While those of us that are familiar with 4th of July take pride in the day’s symbolism of independence, Saudis celebrate their National Day annually on September 23rd, surrounding the concept of unification. Why September 23rd? This was the day in the Gregorian calendar in 1932 that King Abdulaziz unified the different regions throughout the Kingdom into the Saudi Arabia we are familiar with today.
Six months later - and counting - I am still stuck in the homeland. This has not been an uncommon phenomena for expatriates living in Saudi Arabia, some of whom were outside of Saudi by chance and others who decided to take the organized repatriation flights when travel into the Kingdom was halted in mid-March. Unfortunately, what has been unexpected is the length of time that has gone by without answers on when a return is to be expected... until today.
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