It is Eid al Fitr - the celebration of the end of the Muslim Holy month of Ramadan. It's a nice time to be here with an atmosphere of peace and goodwill to all men, focus on family and some serious shopping. Not unlike Xmas in the Christian world.
The use of the lunar calendar is a bit of a pain for those of us who grew up with a fixed solar calendar. Dates move by about 11 days every year relative to our western calendar and the need for a physical moon sighting makes planning a bit of a hit or miss affair.
I had meetings planned for today because I wasn't expecting Eid till tomorrow. but the holiday was declared at the last minute yesterday and so now I'm here sipping coffee and contemplating going for an afternoon nap instead.
In practice this uncertainty is no problem. You get used to it in time and adjust to a different way of doing things. At least you do if you stay. A lot of western expats fail to adjust and their sojourn in the region becomes a nightmare of missed deadlines, flexible timings, and a general attitude of things taking their own sweet time. It drives western schedule driven business people crazy. Because we have a fundamentally different relationship with time here.
Partially it's driven by the flexibility inherent in the calendar. Partly it's driven by a fatalistic approach to life in general that is belief driven. Partly it's driven by the climate which makes the idea of hurry anathema - not to mention sweaty and smelly.
Superficially our culture here is heavily westernised. Everyone speaks English most of the time. The city looks like any other big city with its skyscrapers and freeways and metro and restaurants and bars and shops. But our real culture is still here and going strong.
It's a Muslim culture above all but you mix in general Arab values, Bedu ideals and Indian philosophy and Filipino peronalities among myriad others and you have an 'eastern' ambience and value set quite different from the US and western Europe.
If you cannot adapt to that and insist on maintaining your western mindset you will hate it here. I am always surprised by how many do hate it here and never get their minds around leting go and joining in.
We talk about learning the corporate culture all the time in business. Of understanding and fitting in and so on. We know about Vision and Mission and Shared Values and teach courses endlessly on the subject. It's no different for a society as a whole.
I just wish more expats would learn to drop their 'it's better at home' mindset
05 October 2011
Today I was going to my favourite client using the Metro here in Dubai. It was busy being the end of the rush hour. The train pulled in and on the arrivals platform the mass rushed the door as usual. Of course being the rush hour there were also a whole heap of people who wanted to get off.
So gridlock ensues. People can't get in or out. Everyone just stands there like selfish lemons going nowhere.
Except for the elderly Indian lady near the back of the morass trying to get off. Elbows swinging and handbag swaying she plows through the inside mob and berates the idiots outside till they cower back a little to let her and a handful of others off. And she held them just long enough for the policeman to arrive and clear the mob and let a few more people off. Well most of them.
It's an automatic driverless system. The doors closed. Not everyone got off who wanted to. No one at all got on at that doorway. Including me.
I left the very annoyed Indian lady making her way down the escalator and the even more annoyed policeman handing out tickets. I got on the next train. When milder versions of the foregoing played themselves out again at every carriage.
I wonder why so many over here don't understand that sometimes self-interest dictates giving way to the other side? It never ever happens in this culture. Not in business; certainly not on the roads; and nor apparently on the Metro.
Bah...humanity.
So gridlock ensues. People can't get in or out. Everyone just stands there like selfish lemons going nowhere.
Except for the elderly Indian lady near the back of the morass trying to get off. Elbows swinging and handbag swaying she plows through the inside mob and berates the idiots outside till they cower back a little to let her and a handful of others off. And she held them just long enough for the policeman to arrive and clear the mob and let a few more people off. Well most of them.
It's an automatic driverless system. The doors closed. Not everyone got off who wanted to. No one at all got on at that doorway. Including me.
I left the very annoyed Indian lady making her way down the escalator and the even more annoyed policeman handing out tickets. I got on the next train. When milder versions of the foregoing played themselves out again at every carriage.
I wonder why so many over here don't understand that sometimes self-interest dictates giving way to the other side? It never ever happens in this culture. Not in business; certainly not on the roads; and nor apparently on the Metro.
Bah...humanity.
28 August 2011
http://tinyurl.com/3m9y7qv
Well it's good to see the government and Met still have some sense left. But they are not the only ones to fail to understand that censorship doesn't work nearly as effectively as proactive positive use of media.
It's the same with most repressive governments. They really don't get that not only are their long term prospects for survival generally better but also their potential for accumulating personal wealth and ensuring personal survival massively improved by making the populace feel comfortable and apathetically compliant than by repressing them and stirring up dissent.
