"Dubai bashing" debate continues

Yet more coverage in the paper today about the recent UK press and TV coverage. Dubai British expats were quoted as saying that they didn't recognise the Dubai that was described. That's because you are probably one of the ones reported as going out partying every night getting drunk and admitting that you have never even spoken to an Emirati! These people lag me off! Also the ones who, when I return home from the UK say "I suppose you saw all the reasons why you live here now eh? " Well, actually, no. Of course there are the usual things that do get you down in the UK (and I'm sure I don't need to repeat them all) , but I also realised there were a lot of things I missed; some good lungs full of fresh air, popping over the road to the chip shop; a "greasy spoon" cafe fry up, normal driving practices; not having to repeat myself 5 times to be understood; not having a cacophony of languages blaring around me (at least not where I live in the UK) and on and on.....

Living in Mohammed bin Zayed City, where we are right next to Mussafah Commercial area and the labour camps, I can absolutely relate to the articles that have been written. I have walked through the labour camps (and I bet not many of my Dubai expat compatriots quoted today have!) and seen for myself the conditions. Many of the labourers of course really try hard to make the most of it and I'm also sure that some are treated much better than others. But even for the best of them it's not much of a life and I am sure that at it's worst in parts of Dubai, I can quite believe it is as bad as reported. For those that may have missed it in my previous posting, here's a link to some pictures I took on a Friday around the labour camps:-

Workers Day Off

I am also glad that through my work I do get to meet many Emirati people, almost on a daily basis. I enjoy this interaction, learning a little about them and their family and lifestyle (idle chit chat about family and life in general is important in business out here). Abu Dhabi has a much higher percentage population of locals than Dubai (c.20% rather than c.5% in Dubai) so you are much more aware of the local people and traditions and Abu Dhabi rightly wants to keep it that way. I, for one, hope they do and don't fall into the Duabi trap.

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Another article in the paper today (The National) was encouraging Emirati mothers to take a more active part in the upbringing of their children and not to just "dump" them on maids or nannies. This unfortunately seems to be common practice. An Emirati woman who is working on the campaign said that some local women will get their maid to pick the child up when it cries so they don't spoil their Abaya! I can well believe it! You see the maids struggling to manage the children round the malls while their parents (male and female) swan around several yards in front -the maids also have to carry the bags of purchases made by the parents too by the way! I do believe this is just downright laziness and ignorance. Even if they are treating their maids well, I agree with the article that it does jeopardise their culture if the children are not brought up by their own Emirati parents.

Fire in Musaffah

I was driving out to work yesterday when I saw this (as captured on my mobile phone) :-




It was obviously a major incident, the smoke was trailing for miles. Well it was in the newspaper today (see below). A plastics factory went up in flames. Now the worrying thing for me was a quote in the paper from an anonymous manager from the plant who said the the Civil Defense (Fire Brigade) were trying to put it out with water, when all this did was create the massive amount of smoke. What they should have used was foam. Now this isn't the first time I have heard this. I heard of an illuminated sign on an apartment that was on fire and, again, they just sprayed it with water - an electrical fire - apparently there were sparks everywhere, but they just carried on until eventually it was put out! I guess the Civil Defense are either badly trained or lacking equipment, but it is a worry. To be honest I would hate to have to rely on any of the emergency services out here. Firstly, they can never get anywhere quick enough because of the traffic and no one gets out of their way (see my previous blog http://neilandcaz.blogspot.com/2009/01/busy-day.html ). And secondly, they don't seem to know what they are doing when they get there! There seems to be a lot of reports of people dying on their way to hospital and I wonder if it's because the ambulance staff are incompetent - if it's like all other areas of the public sector out here then, probably!

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Fire destroys Musa ah plastics plant
Essam Al Ghalib and Suryatapa Bhattacharya
The National - News
06 Mar 2009

MUSAFFAH Fire destroyed a plastics factory in Musaffah yesterday. Firemen, police and ambulance crews were called to the Fiber Flex Factory around noon, arriving to find it engulfed by 20-metre flames. A toxic plume of smoke from the fire, which...read more...
Tech Tags: The National - News newspaper The Emirates

And the big news of the day is......

