??

It is really strange how time changes so many things. I look back at my life upon returning to the UAE and fast forward almost 2 years to the present. A lot has changed.

I arrived eager and full of optimism. At peace that I was finally home. Adamant that I will make it my home. Hopeful that I will be permitted to consider it my home. Keen to start a new career in the most dynamic city in the world. Excited to be in a land where anything seemed possible. Where no idea seemed too audacious and no feat was unachievable. A place where I could make something out of my life.

When I look at how far I have come from stepping off that plane and walking through Dubai airport, and how much of my expectations have come true, I have to admit that I am left utterly and thoroughly disappointed. Two years down the line and I haven't achieved a lot of the goals I had set myself. Mind you, my life isn't a living nightmare nor am I hungry and homeless. But I feel like I am running out of steam; tired of trying to establish a life here. I guess Dubai is not everyone's cup of tea. Even if you lived your entire life in it.

Maybe i should just leave??????

I’m tired.

I’m tired of being treated like an illegal alien.
Unwanted and unappreciated.
Put through shit just to sort out my visa, just because of the nationality stated on my passport!
Paid less than others just purely due my nationality.
Considered an unwelcome temporary worker.

I am fed up of trying to cement my future in a land which will never recognise my rights.

I am starting to seriously reconsider my decision to come back ‘home’. Maybe all these people who keep saying ‘ if you don’t like it just leave’ do have a point.

I am just so tired of trying to be recognised... Maybe I should pack my bags and leave.......

Truth is ... there is nothing...

I am an atheist and ‘my god’ does it feel so good to finally say it. ;-)

Fitna

"Fitna is a film by Dutch politician Geert Wilders, leader of the Party for Freedom (PVV) in the Dutch parliament. The movie offers a critical view of Islam and the Koran. The name comes from the Arabic word fitna which is used to describe "disagreement and division among people", or a "test of faith in times of trial"." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fitna_(film)

For those of you not familiar with the issue, Wilders has caused a huge international controversy with an apparent attempt at insulting the entire Islamic world with this movie that he just released on the web a few hours ago. Having watched it online, I honestly don't see what is the big issue.

Why don't we in this part of the world just ignore this person by not getting angry at such petty attempts to ridicule a religion? To insult someone, it is not the act itself that instigates it but the persons perception of that act, ie it is you who is getting insulted and not the person insulting you. Why don't we just view this as an attempt by a lone soldier trying to bring down the entire army of Islam? Is the Islamic world so weak in their beliefs and values that a 15 minute video could put a scratch on centuries of Islamic culture, heritage and civilization?

It really doesn’t matter whether you agree with Wilders views or not. As Evelyn Hall said "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it".

What has made Dubai into such a major Arab and international city ?

"What has made Dubai into such a major Arab and international city ?"

That is a question that I am asked quite frequently by people and I also often ask myself. It usually ignites a long heated debated that rarely comes up with a clear answer. Then again, such a question cannot be answered in a simple sentence. Or can it?

I still clearly remember how on family holidays in Europe most people had no idea where Dubai or the UAE was. We would usually resort to mentioning its more famous neighbouring countries when questioned on its geographical location (mind you, mentioning countries like Iran and Saudi Arabia doesn’t always give people in Europe a good first impression). This is referring to the mid 90s and not a bygone era! Having witnessed its transformation from a small town into a major metropolitan city I have come up with multiple, complimentary factors that have catapulted Dubai into the international limelight. However, I personally believe that two factors stand out from the rest.

The UAE has stayed out of the international tit-for-tat bickering that have consumed most of the Arab world’s resources. Their efforts are introverted and focused on economic expansion and development. They are not infatuated with petty international political rhetoric typical of most Arab governments. They mind their own business and are more worried about the things going on in their backyard rather than being preoccupied with what’s going on over the fence.

Even more crucial than this is its miniscule local population that have lessened the social issues that have overwhelmed all other Arab countries. After all, looking after two children is a lot easier than taking care of twenty ?

Anonymous Poetry

A few lines left as an anonymous comment to this post

A little poetry ?

“Where are you from?”

I come from a place so hypocritical but mine
A place where life was built on a desert of ghosts
Where I used to run free on a clean clear beach
And go camping in lonely mountains under the stars

My childhood memories no longer exist
They are but a dream to a place I cannot claim as mine
This little city, so small which I could hold in my baby hand
Has been snatched away from me in a sweep of pathetic modernization

“But this is my home!” my ears burn and my voice yells
So why is it fair to look at me like an ignorant tourist?
A westerner so easily fooled to believe this place is first world!
Money is your only right here and that is all

I have been disowned by a home which was never mine
An international airport for business matters only
In the past, everywhere I would look, peaceful, quiet spaces
Now all I see are buildings, injustice and superficial faces

Thanks Anonymous January 20,2008 10:51Am

The public education system

The public education system is an aspect of the UAE society that I have always said needs immediate attention and a drastic overhaul that has been long overdue.

