2023-09-25 09:27:13
During the Saudi National Day in Riyadh, September 23, 2023. AHMED YOSRI / REUTERS
Standing near a dual carriageway that extends to the northern reaches of Riyadh, where the new residential neighborhoods under construction are gradually eating away at the immensity of the desert, Shahad and Line (they only gave their first name, as other interviewees) scan the sky in a mixture of excitement and pride. The deafening noise of Saudi Royal Air Force fighter planes tearing through the sky, leaving behind trails of colorful smoke, some in the shape of hearts and palm trees, drowns out the exclamations of the two teenagers and the crowd.
Read also: Article reserved for our subscribers In Saudi Arabia, the emergence of a new “national novel”
On this Saudi national holiday, Saturday September 23, Ajlan Park looks like a drive-in. Hundreds of Saudi families, migrant workers and a few expatriates parked their vehicles on the median and then, due to lack of space, in the middle of the road. The celebration has the appearance of a great national communion. Children wave green flags, flanked by slogans in honor of the 93rd anniversary of the unification of the Saudi kingdom by King Abdel Aziz Al Saud, in 1932. Young men customized their cars with a “93” and portraits of King Salman and his son, Crown Prince Mohammed Ben Salman, known as “MBS”.
“It is important for me to celebrate the national holiday. I am proud of my country. Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman said that we, the youth, are the pillar of the kingdom. We still have so much to accomplish”exclaims Shahad as if echoing the slogan under which the crown placed this 93rd anniversary: “We dream and we accomplish. » The 15-year-old teenager, in jeans and sneakers under her abaya, her hair covered by a hijab, pushed the coquetry to highlight her eyes with a line of green eyeliner. She lists the successes of “Vision 2030”, the modernization plan launched by “MBS” to free the kingdom from its dependence on black gold and the ultra-rigorist influence of Wahhabism.
Also read the investigation: Article reserved for our subscribers Saudi Arabia, at the center of the peace of Middle East autocrats
By forced march
Shahad and Line, his junior by two years, are from this “Vision 2030” generation, who grew up at a time of transformation in the kingdom. From public school benches to national holiday celebrations, they have been immersed in the nationalism exalted by King Salman and his son since they came to power in 2015. In a country where two thirds of the 19 million Saudis (out of a total of 32 million inhabitants, with foreign workers) are under 35 years old, youth are the crucible of the new national narrative that the two sovereigns promote, between allegiance to the royal family and to religion, between respect for traditions and entry in modernity.
You have 56.6% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
#Saudi #Arabia #national #holiday #tool #nationalism