By FATIMA AL-SAADI | ARAB NEWS

JEDDAH: With the start of the summer vacation, many Saudi families have packed up in order to spend some time abroad to rest and for entertainment.

Young Saudis sometimes prefer to travel with their friends rather than accompany their families. While this ensures their personal freedom, it might also cause them trouble or make them commit fatal mistakes. They might fall prey to organized gangs.

In extreme cases, these gangs could steal their money by making them drug addicts and womanizers, or have them rebel against their country. There are many ways of misguiding young and lonely Saudis who travel without knowing what lies ahead for them abroad.

Arab News spoke to a number of young Saudis about their experiences abroad. One of them, who preferred anonymity so as not to embarrass his family, told a painful story: “My friends convinced me to travel with them instead of my family. They told me that my family would carefully watch all my moves and would not allow me to enjoy myself. I liked the idea, despite opposition from my family. We traveled to a European country where I saw all kinds of irresistible temptations — nightclubs, casinos, theaters, bars, and the streets.”

The things he liked most was that he could smoke freely, drink and go out with girls without anyone harassing him. “I committed a number of un-Islamic acts that I have not tried before in my own country. I spent all my money on illegal pleasures and had to borrow from my friends and ask my family back home for more money. I liked the experience and wanted to repeat it the following year.”

However, the price was too high — he tested HIV positive. “I regretted my outside travels and wished that I had listened to my father, who always asked me not to travel alone or in the company of bad friends. I am left alone now, just waiting in my room for my death, which is not far away.”

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