Dhahran Diary Yellow, folded shot cards were replaced by this little, stapled booklet from the World Health Organization. These came into being in late 1951 or early 1952 as indicated by stamps validating immunization entries. The old, yellow cards were evidently redeemed, as none of the family's have been found. This shot record belonged to Rolf C. Christophersen, ARAMCO #159 (159 refers to his badge number). Title: Health Conditions DD09 My first memory of going to Arabia is the doctor visit. We received extensive directions for passports, shipping, and medical requirements over the months before we left. After physicals to determine our ability to withstand the rigors of the eastern province of Saudi Arabia, we were given a battery of immunizations--shots we called them. Ouch! There were small pox, typhoid, cholera, tetnus, typhus, and yellow fever. There was also a plague shot. Our own Dr. Thompson in San Pedro gave us most of these, but I recall going to a federal building, I think in Los Angeles, to get the yellow fever and plague ‘shots.’ Once in Dhahran, we took booster shots to maintain our immunity. This must have been successful because I do not recall anyone coming down with the above mentioned diseases, although we had other problems. These ‘shots’ were given in the little Dhahran clinic, across from the ball field, and later at the Dhahran Hospital. They became so commonplace that we fit them into our daily schedule without much thought. I never liked needles. Early on, we were asked to sit for 15 minutes after being immunized, I suspect to see if the serum would somehow incapacitate us. After a year or so of this carefulness, we would run in, get a shot, and leave. Our parents were informed when we were about to burst the envelope of safety and they would ride herd on us until the shot notice reminders stopped coming from the ARAMCO medical department. The big threat was, if you do not get these booster shots, you would have to take the whole series again! I hated these shots. I hid, lied, and did whatever else seemed possible to avoid the sting of typhus and the week- long ache of typhoid. Someone told me that it was best to get the shot right in the middle of thinking about something you liked. I had to get a booster one day, so right in the middle of softball practice, while our side was batting, I ran across the street, got my shot, and ran right back. It still stung like blazes but softball practice refocused my attention quickly. Some people reacted violently to the shots. They would get big lumps under the skin; others might have to go to bed for several days. My arm usually stiffened for a few days, then it was over until the next one. Dhahran was relatively safe; our water was good and the camp’s sewer facilities were within the Western lifestyle tolerances. The surrounding countryside was another matter. The Bedouin toilet was the open desert. As they followed their annual trek north and south, they passed close to Dhahran and left behind telltale campsites on the landscape. Al Khobar and the surrounding towns were problematic too. They did not have sewage systems in the early years. The desert around these towns was an Eden for fly larva. In Dhahran, we had a fogger that dusted the camp to kill flies. We were given advance warning and we were asked to stay in when the fogger came by. This was a small inconvenience considering the illnesses that were being prevented. The Arabs must not have understood the problems of ingesting this fogging poison. On a number of occasions, I saw Arab children running behind the fogger, playing in the mist! Animal feces was another problem because Dhahran did not have a perimeter fence in the early days. Camels, donkeys, salukis, goats, and sheep left their calling cards. Although the animals were a great source of recreation for kids, they helped generate flies and ARAMCO worked overtime to get a fence in place. The doctors and nurses on the Dhahran staff were important community leaders. I recall Dr. Young as a tireless doctor who gave her all. She also attended the King’s wives. This was always a point of conversation. I suppose my favorite doctors were Brown, Page, and Alexander. I was never treated by Dr. Alexander but he was a very old timer and well respected. Dr. Brown was popular with the boys. He played first base and was a home run hitter; I think he batted lefty. One night, he hit a towering drive that knocked a freshly-laid cinder block from a newly erected wall of the movie theater. Everyone cheered as he rounded the bases. He and his wife had several children. I remember Bobby the best since he and my sister were in the same class. ARAMCO asked Dr. Brown to stop playing softball as they were afraid he would injure his fingers. That was the story anyway. My all time favorite was Dr. Peter Van Doren. He was Dutch, a urologist and surgeon. He repaired my wrist after a very serious accident. I accidentally thrust my hand through a window at school and Dr. Van Doren reconnected 13 of the tendons. I regained most of the use of my hand although a few nerves did not regenerate (ulnar). Over the years, the Arab Hospital as we called it, gave care to everyone in need. This was a major help to the Saudi population. For the first time, new technology and Western medicine were available to the Arab of the desert. Western doctors were not the only physicians. There were numerous Middle Eastern doctors hired by ARAMCO. They came from Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan. I recall that my mother and I had Palestinian doctors from time to time. Mine was against giving medication for illnesses that the body should create natural resistances against. He prescribed fluids and rest but no antibiotics. He explained this to me once we got to know each other. One case that sticks in my mind is the one of an Arab boy who had a low grade fever. He was tested for everything for months without resolve. The fever continued. During a follow-up exam, a doctor discovered a large pumpkin seed tucked away in the child’s sinus cavity.