Most people have no idea about what goes on in the public schools here. The list of the system’s shortcomings is so long that I don’t even know where to being. To summarise:-

• Most schools lack adequate, modern facilities. E.g., labs, computer equipment, sport facilities e.t.c .
• The curriculum is still based on the rote learning and memorising with hardly any emphasis on critical thought and understanding.
• The teachers are not trained and updated on the latest teaching methods.
• The teachers are salaries are terribly low. You pay peanuts, you get monkeys.
• The system is not structured in order to output students that are suited to job market requirements. This is a big factor in why many expats view locals as incompetent, lazy workers.

To give you a picture of how poor the standards are, I clearly remember a friend of mine who graduated from a public high school in Dubai and then went on to the Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT) to study finance. HCT is a government funded and organised tertiary education institution serving the local population. During that time I was in my final years of schooling and I had chosen Economics as one of my subjects in A’ levels ( the British high school system). What was thought to my friend in his 1^st year economics subjects at university, was covered in my final years of high school!!

This entire unemployment issue among locals and the resultant emiratisation drive, could be have been reduced if a proactive approach had been taken. Locals who attend public schools are put through an outdated, inefficient system that does not provide them with the right tools and knowledge to meet the requirements of the UAE’s booming job market. I’m just glad that Shiekh Mo has finally addressed this by ordering a complete revamp of the Ministry of Education and the curriculum. Better late than never!

Don't eat infront of me. Can't you respect my religion

I should have written this during Ramadan but for some reason I never got around to doing so.

When I was too young to fast my mother/aunt/grandmother would prepare my meals for me and chase me around the house in an attempt to make me eat my lunch/breakfast etc. But once we were outside before iftar I was continuously reminded that I should not eat in public for my actions will insult others who are fasting. If this confuses a child then you can imagine how as an adult I am still perplexed!

Why is it illegal to eat in public during Ramadan? More importantly, is there any mention in the Holy Scriptures regarding this restriction? I have been through the Quran and the Hadith ( sahih bukhari) but I still haven't found any references to this. If I have missed something PLEASE do refer me to the right sections/paragraph/text/book.

Are peoples faith so brittle that they will be tempted to break their fast just because someone else is eating in front of them? Is the mother that prepares lunch and breakfast for her children tempted to break her fast? Definitely not.

Will fasting be an impossible feat to achieve if people ate in public? Then the millions of Muslims in India, Europe, North America who do not have this luxury must have thrown in the towel.

Is the act of consuming food during daylight hours really an attempt to mock a Muslim's efforts and entice them to succumb to their basic instinct to eat?

Or is it a way to control the masses and ensure that Islamic principles are adhered to and that deviance from it does not manifest itself on a macro level?

I am still confused!

WHAT! did this place exist back then

"So you've been here your whole life. WOW! I didn't think people came out here twenty five years ago" LOL ;-)

That is pretty much the reaction most people I meet through work have when I tell them how long I've been here. On a corporate level it fascinates me that an outright majority of people I interact with have moved here within the past few years. But the funniest is when they talk about the good old days of late 90s. I just crack up and laugh when they think that was a long time ago and how they know how the 'real' Dubai was like loool.

Utopia! Impossible but we can still dream about it.

Dubai has, what I think, the highest concentration of half-castes anywhere in the world. I do apologise if any of you got offended by the term half-caste, it was only recently that I found out that I could be considered as a derogatory term. But I have never considered to be so and in fact did not know of any other words that I could use. This is one indication of the multi-ethnic aspect of the city. This characteristic of the society is also extended to the dating scene. In school, and even now, I knew a lot of people who were dating someone who are not from a similar backgrounds, be it religion, nationality, ethnicity or a combination of them. Personally, I have never dated someone from similar scio-ethnic backgrounds.

Some end in a break up and some eventuates into a marriage. But what do you think would happen if we spice up this typical scene. What if a female emeriti were to date a Subcon. What if, they wanted to get married? I asked the same question in a previous entry but here is one response from moviemania, a female Emarit blogger, on her blog:-

“

.....we were just discussing this and my mom said mixed culture marriages never work.

"Well, they are difficult, but I mean.. It's easier if an Eastern person marries someone from another Eastern culture. Like, I could marry an Indian person, I don't see their culture as too different from ours." I added.

