What the al-Sauds don't want you to see

As the al-Saud dynasty engages over a mega-production over the death of Prince Sultan — one of the most profligate of the gerontocracy that rules Saudi Arabia — it might be good to remember that making films like the ones, above, on poverty in the kingdom, get you arrested. 22% of Saudis are defined as poor, according to the film, despite the vast oil wealth controlled by the al-Sauds.

Comments

[life4bh]

The way you speak about the subject is rediculous. Everyone knows that poverty exists in Saudi Arabia and prince Sultan was known for his charitable efforts. I'm afraid your efforts of demonising Alsaud are in vain.

[Eike]

The film is totally harmless! It doesn't even explicitly criticize the king. The film only shows relatively poor living conditions, but it says "... we know that the government will help the people ...". I'm really astonished that you can get into into jail for it in Saudi Arabia.

Not the documented living conditions are the scandal - poor people in Egypt live certainly under worse conditions - but the fact that the the authors of the film were jailed for showing them. If you can get into jail for this film, you can be jailed for anything, unless it explicitly praises the king!

[Hurrya]

Excellent and very revealing documentary, I learned something new about the Nejd and Hijaz that I did not know before. I find the suggestions very original and I think they would work for N&H and other places as well. I am sure that there is a StartUp somewhere working on such an idea. If not I will. I hope you will be released soon and some of your fellow citizens/subjects will call for your freedom as well. I think most of them (such as life4bh) suffer from the Stockholm syndrome wherein hostages express empathy and have positive feelings towards their captors and defend them.

[khalid]

This showed even a wealthy country like Saudi had mix of poverty pockets & developed pockets.
Our rulers should smarten up & invest their national wealth in its own people, instead of losing it to Bankers across the globe like what Sadam, Moubarak & Gadaffi who lost their stolen wealth to wall street firms like other tyrants throughout history.
when will they learn