Mike's Saudi (14) More RSAF Photography 1976

This evocative picture is by Marc Asmode and is nothing to do with blogg but I thought it made a nice illustration and it is in Saudi Arabia. This is a little story about how Mohammed (see Mike’s Saudi 2) lied to save my job.

At one time we had a sports festival at Khamis base, what an ideal chance to give the boys some real photography to improve their skills. Mohammed another of the boys was keen to show me he could do as well as Ali, I doubted it though he worked hard he was a much simpler man. But I encouraged him and he came along with the section’s Rolleiflex. Our chosen sport for the morning was a football match and I sent him to the far end goal line with the instruction to wait and photograph the action when it occurred at that goal mouth. Off he went and stood by the far goal but the action was all happening at my end, so after a little while he left his post and wandered up to my end just as there was a break away and a beautiful goal scored at what should have been his end. I was so mad at him for missing what could have been a wonderful shot, that I grabbed his hat and hit him with it. I’d completely forgotten where I was and soon there was a civilian talking to him in Arabic of course. This is my ticket home I thought as the two of them parted. But Mohammed came back to me “That was Prince (I regret I’ve forgotten his name) he wanted to know how I felt about you attacking me. I told him it was a game we play” The Prince seemed satisfied with Mohammed’s explanation and I stayed to continue my work.

Later on in the match Mohammed took a superb shot of the ball stretching the back of the net and the luckless goal keeper diving forward at exactly the same angle as the net making a perfect triangle any professional sports photographer would have been proud of it. I was so pleased with the work the boys were turning out that I went to see the Security Officer and the Base Training Officer and asked them if we could print off some 20x16s and hang them on the training office walls. They flatly refused apparently it was a cultural thing and I couldn’t shift them from their position. I should have taken Ali with me but I doubt if would have done any good as when I told him about it he accepted it without disappointment “It is our way” is all he said. 

There was a panic one day when an aircraft ran out of runway and a photograph was require urgently so one of the trainers grabbed a camera and took the necessary picture. This was a very rare opportunity and Ali was most upset that no trainee had been taken, he was right and he complained to his authorities. A little later on the trainer was sacked. I mention it as it shows that on an expatriate contract how easy it was to fall foul with these little unintentional slips. Perhaps it highlights what Mohammed had done for me.