"What? No, never! I would never allow that to happen! Indian? Are you kidding! They're different!" my mom snapped back.

“

In fact this behaviour, albeit it a xenophobic, is not limited to one ethnic group. I have notice a similar pattern across the sociological divide in Dubai. This conflict seems to extend from the cultural gap that exists between the generations: Parents who moved here decades ago and their localexpat children. These kids, just like me, have probably attended an ethnically diverse school where in some cases you had students from over 50 nationalities attending the school. I still remember how race and ethnicity had a small influence on who you would date (or wanted to date) at school. The main factor was ‘’popularity’’ and “coolness’’, typical of most high school kids around the world ;-) Growing up in such an environment has left its mark on me even to this day. I have rarely considered race, ethnicity, skin colour or religion to be an issue when selecting my dates, friends, colleagues or any individual that I have to interact with.

Mind you, I am not ignorant of the fact that culture and background does have a significant influence on the relationship between people. But what it shouldn’t do is be the sole determinant or as one of my friends put it: The filter. The vast majority of people have a filtering system whereby they prejudicially filter people they interact into ‘good’ and ‘bad’, ‘like’ and dislike’(also called negative stereotyping). Here is a scenario typical of numerous companies in UAE:-

• At work

Assistant 1:Hey, I just got this application for the vacancy we have in the office should I show it to the boss

Assistant 2: They meet the criteria?

Assistant 1 : To me he does.

Assistant 2: Where is he from?

Assistant 1: Syrian.

Assistant 2: Oh don’t bother. You know that the first thing he will consider is the nationality and then reject the application without even bothering with his qualifications just because he can’t stand Syrians.

As much as I recognise how ubiquitous prejudice and negative stereotyping is among all cultures of the world, I can’t help but hope and believe that this should not be the case. I believe that prejudice and negative stereotyping should not play a role in forming first impressions or relationships. I hope that this will be so.

Because even I recognise that what I am preaching is truly unattainable.

CHILLLLLLLLLN MAN!

The chill out month.

That is what I call it. And I am not referring to month long stay in Amsterdam 'chilling out’ at their ‘Herbal Cafes’. I am obviously referring to Ramadan. This is a month where every thing gets chilled out. Your work, your social activities, your daily routines even your driving. I sure do enjoy the atmosphere .

It is month when people are that extra bit more charitable. When spirituality momentarily overtakes materialism in peoples lives. When people spend more time among family and friends. And it’s also a time when shisha cafes make a fortune off people like me who spend countless hours after iftar smoking their lungs into oblivion J

But it is also a month of hypocrisy.

I see it everywhere I look. Among friends, family and colleagues. It is a month where most people also become that extra bit more religious or conscious of religion to be precise. I know many people who live a very liberal life throughout the year. Engaging in all sorts of activities that are considered to be forbidden in Islam: Drinking, clubbing, not praying, engaging in sexual activities e.t.c. Then the holy month starts and initiates a complete transformation in people’s behaviour. I know people who only for the month of Ramadan they :-

• Stop drinking from 40 days before Ramadan and then have a reservation ready at Trilogy (a nightclub in Dubai ) for the first day after the end of ramada.
• Decide not to have sex with their partners during the holy month. Some even go to the extent of not having any form of physical intimacy with their partners.
• Give up listening to ‘western music’ and viewing ‘corrupting shows’ on TV and focusing on Quran recitals.
• Wear the Hijab.
• Pray regularly ( 5 times a day)
• Donate to charity
  

The piety list goes on and on and on. The remarkable thing is not the nature or the intention of the act, but its duration. And the blatant hypocrisy I see. Personally I am rather liberal in my religious views and a secularist at heart (for those ignorant people, this DOES NOT mean that I am an atheist or anti-religion). What I am advocating is not an orthodox extremist view that would require people to maintain their religious fervour throughout the year. Nor am I advocating the opposite extreme end of the spectrum: not participating in any rituals of organised religion.

Choice and consistency.

If you want to practice your religion you are free to do so as long as you are not physically or mentally hurting others. Your level of devoutness is your own choice. Whether you go to a mosque 5 times a day or a brothel 5 times a day, I have no right to judge which is more excessive. You choose. And whatever you choose, be consistent. What is the point of giving up drinking or wearing the hijab just for one month. Keep drinking. You will never see a devout Muslim taking a off their hijab just for a month to go clubbing with you. If you don’t want to drink for a single month out of fear of insulting god, then what about the other 11 months of the year? You really think he wouldn't notice?

Don’t change your behaviour, either way, just for a month. Chose and be consistent.

