[Arabian American Oil Company] - Schwarzenau, Paul. 3 typed letters signed and 1 autograph letter.

€ 800.00

A small collection of letters by the Aramco employee Paul Schwarzenau, who joined the Dhahran Camp in 1952.

3 letters to his mother describe his life in the Middle East. About an invasion of locusts: "The past 10 days here witnessed a mild invasion of locusts or what we commonly call grasshoppers. A year ago, shortly before i arrived here, they swarmed into this area as uninvited and unwelcome visitors and didn't leave until they had eaten or destroyed practically every piece of green vegetation. They certainly can pick out the color green with their acute vision and i barely reached home to hide my dollar bills from their search-for-green! [...]" (3 May 1953).

About Ramadan: "Three days ago the arab month of Ramadhan began [...] It's quite a hardship on the arabs who work daytime shift since they aren't heavyweights to begin with and after a few hours without nourishment they are in no shape for work-exertion. The company should abolish all daytime work during this month but of course it is all a big question of $$$$$$'s and the oil has to be kept moving regardless of any attempts, man-made or god-made, to interrupt the flow. Soooooo the old routine keeps spinning at a slower pace but in the same system [...]" (16 May 1953).

Enjoying living alone: "The young man who was rooming with me left for home yesterday after finishing his two-year contract. Not many new employees have been hired in recent months so that means that i'll be enjoying complete ownership of the room for some time to come. How lucky can i get? All this and a salary too! Ah yes, this is real living although I still can't understand why it should happen to a bum like me! [...]" (no place or date).

To Ruth, about the language barrier: "Yesterday spent some time with a man who had gone to Mt Hermon graduated in '34 - Edwin Thompson. He is in Training Dept & speaks arabic - took us more into Arab world - not too many Americans get over various hurdles - language being one important one. Most of Saudis get a little English" (no place or date).

The typed letters show cuts in several places.