	Dr. and Nuza al Udeen with their newborn Shadia. This photo was taken in Dhahran at either 1049-A or 048-A, a new row house at the east end of Tenth Street in the 1950s. (rcc) Shadia, an ARAMCO employee, photographed in the Labs library in the 1980s. (cac) One Palestinian doctor of note and his family frequently were visitors to our home. Their baby daughter, Shadia, was born in Dhahran. I think her mother’s name was Nuza (family name al Udeen); she and my mother spent time together. My mother organized and worked for Palestinian Relief in Dhahran. I tell the story because in the 1980s, my wife, who had no previous contact with ARAMCO, was working in the Laboratories department when she and Shadia met. Somehow Shadia had enough contact with my parents as a child to remember our family name. By the time she met my wife, Shadia was a graduate of Johns Hopkins University and also working for the Labs. Small world, eh? The Middle East upheaval created by the newly formed Israeli state in the late 1940s sent hundreds and then thousands of expatriate Palestinian professionals to work for ARAMCO. Professionals like the al Udeens brought a different Arab voice to ARAMCO and a new way of life to Dhahran. Slowly the camp was transformed from a town of Americans to a multicultural city of many nationalities. Arab influences became part of ARAMCO's interior fabric. Arab patients were finally able to speak directly in Arabic about their illnesses. Occasionally Westerners did die in Dhahran. Most were shipped home but sometimes they were buried in the little cemetery at the edge of ARAMCO’s reclamation yard. It was a well kept plot but the people were not buried in the earth. The caskets were contained in cement lined crypts, as I recall. The ARAMCO Health department was tasked with keeping us healthy. Heat exhaustion was a problem in summer. We were asked to drink plenty of water, wear a hat, and take salt pills. Salt pill dispensers were everywhere you looked. They had a yellow coating to hide the taste until they were too far down to make any difference. Another local illness resulted from air conditioning. We called it the AC cold. Going outside from 65 degrees F. into 105 degree F. took its toll frequently. These colds lasted for several weeks, sometimes for months. Polio was also a problem. The camps of Dhahran, Ras Tanura, and Abqaiq were kept separated during fearful times. A few people contacted the disease as I recall, but it did not seem to carry the same fear factor that I remember from California. Occasionally someone would get something that no one could diagnose. This was scary. And then there was the mental health aspect. Frequently employees or their wives would go off the deep end. It was such a stressful place to live sometimes, particularly for individuals who were active back home and came to Dhahran with no prospects of continuing their life's work. This was a problem for many wives. Sometime they were found wandering the jebel at night, barefooted. At other times, they made violent moves against others. ARAMCO always handled these cases in the most respectful way. People understood how frail the human condition could be in these circumstances. Alcohol was frequently a problem, particularly before the King prohibited the use of alcohol in Western communities. It was never allowed in the Saudi community. In Dhahran, employees had a ration card. They were allowed so many bottles of hard liquor and so much beer per month. Dad used to bring it home and just save it. There was a great deal of entertaining and drinking was a big part of the scene. Numerous people left ARAMCO because of drinking problems. ARAMCO did much to help these individuals, but ultimately they went back to the States. When I returned to ARAMCO as an employee in1982, I was pleasantly surprised to find I could come to the Eastern Province without having to take 'shots.' It had evolved into a rather modern area. Al Khobar had a corniche, paved streets, a British contractor upgrading drains and sewers to the latest standards, hospitals, clinics, eye care establishments, trash control, and street cleaners. I think the Arabs demanded similar health standards to what they saw when visiting Europe and the United States and on display in the three ARAMCO communities. Al Khobar had its own Safeway supermarket which improved food supply quality. Prepackaged foods were available in cans as well as frozen. European milk was packaged under ultra clean conditions; this extended the product's shelf life and eliminated refrigeration until the package was opened. Safeway had a Middle East slant with a section of seeds and nuts. One could smell saffron and freshly ground coffee. With all the new packaging came a few surprises. We were told by the grapevine to open jars to see if they had been opened previously. I opened a jar of peanut butter one day; there was a finger swipe in the soft surface. Someone had taken an informal dip and put the jar back! By the 1980s, the stray cat population had also escalated from the 1950s. They were everywhere in Dhahran and al Khobar. We lived in a triple-wide trailer at the bottom of Canyon Road for a while. Either the cats or the rats gave us cause to reflect. The cats fought beneath the trailer and at night we could hear the rats gnawing on the sub-floor. An ARAMCO community services organization controlled these vermin based on complaint. ARAMCO and its economic clout have obviously made a giant contribution to improved health conditions in the Eastern Province. Copyright ©1999-2006 Rolf A. Christophersen All Rights Reserved. Email