downtime

I've killed my computer (again) so am presently sitting at my desk, blogging on the blackberry and hoping that my computer might wake up. This may be a silly idea, reflecting my idealism and naieveity (sp?), but as the helpdesk telephone number isn't working I'm all out of other options - and my care factor has plummeted. So, as I mentioned, I'm blogging on the blackberry instead.

Twitter continues to fascinate me, though my dabble with TwitterBerry hasn't gone well - I blame the prehistoric blue-wheely berry that work gave me. I know it is time for this ridiculous relic to go swimming in my tea, but it would be better if this tragic accident happened at a more convenient time. Which is obviously... never, and so we plod along.

The UK press vs. Dubai debacle continues, with various nitwits putting their 10c in here and there. Mr Kane displayed the breadth of his contact list in The National, retaining a hint of the AMG party line despite his departure from that particular stable. Sultan al Quassmi's rant at the Indie was ridiculous - childish and incredibly poorly thought out. If he honestly believed that diatribe would force Hind to rethink his snarky tone, he was smoking something that I thought was illegal in this town. Brilliant plan - attack our critics, armed with not a single fact or concrete rebuttal, but with empassioned rants about their faults. That is precisely how to show the world that you a reasonable, intelligent, 21st century guy, taking on board the inevitable problems of any fast-growing society and clearly demonstrating the steps that actually ARE being taken to address these issues. No, no, just point fingers in every other direction, in the hope people will get distracted. Brilliant.

For the record, here's my 2c.

When I got here, and when I was growing up, labour camps were things of horror - literally tents, with no washrooms/sewage pipes, let alone overflowing toilets. In the 7 years I've lived here, I've heard every angle of the argument a million times. Here's what I think:
* you can't stop people paying crooks to get them out of the subcontinent in search of these dream jobs. Education in these countries would help, but realistically, this has been going on for 20+ yrs, it is entrenched. Not a reason to fight it, but a truth often overlooked.
* the money these people earn in a few years is eqivalent to a lifetime's salary. That's why they still come. (Tho nowadays with better economic conditions in the subcontinent this is less true than it was - thankfully - but again, urban legend/proof of "riches" from those who've been and returned still convinces people it'll be worth it)
* the conditions that many/most labourers live in are unacceptable and must be changed. They are improving - gradually - but it isn't fast enough, nor is it high enough on the government's agenda. This will take time, and the media has a responsibility to keep pushing it in to the limelight.
* there have been changes for the positive, and I think these should be highlighted. When I worked with Aldar, we held a press conference in a new labour camp that we were opening and invited the media. They had strict specs for all camps. Also, the camps in al Quoz didn't exist 7yrs ago, they were in the desert - now there are new accomodation blocks with shops, bowling alleys - a community. These positive steps are never recognized by the critics.
* idiots exist in every country, and if you go looking for a quote, you can usually find one. Especially if you head for Double Decker - skank pub to beat all skank pubs - in search of a quote that makes all british expats look like drunk racist morons.

So there we go. I hold my hands up and say - yes - I'm an expat, and my views may not fit in to a defined world view according to the UK press. We're still in touch with Freddy, the Filipeno man who cleaned our house in saudi (lived in his own room in provided accomodation by the company - worked for about 5 families - much like a cleaner in the UK - except that he put three kids through private school, built a 4bd house and a shop). We'll stay in touch with Lalanthe - our legendary Sri Lankan cleaner that comes to the villa now, and brought pictures of this 4floor house she's building (again with a shop) back home. It is hard to get your head round, but we don't live in a homogenous world, and I'm happy that I know real people from every walk of life, and have shared pockets of their world. End of lecture - my computer has woken up.