And the award for the funniest joke of the year goes to...

Ladies and gentlemen.

It is my honour to present to you the winner of the funniest joke for the year 2007, Mr. Mattar Al Tayer, Chairman of the Board and Executive Director of Dubai Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) for his hilarious article called:-

Salik System is clear success, says official

A big round of applause for the biggest joke of the year!

I wonder...hmmm

I wonder what would happen if a female Emarati married a Bangladeshi ?

Blood, Sweat and Tears

The human rights watch report on the abuses of labourers rights in Dubai provides an insight into the conditions suffered by hundreds of thousands of people. Where statistics and numbers have failed, aljazeera's documentary has managed to take it one step further by not only providing a visual representation of this injustice but, more importantly, providing a human and personal touch to it.

Part 1

Part 2

I have to say that I was really touched after seeing this.

BRB

Be Right Back=BRB

I have decided to take a bit of a break from blogging for the next few weeks. But I will be back into it within a months time.

I've been tagged!

So there I am one fine sunny day, minding my own business and casually checking my blog WHEN evil rosh decides to TAG me! Now the thing is I actually didn't know what it meant until I had a look around the net. I guess I have to state my '8 simple pleasures' , so here I go:-

1) Driving off into the desert and watching some of the most beautiful sunsets in the world.

2) Sitting at one of three cafes that actually serve great espressos in Dubai with a cigarette in one hand and typing away a new blog entry on my laptop with the other.

3) Walking through the old souk at Al Ras-Deira. It is the only place in Dubai that hasn't been completely transformed since my childhood.

4) Reading four different news websites every morning( BBC, Al Jazeera, GulfNews, 7 Days)
as well as the plethora of blogs that I read on daily basis. It is my equivalent to having a cup of coffee in the morning.

5) Chocolate!!!!!!! I am a self confessed chocoholic. Dubai actually has an acute shortage of places that sell exceptionally good chocolates and pastries. My favourite has to be French Bakery near defence roundabout. Amazing cakes, chocolates and icecream YUM!!

6) Dancing. People paint or sing to relax, I love dancing. I used to dance a lot more before I started working. But with the right music you can leave me all alone in the corner of a dance floor in my own 'dance bubble'. But nothing beats dancing with a girl whom you can grace the dance floor together in perfect harmony.

7) Meeting new people from different backgrounds is a necessity for me. If I am stuck with the same group of monotonous, routine, narrow-minded individuals for a significant period of time I will go insane! :-) I guess every time I do meet someone from a different culture, not only do I find it adventurous and exciting to meet someone who doesn't think like me but, more importantly, I find it extremely educational.

8) JABAL AL NOOR! they have the best juices, the funniest names for those juices and some amazing sandwiches. Amazing food for dirt cheap prices. The countless number of times we have been broke and the only thing we could afford was cafeteria food. You can never go wrong with Jabal Al Noor ( tranlated into English : Mountain of Light ahahha)

You know you lived in dubai long enough when

You know you have been here for a while:-

1. You remember playing games in Sindbad
2. Dixie Cola was a rival to Pepsi. In fact coke wasn't around when i was a kid.
   
3. You remember Al Ghurari Centre and how it was the only shopping mall around
4. You remember the opening of the first McDonalds at Al Ghurari Centre and the crowds that flocked to it
5. You remember Naif as a residential area and not a 'Black Market'
6. Trade Centre was a TAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL building and could be seen from miles around
7. Chicago Beach!! and the was stretches of open beach right next to it. Now its Jumierah Beach Hotel and the Madinat Jumeirah complex
   
8. The Shindagha Tunnel would often leak and they would regularly close it down for repairs
9. When you'd travel abroad NO ONE knew where Dubai was and you would always have to say things like: " Its next to Saudi or Iran"
10. Sharjah was the happening city and families would go there for their parks
    
11. Sharjah had that flyover right at the beginning of the city onto wahda street which would make me and my friends 'stomachs tickle' every time you would cross it. We nicknamed it 'tickle bridge'.
    
12. Dubai Sharjah highway had a very famous and popular site now dwarfed by all the construction. The KFC and Hardeez restaurants which became a family hangout spot.
13. You know you are a kid from dubai if you remember the biggest toy store back then: Dhadabai ( dunno if i got the spelling right) . There was a huge store located opposite present day Hamarain Centre/ JW Marriott.
14. channel 33 used to air a hindi film at 10:30 on thursday nights
15. there was a falcon roundabout just as you come out of shindagha tunnel and a flame roundabout near present Danata
16. The expo centre in Sharjah was the most happening place in the late 70's and 80's. Everyone would come from all over to watch the circus, shop, eat, the ice creams.
17. All the local TV channels would have "prayer intermission". A notice which would appear for a few minutes on the screen before the daily prayers.
    
