This was one Easter Sunday hard to forget….
It is Easter, 2008, and I am leading a four-day behavior -based safety workshop for ARAMCO employees on the shores of the Arabian Gulf (Persian Gulf to Westerners).
This afternoon after one of the workshops, I fly out 75 miles over the Arabian Gulf to the international border between Saudi and Iranian waters to spend the night on the largest sea platform in the world.
My new friend Fahad was in my class, and is hosting me on the trip to the oil platform. We arrived at the heli-port, and he bought me a coffee and box of chocolates -I have learned not to refuse Arabic hospitality-it is useless! He was able to breeze me through the tight security at the helicopter pad—having been a 28 yr veteran employee. He told me it was “Wasta”; Arabic word that loosely translated means “Who you know”.
Fahad continued to care for my well-being until I boarded the copter the next morning, making sure my bags were well taken care of, and I got the window seat on the helicopter.
Three other men in my workshop joined us, along with a large New Zealander. I say large, because it made a difference in this cramped aircraft. There were 12 of us in all, and we had to sit with staggered seating to establish balance within the copter.
We sat with staggered legs as well, my knee to the crotch of the man in front of me, and vice-versa down the row of seats. As we started the trip across the sea, one worker read the Quran, mouthing each word as he flipping pages left to right, while the New Zealander read a novel titled “Light on Education” turning pages right to left.
The man directly in front of me fingered prayer beads. I definitely needed a distraction. I thought of asking if he had another set. Fahad looked at me and his friend directly in front of him, and made a motion of “Treading Water” and pointed down to the sea, as if asking “How long can you tread water? I smiled, pretending to find it funny!
Looking out between the pilots, I watched closely as we approached the various oil & gas rig platforms. I would land on the third– the last, and largest one.
Upon landing, we went downstairs and immediately began eating dates and drinking Arabic coffee as Fahad greeted all his co-workers with kisses and long hello’s, as if he had not seen them in years—it was only a weekend? I am getting used to this custom, and find it charming.
Even while conducting class and someone comes in late, I must stop and allow the latecomer to be greeted in this manner by every other person in the class. I have since learned to schedule in at least 90 minutes / day extra for “Social Time”.
After a safety orientation, there was a presentation on the dangers of Hydrogen Sulfide exposure and fires on oil-rigs. Just what I needed to hear! I was then given a two hour “Golden Tour” by Fayad and his co-Supervisor.
This fortunate event transpired so fast that I had trouble even believing where I was and what I was doing on this, Easter Sunday. So much has happened so fast and with such intensity of energy these past few weeks,that I almost forgot. And now, here I am, out in the middle of the Arabian Sea on the holiest of Christian Days.
We walked up and down and around some of the biggest cranes and lifts in the world, walking on catwalks hundreds of feet over the sea, and watching out in the distance the Iranian oil wells with huge fire plumes lighting up the eastern sky.
My hosts were thoughtful enough to take my camera and snap dozens of pictures of the tour—another thoughtful gesture, as I was prohibited from taking pictures myself. I continue to be humbled by the generosity of my Saudi hosts, wherever I may be.
After the tour, Fahad escorted me to my cabin, where chocolate bars and a bowl of fruit waited. He then invited me down to a “Kabsa” – the name for the traditional Saudi meal.
I came down to the dining room, and three large area’s were laid out with large decorated ground cloths covered with huge plates lf lamb and fresh caught fish on beds of rice, surrounded by plates of lemons, roasted garlic, lettuce and tomatoes.
The intimacy and camaraderie was palpable. These men are like naval men at sea. They are on these rigs together in close quarters five days a week and see their family the other two—and most of those two days are taken up by duties that must be done before the next five day absence. When I asked how they
do it, they tell me quickly it is for their family (hardship pay scale is very good), and that they do this now, so they can retire at age 50 with a very good pension.
I am improving on eating with my right hand – less on the floor and more in my mouth.
By now, I am exhausted, and feel like I have lived three days in one. I have my own little window looking out to the sea.. I look out on the fire plume of the Iranian well, and I am reminded it is Easter night, and that the words I have learned to greet every man I meet in Saudi are also the very first words Jesus spoke after His resurrection:
“Assalume Alaikum” – “Peace be with You”
Tell me what you think about this