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INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 1362
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1440
RUEHRH/AMEMBASSY RIYADH PRIORITY 6461
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RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEKJCS/DIA WASHDC PRIORITY

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 JEDDAH 000336 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
RIYADH, PLEASE PASS TO DHAHRAN; PARIS FOR ZEYA; LONDON FOR 
TSOU; DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ARP 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/30/2016 
TAGS: PGOV SCUL SOCI SA
SUBJECT: GENETIC ILLNESSES ON THE RISE IN SAUDI ARABIA 
DESPITE PUBLIC AWARENESS EFFORTS 
 
REF: A. JEDDAH 00300 
     ¶B. JEDDAH 00329 
 
Classified By: Consul General Tatiana C. Gfoeller for reasons 1.4 (b) a 
nd (d). 
 
¶1.  (C) SUMMARY: Anecdotal evidence from Consulate General 
Jeddah's contacts indicates that the rate of genetic illness 
among Saudi children is on the rise, primarily due to the 
persistence of consanguineous marriages in the country.  This 
persistence may be attributed to Saudi parents' efforts to 
shield their children from the onslaught of modernization 
facing the Kingdom.  Despite this, local business groups, 
health professionals, and governmental bodies are persisting 
in their efforts to raise public awareness of the issue and 
to break-down traditional Saudi taboos against discussing 
such problems.  END SUMMARY 
 
MODERN PRESSURES CAUSE REACTIONARY ATTITUDES 
 
¶2.  (C) The Consul General's discussions with a variety of 
Consulate General contacts indicate that the rate of genetic 
illness among Saudi children is exponentially higher than in 
other parts of the world, primarily due to the persistent 
societal support for consanguineous marriages generation 
after generation.  Contacts attribute this support to efforts 
to retain monetary resources within the same family and to a 
sense of genetic pride within a particular family-group or 
clan.  However, in a uniquely Saudi twist, parents, concerned 
about the influence of modern attitudes on traditional Saudi 
culture and the increasing interaction between the sexes, may 
also be pushing their daughters to marry close relatives 
because they are a known quantity.  With the advent of a 
somewhat relaxed social environment, particularly in the 
Western province, young men and women are increasingly able 
to meet each other at malls and via mobile phone text 
messaging. 
 
¶3.  (C) Similarly, archaic approaches to the disabled have 
limited efforts to adequately address increases in the rate 
of disease.  One local Amcit recently reported to the Consul 
General that, upon visiting a Jeddah clinic where her own ill 
son was living, she observed a Saudi mother whose ten 
disabled children were all institutionalized at the same 
facility.  The Saudi woman, married to her first cousin, 
indicated that she would continue to perform her religious 
obligation of creating offspring, and if it was Allah's will 
that they be sick, so be it. 
 
¶4.  (C) There are many other cases, however, of Saudi parents 
abandoning their disabled children.  One Consulate contact 
recounted to the CG the story of a wealthy Jeddah couple who 
divorced immediately following the birth of their mentally 
disabled son, and after moving out of the city and both 
re-marrying other partners, maintained him in Jeddah, with a 
staff of five servants, for the next 17 years.  Having never 
been visited by his parents (or, for that matter, leaving the 
home), the boy had never said a word.  Finally, he was taken 
by one of the servants to the local Hope Center and later 
participated in a program designed to increase motor skills 
among the disabled through horseback riding (see reftels). 
He now knows the names of his teachers and the word "horse." 
 
TENTATIVE STEPS TO INCREASE AWARENESS 
 
¶5.  (C) Confronting these entrenched social approaches to the 
disabled is no small task, though several local businessmen 
and health professionals have recently indicated to the CG 
that they are attempting to increase public awareness of the 
causes and the treatment for genetic illnesses.  "This is 
topic A among young women," said one contact, a female 
medical doctor who specializes in genetic illnesses.  She 
described a girl that had told her family she would rather 
remain un-married for life than wed her first cousin as they 
proposed for fear of having a disabled child as many of her 
friends in consanguineous marriages do.  (NOTE: There is a 
strong social stigma attached to older, unmarried women, 
whose position in the society is therefore undermined). 
 
¶6.  (C) One local group of businessmen spent four years 
pushing the government to require blood tests in the 
application for marriage licenses, over the objection of the 
 
JEDDAH 00000336  002 OF 002 
 
 
ulema (the religious establishment).  Though successful, the 
measure was ultimately diluted to require the tests but still 
allow couples to decide whether or not to proceed regardless 
of the results.  The Economic and Social Council, under the 
office of the Governor of Mecca, supported the requirement 
and is also active in promoting the awareness campaign. 
"Word is slowly getting out," said another local female 
doctor, who is pushing for awareness in this area. 
 
¶7.  (C) COMMENT: During her previous tour in the Kingdom in 
the late 1980s, the CG noted a similarly alarming number of 
mentally disabled children during visits to some of Riyadh's 
clinics.  The situation appears to have changed little in the 
intervening years, despite the tentative steps to raise 
awareness of the consequences of consanguinity. END COMMENT 
Gfoeller