The Eye of the Storm

About the Book

A Quest for Truth This book is dedicated to the world’s most vulnerable people who suffer from atrocities stemming from wars, poverty, addictions, and foremost those who were infected by or died because of the COVID-19 coronavirus. A virus that was created in and originating from China, Wuhan City in the Hubei province. The virus spread rapidly, creating immense havoc across the globe, sparing no country or human being, a virus without borders, with devastating effects. It is time for introspection and reflection, a time for a psychological and spiritual makeover, time to remove idols from our midst and honour one God, the God of Adam and Eve, God of Abraham, Sarah, Hagar, Ishmael and Isaac, God the oneness. The story of Abraham is retold in the book from a Christian biblical perspective, but more so from a Muslim belief, the Quran perspective, a constructive attempt to align and bridge the divides between nations during these difficult, testing times. Through the book, the author fulfils that commitment and promise made as a young boy to God, to spread God’s message of hope and love into the world, to bridge the cultural divide, to promote care for the poor and homeless. Similar to the COVID-19 coronavirus, God’s grace, love, and forgiveness have no borders. The world is in desperate need of spiritual cure and revival, across borders. It is a world in constant chaos and turmoil instigated and promulgated by politicians, and business and country leaders’ ethical misbehaviour across the globe, hearts and minds contaminated by a deadly infected ‘cancerous’ disease for example lust, arrogance, and greed, fraudulent and corrupt hearts and minds, an extremism philosophy and theology in its own right. The author sadly lost his wife in 2010 due to breast cancer. In 2011, he was on the verge of becoming a tramp in the streets of South Africa. Yes, a highly qualified individual with years of experience as a financial manager in a big corporate company, with 8 years high-level academic accomplishments. If people ask him, ‘How was it possible?’ he will tell them it is very possible; it all depends on every individual’s personal circumstances. God the Oneness knows every hair on your head, He loves and cares about you anyway, wherever and whatever you are. The author lived and worked for seven years of his career as a cost engineer for a large oil-and-gas company in Saudi Arabia. He also previously worked as financial manager for a joint-venture oil-and-gas company in Iran, Arya Sasol Polymer Company (ASPC), a joint-venture company with 50 per cent ownership from oil-and-gas company National Petroleum Company (NPC), Iran and 50 per cent ownership from oil-and-gas company Sasol South Africa. Both companies were represented on the ASPC board by three directors, respectively. He had the joy and fulfilment of visiting many countries during his short life, apart from working and living in Saudi Arabia and Iran. A journey always has a starting and a finishing point, starting life from fertilisation to an unborn fruit in the womb of your mother until you pass on to something much bigger and better, eternal life, heavenly freedom and peace in the presence of God, the Creator and oneness. In the book, Saudi Arabia and Iran are extensively discussed to provide insight to the reader. The two countries are uniquely different, but in many ways the same. The author attempts to give the reader a glimpse of life as an expatriate worker in both countries, Saudi Arabia and Iran—a journey never to forget or to regret, a humble, faithful, committed contribution to mankind, in a dynamic and diverse way, in a dynamic and diverse multicultural environment. In some instances, the author feels obliged to speak the truth, and only the truth, because truth matters, for the sake of reflection, admission, repentance, and necessary corrective action by business leaders, politicians, and governments alike, to take a leaf from the author’s book of life. The Leadership Challenge are discussed, using Nelson Mandela, a previous president of South Africa as an example to explain the concept of Servant leadership. Few images in history are more powerful than that of Nelson Mandela, fist raised in a dignified grey suit, walking after his release from 27 years of imprisonment, his short walk to freedom. Mandela was only 44 years old when he was given a life sentence by the apartheid regime for his leadership of the African National Congress, an organisation outlawed by the South African government for its anti-apartheid actions and positions. After providing the reader with evidential background, the last two chapters deal with the author’s personal experiences in Iran and Saudi Arabia respectively, two countries that are way apart from each other. The two countries, apart from being constantly in conflict with each other, are also in conflict with other countries, because of their deeply rooted differences in religion and cultures, but more so because of their greed and love for oil, or black gold. They are ways apart and indifferent, but with so much in common.

About the Author

The Author was born in 1958 in South Africa where he lived most of his life. He obtained a wealth of experience, amongst other 3 and a half years forced military service during the “apartheid” years in the then South African Defense Force (SADF), where he qualified as Captain in the Mechanized Infantry Force. After compulsory military service, he obtained a B Compt. Accounting Degree from the University of South Africa (UNISA) in 1987. After political transition in 1995, when Nelson Mandela became President of South Africa, he completed an Executive Development Program (EDP) at the University of Stellenbosch, Graduate School of Business, in 1999. He worked for more than 20 years at SASOL LTD, a South African Oil and Gas company listed on the Johannesburg (JSE) and New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), respectively. As member of a broader strategic business management team, he functioned for more than 15 years as Financial Manager of various Strategic Business Units within the SASOL Group of companies. He later completed a SASOL 2020 Senior Leadership Program at the Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS) in Johannesburg South Africa. He then went on to obtain his Master in Business Administration (MBA) degree at the University of Pretoria, in May 2006. The University of Pretoria or now Gordon Institute of Business Science (GIBS), digitized his MBA Research Report as part of the “Open Scholarship and Digitisation Programme, 2017”, whereby the university officially recognized him as the author of his own publication titled “Creating High Performance Value Chain Organizations (HPVCO)”. He ironically worked and lived in both Iran and Saudi Arabia. He worked for a short period in Iran as Financial Manager of Araya Sasol Polymer Company (ASPC), a Joint Venture (JV) between SASOL South Africa and Iranian National Petrochemical Company (NPC). Apart, from working in Iran, he also worked for more than 6 years in Saudi Arabia as a Cost Engineerof major projects. Despite limited financial resources, he managed to visit many countries and cities. Countries such as Paris (France), London (UK), Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia), Bangkok and Phuket (Thailand), Manilla and Cebu City (Philippines), München and Dusseldorf (Germany), Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE), Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Singapore, Istanbul (Turkey) and many African countries and cities. His ever passion for quality education and sharing of knowledge and expertise, including to the less fortunate and His intense belief in God, his Creator constantly motivates him to inform and educate people through his books, across the globe. His main objectives as an author are not only to inform and educate people, but to also promote and build a diversified capacity of mutual trust, respect and understanding between nations, each other individually and groups of people, to respect the dignity of all. He was married for more than 28 years to Charlotte Freda Coetzee (Van Heerden) who passed away on June 4, 2010 due to breast cancer, just before the start of the FIFA World Cup Soccer on June 11, 2010 in South Africa. Salidor and Charlotte have 4 children of their own.