Dissenters - rebels - are highly committed. But most people are not. But if you make them feel unhappy, repressed, fearful and so on you give the dissenters something to work with. Help 'em feel comfortable and lazy and they'll put up with all kinds of stuff that would help the dictators and governments do what they want. Let 'em talk freeely. Let 'em insult you if they want. Sticks and stones...why would the dictator care about words. He or She can use them just as effectively to win friends and influence people.
Hugo Chavez knows that. And it's really pissing off the Americans isn't it?
It's a really simple principle. I'm stunned more don't use it.
That's why there's really so little chance of the Emiratis joining their bretheren in Bahrain or Yemen or even KSA in fomenting dissent. They would have to give up too much. And the rest of us are here as expats...to earn money or enjoy an easy life. We're not going to be making a fuss anytime soon.
Places like Nigeria and South Africa could do well to learn that lesson. And still the Pres. could live like an 18thC European Monarch if so desired!
Well it's good to see the government and Met still have some sense left. But they are not the only ones to fail to understand that censorship doesn't work nearly as effectively as proactive positive use of media.
It's the same with most repressive governments. They really don't get that not only are their long term prospects for survival generally better but also their potential for accumulating personal wealth and ensuring personal survival massively improved by making the populace feel comfortable and apathetically compliant than by repressing them and stirring up dissent.
Dissenters - rebels - are highly committed. But most people are not. But if you make them feel unhappy, repressed, fearful and so on you give the dissenters something to work with. Help 'em feel comfortable and lazy and they'll put up with all kinds of stuff that would help the dictators and governments do what they want. Let 'em talk freeely. Let 'em insult you if they want. Sticks and stones...why would the dictator care about words. He or She can use them just as effectively to win friends and influence people.
Hugo Chavez knows that. And it's really pissing off the Americans isn't it?
It's a really simple principle. I'm stunned more don't use it.
That's why there's really so little chance of the Emiratis joining their bretheren in Bahrain or Yemen or even KSA in fomenting dissent. They would have to give up too much. And the rest of us are here as expats...to earn money or enjoy an easy life. We're not going to be making a fuss anytime soon.
Places like Nigeria and South Africa could do well to learn that lesson. And still the Pres. could live like an 18thC European Monarch if so desired!
16 August 2011
Ramadan and selfish driving
It's the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and here in Dubai we are fasting and
contemplating the universe. Even among us non-Muslims there's a sense of
something special and we try to work ourselves into the national mindset.
Giving to charity, helping the poor and needy and generally being a good
human are a big part of the mood. And so yesterday in a country plagued by
selfish and senseless driving I was horrified to see perhaps the worst
example yet of this kind of behavior made somehow worse by its being
Ramadan.
Two large fire engines, lights flashing, sirens blaring, were working their
way through heavy traffic coming up to a set of lights at a busy
intersection. Where possible cars were (eventually) pulling to one side and
making space for them to come through. As they approached the lights
several cars pulled aside leaving a clear space for them both to come
through on their mission and clear the lights quickly. Just as they reached
the lights a Landcruiser containing a respectable looking middle aged couple
pulled out of the traffic queue in front of the leading fire engine and shot
through the lights accelerating rapidly. The lights were red at the
time... This caused the leading fire engine to brake suddenly and the
following truck to all but rear end the first.
Even though we are all used to seeing arrogant and incompetent driving every
day here I have to say this behaviour shocked me. I also confess to feeling
a stab of very Ramadan inappropriate thought in hoping it was their house
that was burning.
contemplating the universe. Even among us non-Muslims there's a sense of
something special and we try to work ourselves into the national mindset.
Giving to charity, helping the poor and needy and generally being a good
human are a big part of the mood. And so yesterday in a country plagued by
selfish and senseless driving I was horrified to see perhaps the worst
example yet of this kind of behavior made somehow worse by its being
Ramadan.
Two large fire engines, lights flashing, sirens blaring, were working their
way through heavy traffic coming up to a set of lights at a busy
intersection. Where possible cars were (eventually) pulling to one side and
making space for them to come through. As they approached the lights
several cars pulled aside leaving a clear space for them both to come
through on their mission and clear the lights quickly. Just as they reached
the lights a Landcruiser containing a respectable looking middle aged couple
pulled out of the traffic queue in front of the leading fire engine and shot
through the lights accelerating rapidly. The lights were red at the
time... This caused the leading fire engine to brake suddenly and the
following truck to all but rear end the first.
Even though we are all used to seeing arrogant and incompetent driving every
day here I have to say this behaviour shocked me. I also confess to feeling
a stab of very Ramadan inappropriate thought in hoping it was their house
that was burning.
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