide Thomas in matters of protocol and manners though he trusted Fahd would be tolerant of a visitor not familiar with Arabian culture. Regrettably it was impossible for Sultan to attend himself.

  Sultan phoned Gunther to announce the arrangement. Gunther said the idea was brilliant but regretted he couldn't partake of the feast because of an earlier commitment he almost forgot. If Fahd brought Thomas back to Riyadh Gunther would return in time to drive him back to the hotel. The honour of hosting the special visitor in a style that would be a credit to the family devolved to Fahd alone.

  Fahd would take Thomas under his wing and show him the best of Bedouin hospitality and culinary delights. Fahd's close friends Ahmad, Kalbi, Baasim and others went along to populate the event in support of Fahd. A story teller would perform the Bedouin coffee ceremony and relate interesting historical anecdotes and legends at appropriate moments.

  Fahd served a sumptuous meal of boiled mutton on a bed of rice well soaked with mutton fat. Lemon and red bell peppers surrounded the main dish with a variety of side dishes of salads vegetable bread and dates.

  To the exclusion of everything else Thomas's eyes and mind locked onto the sheep's head and rice dripping with mutton fat. Chewing khat the other guests lounged on their left sides or sat on colourful hand woven sheep hair carpets spread for their comfort around the communal plate.

  To the amusement of the other diners Fahd graciously offered his honoured guest the sheep's eyes. Thomas resisted Fahd's urging that he have the gastronomic delicacy. Thomas magnanimously offered them back to his host. Fahd feigned disappointment. But as protocol and manners demanded he had offered; the eyes were declined and offered back to him so they were his. Well executed thought the other guests. Kalbi was glad he wasn't offered the sheep's eyes. Kalbi could easily do without sheep's eyes.

  Thomas's food intake slowed. Fahd insisted he must eat more,

  'You ate very little of the meat and rice. You cannot live on salads and vegetable alone; you must eat more meat.'

  Thomas protested the meal was so "delicious" he had already eaten "too much". He couldn't swallow another bite; he burped to emphasise he was full—he was such a light eater. Belatedly he wondered if this was the place where burping to show appreciation of the food was good manners.

  'They didn't toss me out in the sand. This must be the place or they think it's a North-American custom.'

  The evening ended with everyone happy and satiated. Though he enjoyed the experience to a point Thomas would have much preferred to watch or have it described to him than to partake of it.

  The gathering broke up with parting salutations and compliments and expressions of gratitude for the fine reception. Fahd brought Thomas back to his office on the edge of town. They chatted about how things worked in Canada and what Thomas's connection to cousin Sultan was while they waited for Gunther to pick him up.

  Thomas thanked Fahd again for an interesting evening and his warm hospitality. The evening would be a cherished memory and he looked forward to recounting the experience to his family and friends.

  Thomas went to bed as soon as he got to his room. He and Rajeev had an early flight in the morning.

  Thomas and Eng. Rajeev took an early flight to Abha. Engineer Rajeev graduated from an Indian Engineering School not long ago. His first job was with Areltrade; he started there the year before.

  Herr Gunther wanted Rajeev to introduce Mr. Thomas to clients in the Southern Regions. Thomas couldn't think of why they needed to go there. Most decisions in Saudi Arabia were made in Riyadh.

  'I hope Gunther knows what he's doing.

  'How long do you think we'll be in the Southern provinces? I didn't plan on this and I need enough time to spend a few days in other countries before flying home from Muscat.'

  'Not long. I'm thinking two or three days maybe.'

  'Uh, oh. I don't like the sound of that.'

  On landing near Abha Rajeev rented a car for the expected length of their stay. They drove off towards Abha on a highway notched in the flanks of steep mountains. They climbed descended and twisted over and skirted around hill after hill.

  Thomas spotted white specks barely visible on the opposite flank of the deep valley. The specks zigzagged moving quickly several yards at a time down the steep rocky flank with stops of a second or two before starting again. Rajeev said the white specks were a herd of goats running down the slopes anxious to be milked and fed. One misstep would be the end of a goat but none fell that Thomas saw.