18. The cartoons, remember Grundaizer & Jungar and Captain Majid
19. Sharjah fish and vegetable market pretty much remains unchanged thru the decades.
20. Al Ain fun city was Disney land! Al Nasr Leisureland ( and you could ice skate) was next, followed by Al Jazeera Park in SHJ.
21. Gulf News back in late 70's was in the format of today's tabloid section.
22. Junior news and Young times? I used to love Young times!
23. Hardrock cafe was the first and ONLY 'sky scraper' on SZR you saw when coming from Abu Dhabi
24. The road to Abu Dhabi was two-lane and had speed humps
    
25. Desert Springs Village was in the desert and had a licensed bar
26. It took 15mins. from Deira to Safestway via Shindaga
27. Safestway was originally called Safeway but had to change its name

Continue the list people... i will add them from the comments

Poor thing, at her age she will become a SPINSTER!

Hmmm what should I make of this:-

"Up to 50 per cent of Emirati women face Maryam’s fate(a spinster), says Eman Abdullah, president of the International Women’s Cultural Forum in Dubai."

And the reasons for this:-

• "Khalfan Al Mhriz, Family Counsellor at the Dubai Courts, said one solution is for women to be willing to be taken as a second wife."

• "Raya Al Mhrzi, a sociologist in Abu Dhabi’s Awqaf and Islamic Affairs Department and a member of the Marriage Fund, blamed fairy-tale ideas about marriage.
  Women, she said, have become too demanding, and high dowries, lavish ceremonies, clothes and jewellery become prohibitive."

• Get ready for the most ridiculous :-
  "Dr Mohammad Wafeek Eid, a psychiatrist at Al Musa Medical Centre in Dubai, said most spinsters suffer from anxiety, depression and multiple psychosomatic complaints, including headaches, epigastric disturbances, abdominal gases and discomfort. "They tend to be suspicious and they make those around them uncomfortable. They are somehow viewed as abnormal because they do not go through motherhood – spinsters are the object of social pity. They feel they are unfulfilled, incomplete," he said."
  
  
• Almost as ridiculous as the previous one:-
  

  "Eman Abdullah, president of the International Women’s Cultural Forum in Dubai, said spinsterhood is a "dangerous" phenomenon.
  It waters down the Arabic language, destroys local customs and traditions and creates an unstable and unhealthy family life, she said."

OH MY GOD! Almost every single reason stated places the blame on the solely woman's shoulder. Call me a new-age-pussy-whipped-metrosexual-male version of a feminist if you want, but this is one of the most insulting articles about women I have ever read.

What about the men? To me its seems this is a classic example of a change in sociological role of the sexes, resulting from the modernisation and liberalisation of the society. Female Emarati roles have changed in society, however male Emaratis "prefer the traditional image of a housewife whose only role is to run the house, take care of her husband and children and nothing else". This is perfectly summed up by

"The marriage I want should be based on equality, understand-ing and love – something I haven’t found with the men I have met. Sumaia, 38, Emirati businesswoman"

Additionally I DETEST the word spinster. The horrible connotations attached to those words conjure up images of desperation, failure, an anomaly in society that people pity. Women do not HAVE to be married to have a successful life in a financially developed society.

And one more thing:-

"Legally, Emirati women are allowed to marry foreigners, but UAE traditions discourage them from marrying expats – only 500 Emirati women married expat men in the last seven years, according to a recent forum."


Yes that is correct. But that is ONLY 1 of the reason. If a female Emarati marries a non-Emarati:-

• Her husband will never be granted the citizenship
• Her children will not be granted the citizenship and will not be legally considered as Emarati
  
• Her children and husband are not entitled to all the benefits of being a national.

Its an epidemic

A few months back I wrote about the intricacies of the job market in Dubai for graduates. I had a gathering a few days back with some friends from high school and everything I had said in that entry seems to have come true for most of them.

It has been almost a year since most of us have graduated, if not more. Out of 12 people there(excluding myself), only 4 of them had found full time jobs! From those four people 2 are working in the family business and the other 2 found jobs through wasta! What's even more shocking is that most of them studied at some of the top Canadian, US, UK or Australian universities.... All of them had, at some point, experienced discrimination from at least one company during the interview process.

These are people who spent their entire lives here. Yet, not a single one of them was able to find a job based on their potential and abilities.

I don't know the answer to this one

why is society so segregated based on culture and ethnicity?