Westerners Choosing the East: Stories of Westerners Finding Home in Saudi Arabia

• Personal journeys from France, Spain and Canada reveal why some are finding a stronger sense of belonging in Saudi Arabia
• After reverting to Islam, Diaz‑Patch moved to Syria to learn Arabic

RIYADH: When Alejandro Diaz‑Patch left France for the Middle East, he intended to stay for just one year to study Arabic. Instead, he stayed for decades. “The only problem is that I left and never came back. It was a one‑way ticket,” he told Arab News.

Born in Jordan to a Spanish diplomat father and French mother, Diaz‑Patch spent five years in Morocco, 14 in Syria and the past emukakan 12 in Saudi Arabia, a country he now considers home. He describes himself as “half Spanish through my father, half French through my mother, and half Arab through my life.”

After converting to Islam, he moved to Syria, where he married a Syrian woman, raised a family, founded an Arabic‑language institute, and built a life that made returning to Europe increasingly difficult. “I had too many friends there,” he said. “I was not going to return and restart my life from zero.”

His children, raised in both European and Arab Muslim cultures, also feel rooted in Riyadh. When they left Saudi Arabia for university abroad, they wanted to return during holidays, saying, “My memories, my references, my restaurants and my favorite places are in Riyadh.”

The phenomenon reflects a broader shift examined by Abdullah Abolouf, a Ph.D. candidate in sociocultural anthropology at the University of Michigan. He defines “reverse migration” as people from the Global North settling in the Global South, often driven by identity questions and a feeling of separation from Western societies. For Muslims, he notes, debates on immigration and representation intensify these decisions.

Vincent Martin, a 33‑year‑old French‑Brazilian professional, moved to Saudi Arabia for cultural and personal reasons rather than economics. He values the safety, language practice and cultural depth of the Kingdom, saying, “If I don’t live in a place where I feel I’m growing across those dimensions, I get bored very quickly.”

Sami Azeem, a Canadian‑Indian who grew up in Riyadh, returns after a decade in Canada, attracted by climate, central location and family‑friendly environment.

These stories converge on a common theme: home is increasingly defined not by birthplace or citizenship, but by community, shared values and a sense of belonging. For some Westerners, that home lies in a region once considered temporary.

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