At the time when the whole world is in deep sorrow and the wrenching image of a Syrian Kurdish refugee boy drowned on a Turkish beach has fueled a debate across the world, the King of Saudi Arabia is enjoying the most possible luxury on his visit to US.
One side the Syrian refugees are paying for the tragedy, on the other side, the famed profligacy of oil sheiks remains undiminished. According to press release, this weekend during his visit to Washington DC the Saudi Arabia’s king Salman bin Abdulaziz has booked the entire 222-room of Four Seasoned Hotel for his 3-night stay at United States.
He paid around $1,000,000 for hotel rent only. And the hotel, where suites run for more than $2,000 a night, has added some new touches to suit the 79-year-old king’s tastes.The king of the oil-rich nation is here to meet with President Obama at the White House.
Before the arrival of king the hotel also underwent a royal makeover before the visit. “Everything is gold,” “Gold mirrors, gold end tables, gold lamps, even gold hat racks.” Red carpets have been laid down in hallways and even in the lower parking garage, so the king and his family never have to touch asphalt when departing their custom Mercedes caravan, eyewitnesses spied, they’ve seen gilded furniture wheeled into the hotel this week.
It should be noted that Saudi Arabia, along with five other oil-rich Gulf kingdoms – Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain, have been identified by Amnesty International six countries that have offered zero resettlement places to Syrian refugees .
The Official silence of the Gulf Arab creates uneasiness among its citizens. The vast majority of the more than 4 million people who have fled conflict and hardship in Syria have gone to neighboring Turkey, Jordan, and Lebanon, where they live in crowded refugee camps.
Thousands have sought to go on to Europe, where they have to accept other religion to help their asylum chances.