  In spite of local driving habits Thomas felt relatively safe on the smooth wide road with ample shoulder surface. All the same he kept his gaze on the beauty of the passing panorama rather than on the edge of the precipice or the sparse oncoming traffic. Drivers Rajeev included seemed to think the different median line configurations were meant to give the road a softer lovelier look.

  'Do people always pass on double lines?'

  'Yes; why not?' replied Rajeev unaware of the median line's relevance to relatively safe road travel.

  That Rajeev was serious made Thomas a bit uneasy.

  'The different lines are actually markings used to keep order; they increase road safety. Like a code each configuration has a meaning.'

  'What does this double line mean?'

  'A double line means it's unsafe to pass. Cars in both directions must stay in their own lanes and refrain from passing.'

  Thomas explained the intent of the different line configurations as they passed them. As an interested party with something at stake he was more than happy to oblige.

  Rajeev courteously paid attention to Thomas's driving lesson and easily grasped the median line concept. Maybe a bit too literally.

  'When having a dash on your side but a solid line on the other side, how are you reverting back to your side after you pass?'

  'You're always allowed to come back to your own side as quickly as you can without cutting off the car you've passed and before you crash into oncoming traffic. It's one of life's minor unexplainable inconsistencies.'

  Thomas intended no sarcasm; the words flew out before he could hold them. More than the spectacular scenery kept him awake the rest of the drive.

  Abha the capital of Asir province in the Sarawat Mountain range is 2200 meters above sea level. They drove along the perimeter of the city. Thomas commented how fascinating and strange the surroundings were to his western eyes. In the distance he could see a road coiled upward around a mountain to reach what he guessed might be the original settlement or its watch site.

  'That is the Green Mountain. It has gardens and other things for tourists.'

  'Oh; is Abha a tourist town? I thought Saudi Arabia wasn't comfortable with tourism.'

  'Mainly Saudis.'

  'The Shadda Palace Museum I've read about must be there I guess.'

  'No it is elsewhere in the town.

  '… Most men are dying at 40 years old here.'

  Shocked, Thomas asked,

  'At 40? Why is that?'

  'Somebody said because of the less oxygen at this altitude.'

  Thomas wondered why anyone would stay if that was the case.

  'What's the elevation here?'

  'I'm thinking almost 3000 meters.'

  A bit of exaggeration is acceptable when speaking to visitors.

  Rajeev gathered enough courage to introduce a disagreeable subject he hesitated to mention till now. Procrastination was no longer possible.

  'I'm thinking as long as we are in Asir Province Mister Tom we are having a commissioning problem on newly installed power equipment. It would be good if we were going to the site tomorrow to see what we can do. It is not far.'

  'What sort of problem?'

  'Everything is running fine then I check the rectifier; the SCR is burned so I replace them and they are burned again. I'm doubting maybe all the SCR we are getting are someho
w bad.'

  'That's not likely; ... very strange.'

  'Yes sir. Mister Rodrigo the project manager from the contractor, he's the only one still here. The Utility Company Project Engineer is not signing-off on the new substation until this problem is fixed. Everybody else from the contractor is gone but Mister Rodrigo's sponsor is not giving him back his passport so he can leave Saudi too. Mister Rodrigo will be very grateful to meet your good self if we can go to see him.'

  'The man's passport was seized?'

  'Not exactly. When a worker is coming to work in Saudi his passport is kept and they are giving him an identity card instead until everything is clear for him to go.'

  'Is that so!'

  'Yes sir because the sponsor is being legally and financially responsible for the worker he sponsors while he is here.'

  No one asked Thomas to surrender his passport. He wasn't reassured for that; not even close. What if they couldn't fix the problem before they had to leave?

  He had no choice but to go to the site since everyone knew he was in the area. However, difficult problems with newly commissioned equipment are rare. The more common problems are almost always minor and easy to fix. But you never know. He would go with some trepidation.

  'Have you got all you need with you?'

  'Yes sir Mister Tom; I have things in a suitcase. Maybe we should go see Mister Rodrigo now before going to the site tomorrow. We would be getting back in Abha before dark.'

  'Yes; I think it might be helpful. We might find out what's the latest on the situation.'

  'So much for calling on decision