Comments

I hightailed it there in 1995 - and hightailed right back out at the end of 1997, when my contract expired.

What you have not seen is the blatant exploitation of labour.

Employees, especially from Asia, cannot switch jobs. They - we - are slapped with a ban lasting from 6 months to a year if we quit our jobs. Recently, it was announced that the ban was scrapped... but hold it! Only if the employer had no objection! In other words, employers can still exploit their employees with impunity and refuse to release them if they wish to switch jobs.

Deepak

Posted by Deepak Morris at September 19, 2005 2:40 PM

Sorry to hear that Deepak!

I must confess, I haven't ever been exploited that way. I did a contract in Qatar - expanding the oilfield in Dukhan.. I was a rep of a subcontractor working for a Lebanese - British general EPC contractor.

I was given good treatment there - my own room, airconditioned and everything, and comped. But there were a lot of labourers from India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, other Arab countries, who lived in communal portacabins, where the living spaces were kind of cramped!! All that was to save costs and space..

I have seen that representatives of American, British and European countries are given better treatment than employees on simple employment contracts. Besides, the better your level in the company, the better the living conditions..

But I guess, if you want to work somewhere, you have to accept the working culture of that place.

But I had an amazing experience there in the middle of the desert - a 100 km from the nearest city.. no questions about it.

Posted by Arun Sadhashivan at September 19, 2005 3:12 PM

Deepak Morris hit the nail on the head! I spent quite a bit of time in Dubai while in Desert Shield/Desert Storm. What I saw were the absolute extremes of wealth and poverty. No property or business could be solely owned by an individual - all was shared with the native royalty. The poor were actually shipped in to work in the service industries - nothing short of indentured servitude.

At the same time we spoke with automotive industry people that said it wasn't uncommon for a Prince to drive his car off the road and go buy a new one. Mansions there are built in duplicate and triplicate - one for each wife.

It's a country that espouses the term 'a vulgar display of wealth'.

Posted by Doug Karr at September 19, 2005 6:53 PM

Tom never sees any of that. How could he? Of course all he saw in the windy city was the miracle mile. Travel the world first class and you see nothing.

Posted by Davin Portsmith at September 19, 2005 8:45 PM

That's a little dismissive, Davin, while also somewhat true. To the dismay of my "handlers" in places like Cairo and Rio, I routinely evade their tentacles, and hit the streets and alleys; my own, daily 6-mile power walking ritual helps .. it did in Dubai. In India, for example, I see a long way beyond Bangalore's sparkling campuses as I accompany my wife a couple of times a year to small textile factories in very small and out of the way places. While I don't stay in the townships in South Africa, I do make an effort to get beyond "the bubble"--at home, of course, living on a farm in VT is a constant exercise in the "real world," which I deeply love. In fact, by the time you read this, I hope I'll be back to my brush-cutting chores after catching up on gossip at the local country store, Mach's Market. You just might be surprised ...

Posted by tom peters at September 20, 2005 1:12 AM

Good on yer Tom - you always keep grounded – please never change. I used to work in a bar in a very deprived area here in England - you know - the sort of place people generally did not want to go to if you were considered even ‘half civilized.’ Yet I worked there as a barman for 7 years part time for extra cash and I never experienced a problem and never felt threatened by locals. Sure there was the odd skirmish among customers - always drink related - but the point I am making is that you can avoid all that if you are ‘street wise’ and strangely enough I believe there is a sort of respect if you are offering a service to local people - yep - even as a barman. I was certainly grateful to a couple of the local ‘hard cases’ on more than one occasion when trouble flared in the bar among non-locals. Those two regulars sorted it for us in their own way which meant we did not have to call the local constabulary! I went to South Africa a couple of years ago and like you Tom, common sense told me not to go for a sight seeing trip around the townships armed with my video camera and a wallet filled with cash and dressed in my designer shades, T-shirt and trainers!! One has to be sensible and more importantly RESPECTFUL of the locals. To see the townships was great for one's education and personal development. Interestingly whilst in South Africa I did not see any violence whatsoever - I saw much more in tranquil Torquay in Idyllic Devon in England on a normal Saturday night!!! My opinion is - common sense, pragmatism and respect for the local culture will teach you and help you survive. A bit rambly but I hope you get my point.

Posted by Trevor Gay at September 20, 2005 3:01 AM

It's not so much the heat, it's the stupidity. Seriously though, it is heating up both figuratively and literally in the Middle East. According to Internet World Statistics, Internet Usage growth is highest in the Middle East, showing a growth of 311.9% over the last 5 years. The region is followed by Latin America/Carribean with an increase of 277.1% and Africa with growth of 258.3%. North America shows the slightest growth (understandably) of 106.7%. Go to http://www.internetworldstats.com

Posted by Tom O'Leary at September 20, 2005 8:29 AM

Isn't this just another exercise in exploiting the environment. Does anyone really need ALL that development? Have the long-term consequences been evaluated? Will the environment there suffer like the Amazon Rainforest environment has suffered?

Just like we can't hide our head in the sand and pretend that what the American economy does has no impact on the world's environment; neither can China or India or Russia or any other country claim innocence.

We have only one earth.

I'm not saying that there should never be and progress. I am saying that we need to be a great deal more selective in what we do before we do it and live to regret it.

"No man is an island..."

Posted by Nick at September 20, 2005 9:51 AM

Nick,

Giving credit where it is due, I'd have to say the UAE government has done a very good job as far as the environment goes. Almost every first-time visitor exclaims, "Where's the desert?" Dubai is one of the greenest spots out there. And that greenery is man-made.

My beef is with the "human" side of the whole enterprise. Dubai shines, but on whose sweat? Is that sweat being recognised and compensated - not merely in monetary terms, but in terms of human dignity?

Deepak

Posted by Deepak Morris at September 20, 2005 11:51 AM

The Mall of America is too big. Once I walked it and counted the number of unique stores (2), I was left wondering what the big deal happened to be. I'm not going to shop a mall that is so many multiples bigger.

Here in San Antonio, we had a wonderful mall. We did all our Chistmas shopping there. Then, the mall went tourist. Then, another mall was built on the extended river downtown, so the tourist component went there. Now, it doesn't fit real people's lives. Another mall just opened. That mall intends to capture all the commerce by rich people from other countries. Our mall still won't go back to being a place that was part of our lives.

We don't have to go to other countries to see exploitive labor situations. Your local grocery store is probably just such an employer. When you find working poor, you also find tax subsidization of the employer. If the employees are on food stamps, we are providing that employer with free labor. Then, we wonder why service is so bad. How can anyone worried about running out of gas and not making it to work in a few days give good service?

Posted by David Locke at September 25, 2005 10:07 PM

Tom, enjoyed our chat in the Marriot after your Spetember gig (I take my hat off to you power walking / jogging in that heat and humidity!). You need to get that entrance music sorted out - don't think "We will rock you" will do it though!

"Re-imagine" rocks and the format is cool, I've lifted a few tasty morsels on the innovation theme to hit my academic colleagues with (including the Business school folks). Seeking out those "Michaelangelo's" of not changing a bit for anyone. Ever!

Posted by Martin Plant at September 28, 2005 7:43 AM