Karim El-Gawhary, in Riyadh, gauges the mood in residences of Western foreigners after the attacks in Al-Khobar this week in which 22 people were killed It is gilded, and it is indeed a cage: a compound for foreign residents is located south of the capital Riyadh, close to the airport and near the Imam University, the very establishment in which the religious figures of the country receive their education. The compound looks like any other in Al-Khobar in eastern Saudi Arabia, which was stormed by a group of Islamic militants this week. The attackers went from house to house looking for "infidels" to take as hostages, shooting or cutting the throats of 22 people. The new entrance to the compound is like the entrance to a fortress. Three police cars are positioned at the entrance and cars entering the compound can barely pass between them. A few metres behind sits a military Jeep under a sand-coloured camouflage net, machine gun at the ready. Several bored soldiers are standing in the street, sweating in the midday sun, observing visitors closely from the side of the road. Positioned directly behind the soldiers are massive concrete roadblocks, around which the cars have to slalom before entering the area. After the police have checked passports, only residents of the compound are permitted to proceed further. After a quick body search, visitors are allowed to enter the grounds on foot. The path along the concrete roadblocks is reminiscent of the US administration centre in Baghdad, except here it is not Paul Bremer in Iraq who is under protection, but the 1,000 Western foreigners living in 70 villas in Saudi Arabia. But there is a difference: the security personnel radio through a request for an electric cart -- like the ones used on golf courses -- to take visitors the final 100 metres to the actual entrance of the compound. This is the real border to the compound. Abayas, the black capes worn by Saudi women, are "not permitted" says one sign. Saudi Arabian citizens are not allowed in here at all; other Arabs are only allowed access as long as they dress according to Western fashion. The compound may be geographically located in Saudi Arabia but nothing within it should remind visitors or residents of the fact that we are, indeed, in one of the most conservative Islamic countries. And the heart of the gilded cage shines too. Each villa, for which residents pay tens of thousands of euros per month, is fronted by a manicured lawn. The centre of the compound sports a huge swimming pool and leisure centre with a spiral waterslide several storeys high. This one at the South of Riyadh is a typical example of "foreigners hostel â la Saudi Arabia" in which the majority of the Western foreign workers who chose to remain here -- less than 100,000 -- reside. This particular residence is not quite as luxurious as the compound in Al- Khobar where the attacks took place, which boasts an indoor skating rink where residents can go to cool off when ambient temperatures breach the 50 degrees Celsius mark. There is no evidence of panic around the pool, nor is there evidence of the exodus of foreign specialists as prophesied by some diplomats. Some families, it seems, will not return after the next school holiday that will be starting soon. Still though, a group of screaming children splash happily in the pool while bikini-clad mothers lie in the shade -- the nearest Saudi citizen is far away, safely behind the wall which separates the bikini culture from the abaya culture. Michel, a Belgian engineer and one of the few fathers at the poolside, is absorbed in the various English-language Arabian daily newspapers, drinking in every word on the attacks in Al-Khobar. He is reading about how the attackers went from house to house asking if Muslims or "infidels" were living there, and about how entire families of Western foreigners hid for hours inside wardrobes and managed to escape the 24-hour terror. Michel has three children and has no idea what he is going to do next. He has been living in Saudi Arabia for the past 16 years. The idea of packing his bags and leaving is, of course, in his mind. Particularly since the US Embassy has advised its citizens to leave the country. "I think I should wait and see what happens," he said. Which is exactly the way he was thinking after the last attacks in Yanbu three weeks ago in which five foreigners were murdered, or last week when a German was shot in the street in Riyadh: wait and see what happens. Al-Khobar is 400 kilometres from Riyadh. He laughs because he can't convince himself to make a decision. "Everything is going through my head," is how he describes his mood. He earns good money, tax-free, and has no idea where he could find a job with similar conditions in Europe. So he will wait and see what happens. Almost all foreigners are afraid to make statements. "Low profile -- show as little presence as possible," is their motto. Some refuse even to give their first names, like another tax-free engineer who has been living in Saudi Arabia for a long time. "The situation for foreigners has become more critical since the last Iraq war," he said. Everybody is afraid of looking like an American. He is not panicked, but is plagued by a "constant uneasy feeling". Hundreds of brainwashed youths have been organised into independent cells, ready to attack at any time in the name of Al-Qaeda. Bubbling under the surface is a widespread hatred of Western foreigners, stoked by daily horror stories from Iraq and the Palestinian territories. "A person beside you at the traffic lights is gesturing with his hands that he'd like to slit your throat," he described. He is not really afraid, but still takes precautions and takes a different route to work each day. And he no longer takes his family to the huge shopping centres, one of the few most popular leisure activities for foreigners in Riyadh. "If we go, then it's usually in the late afternoon when most Saudis are having their siesta," is how he described his strategy. When would he consider leaving the country? "If the rate of attacks increases. There were three last month," he replied. He is not under the impression that the situation will improve. The deteriorating situation in Iraq is fuelling the fire of hatred of Western foreigners in Saudi Arabia. And even if the situation in Iraq is concluded peacefully, the Saudi Arabian young people who went there to fight in the jihad will return looking for new battlefields for their holy war. Foreigners initially moved into compounds simply because life was more comfortable and secure there. "This was before they became targets for Islamic militants," says Michel. "Just after we moved in here, a Briton was shot right in front of our eyes," he says, shaking his head. Most residents are pleased about the gate security introduced last year. But not many trust the local security guards. The person sunning himself next to Michel sums it up: the soldiers at the gate have recently had two pay increases of 25 per cent each but, he says, "they still have their fundamentalist beards, like the Al-Khobar attackers". None of the sunbathers at the pool really believes any of the guards would "lay their heads on the line for any of us here if the situation arose".