A LuLu store has opened in Mohammed bin Zayed City! OMG, is this what our lives have come to when we get excited about the opening of a supermarket! However, for residents of MbZC/Khalifa/Mussafah this is great news, as we now don't have to treck all the way to Carrefour on Airport road (about an hours round trip for us) or to the LuLu at Al Raha Beach Mall which is pretty small. The Mazyad Mall (where LuLu is) will have a Brioche coffee shop, Applebees and McDonalds (oh bliss beyond compare!). Now when we just fancy a quick take away we won't have to put up with a crap chinese or indian from the Rainbow Grill/Hot Plate in Mussafah - which is pretty disgusting or a trip to Pizza Hut on Mussafah Industrial Area, where the the pizzas are even crapier. We are contemplating moving into the City when our first year's lease is up because living out here is somewhat isolated - however in a very small way our lives have now been uplifited by LuLu's, making at least one aspect of living out here more bearable.

Some miscellany....

Nazi Neighbours??

Actually, no. This is on the doorstep of the Indian family who live in the maid's quarters at the back of our split villa. It's just a good luck symbol in Hindu culture, so no, they are not neo-nazis!

Mussafah traffic

The road from Mussafah towards Mussafah bridge was chock a block yesterday morning. When it gets like this it's a free-for-all! Car come steaming down the hardshoulder to get past the queues and cause rows when the hardshoulder runs out!

Oil company visit





Had an appointment at one of the oil company's offices yesterday. Got in the lift to go up and saw that they obviously change the carpet in there on a daily basis!

Away from the glitz

Not too far from where we live there are many labour camps housing some of the vast armies of workers who are building this city and it's infrastructure. Most of them are from the Asian sub-continent, predominantly India and Pakistan. The housing is provided by their sponsor companies as part of their work contract. Accommodation is pretty stark and most of them live 8 or so to a room.

Fridays are for most of them their only day off from the 14 hour days. I took some pictures around and about the labour camps today. Most of the men were friendly, but some looked deeply suspicious as to why this white man was amongst them with a camera! A fair reaction I guess.

One thing they seem to have that is lacking in the rest of the place is a strong sense of community. We often feel somewhat isolated, but they have created a real community feel about the place, where they are "all in it together". Fridays are spent either chatting and chilling out, playing sports or going to the shops or markets.

Tomorrow, the hard graft will start again for their £25 a week!

Take a look at the pictures linked below....

Workers Day Off

JCBs and Candles

Our villa is not too far away from a labour camp. These are the god-awful pits in which thousands and workers (mainly from the Asian sub-continent) are housed by their bullying sponsor companies. Anyway, just next to said labour camp is a patch of desert that becomes a home to loads of diggers at the weekend. At home in the UK, these would probably get nicked! Here, however, they sometimes become a meeting point for some of the workers or even a place to have a quiet kip in one of the digger's buckets. I thought they looked interesting as they lined up like they were about to take part in some kind of military parade.






Last night we have a power cut for about an hour or so. Hasn't really happened much, once or twice while we have been out, but not while we have been at home. Most of the other villa occupants (not posted anything on the other occupants upstairs, behind in the maid's quarters and at the gate house yet - but I will one day!) went out, sensibly! We couldn't really be bothered, so I made for the candles. Gave me chance to take some nice piccies on my new camera though.

Who'd have thought it...

...that I'd been in the UAE eating pork scratchings! ...well Filipino pork chicharon actually, but same thing. You can get pork in Abu Dhabi at Spinney's. They have a separate pork section for non-Muslims. The big store in Khalidiya sells proper pork sausages and back bacon - at a price! But sometimes it just has to be done! I got the scratchings from our local Spinneys in Mussafah, but they have crap bacon and no proper sausages - however I did find the chicharon last night . Caz thinks they are disgusting, but I love 'em.