AOC Employees Reach Out to New Neighbors

THE HAGUE, August 24, 2009 -- It is a Dutch tradition to present yourself to new neighbors – especially the older residents on the street – when moving to a new neighborhood. As the Dutch say, “Better een goede buur, dan een verre vriend,” or “a good neighbor is better than a far friend.”

And although construction is still under way and Aramco Overseas Co.’s (AOC) new headquarters in The Hague is still a work in progress, employees, who recently exchanged Leiden for The Hague, teamed up before Ramadan to introduce themselves to the inhabitants of the Bosch en Duin elderly care and treatment center, only two doors away from AOC.

Of course, the AOC employees could not join the retirement home’s coffee morning empty-handed, so over the weekend, a number of volunteers turned out colorful, frosted cupcakes for the occasion.

Led by AOC managing director Ahmed Alzayyat, 20 employees of AOC walked next door to join the elderly for coffee and talk. Inhabitants smiled and nodded in recognition when Purchasing agent Peter Lutz’s introduction referred to AOC’s past offices in The Hague on Laan van Meervoort and Plesmanlaan.

“Neighborhood and neighborliness are important social values in Arab culture. In fact, we have a similar saying as the Dutch: ‘Better do a kindness near home than go far to burn incense,’” Alzayyat said. “Especially with the blessed month of Ramadan around the corner, I am proud to see so many volunteers brightening up the coffee morning by making the inhabitants of Bosch en Duin feel special and important”.

“At first, it was difficult to start a conversation,” said Michelle Low of AOC Internal Compliance. “But the gentleman I was speaking to soon got the talking bug and had lots of interesting things to tell. I enjoyed the baking part, too.”

Muaed Thubaiti, who had only been in the Netherlands for a week joining AOC’s Research and Technology Unit, solved his inability to speak the local language by carrying a Dutch-English phrase book.

“I am proud to be working for a company that is actively fulfilling its corporate responsibility to the local community,” said Rosliana Rosli from AOC Inspection. “As a foreigner living in the Netherlands, it also provides me with an opportunity to get acquainted with Dutch people. And although most of us were struggling with our Dutch, everyone was chatting and laughing!”

“It made me feel very happy to see that everyone really made an effort to socialize with the residents,” said co-organizer Juvie de Koning, from AOC Public Relations. “More employees than expected participated, and we are definitely planning on seeing our neighbors more often.”