A different view of 'The Kingdom'
Former Lexington student tells 'ARAMCO Brats' story' seeks to bridge U.S.-Saudi ties

By KEN ESTEN COOKE
Reporter Publisher

 Mention Saudi Arabia to most Texans and you’ll get a negative reaction. After all, that’s where a bunch of the Sept. 11th hijackers were from, right?
 But Matthew Kuehn Miller is not most Texans. He lived in “S.A.” with a group of oil industry brats who inhabited “The Kingdom” during their formative years.
 Now, Miller and business partner Todd Nims have directed and are promoting “Home,” a documentary of the ex-patriots who worked in Saudi oil fields for the Arabian American Oil Company (ARAMCO).
 “The world is shrinking. It’s easy to concentrate on the negatives of that country, but it’s such a tiny part of Saudi,” Miller said while visiting Rockdale recently.
 “We kind of want to be like a liaison for social development,” he said. “I find myself defending the U.S. to Saudis like I’m defending Saudis to the U.S.”
 And it’s Miller’s unique view of having actually lived in that country that make his perspective one so rarely heard. He and the other “brats” in the documentary describe an idyllic upbringing in Dhahran, a port town on the Persian Gulf (they call it the “Arabian Gulf”), about halfway between the borders of Iran to the north and Qatar and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to the south.

Proud heritage
 Miller’s subjects describe the Saudis’ “proud heritage” and that their experience was like growing up in a small American town.
 “Saudis actually remind me of Texans, believe it or not. They are a proud people,” Miller said.
 But they frequently got to witness the tradition and the nobility of the Saudi King and the royalty that made a huge impression.
 “Growing up there, we rode horses and camels in the desert,” he said. “And we had a Boy Scout troop that did field trips into Egypt and learned scuba diving.”

American beginnings
 ARAMCO began under King Abdul Aziz Saud, who asked American petroleum engineers to help search for oil. Six years later, they struck black gold and changed the world forever.
 Miller is quick to remind that Saudi oil was supplied cheaply to keep countries from falling to fascist regimes, such as in World War II. ARAMCO was also unique, Miller said, because it sought to be responsible with the resources, not pillage them as had been witnessed with some earlier European-based initiatives into third-world countries.
 He said Dharan was built to house 40,000 Americans and Europeans. It’s been operating that way since the 1940s. “Today, no matter where we go on the planet, we can find a ‘brat’ and have that instant connection.”

Strong views
 Miller said that many Americans concentrate on the tiny percentage of Saudis who have turned to terrorism, or the wealthy oil shieks who seem to toy with the U.S. petroleum market through OPEC (the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries).
 Despite seeking to soften the image of Saudis, Miller is no liberal apologist. He is as disgusted as anyone with jihadists that have hijacked the Muslim religion. He also claims the U.S. could be much more energy independent but for environmentalists efforts that have blocked domestic oil production.
 Indeed, he describes himself as somewhat of an “anti-Michael Moore.” His preview at the Academy of Arts & Sciences brought good reviews. “We’ve gotten 98 percent positive reviews with this film,” he said.
 His production and distribution has been self-financed, but he describes it as “a good gamble.” He has already been contacted with other offers.
 “We want to be positive and we want to combat that jihadist mess!” he said. “Even some youth over there are becoming agnostic. They’re just as tired of that jihadist mentality as we in the U.S. are.”

Lexington connection
 Miller spent 11 years in the Middle East, from age 4 to 15. He left suddenly when his father, John Wayne Miller, told the family to pack in 1991 when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, which was roughly a three-hour trip from Dharan.
 Miller spent the next year at Lexington High School, then eventually graduated from Cy-Fair High School in 1994. He has concentrated on film-making ever since, winning three music video awards and working with artists from Houston to Africa. He was awarded Houston’s Best Short Film Maker Award for his film “Scripted.”
 He said he can still “freak out” a Middle Eastern store clerk when he signs his name in Arabic.
 But his mission is to bring two cultures together that, at this point in history, could not seem farther apart.

ken@rockdalereporter.com