On tennis and politics

I guess everyone in the world has heard about Israeli tennis player Shahar Peer being denied entry into the UAE...and the UAE's cowardly decision to grand another Israeli player, Andy Ram, a visa to participate in the Barclay's tennis tournament next week. Because let's face it, as soon as an Israeli's "rights" are being violated, the world's media goes into a frenzy to make sure everyone hears about it.

When I first heard about Peer being denied entry, I was not surprised. It makes perfect sense to me given that a lot of Arabs who do not have dual nationality are unable to enter Israel. An Emarati citizen for example, could never set foot in Israel, so why should an Israeli be able to come here?

But at the same time, deep down, I was waiting to see how the government would react to the pressure that was being put by the Women's Tennis Association, with threats of canceling the tournament next year, and with the media going into a frenzy about this whole thing.

And of course, they caved. They caved under the pressure and granted Andy Ram a visa.

Which begs the question: why the double standards? Why not stick to your decision and live by it?

I find it absolutely hilarious (for lack of a better word) that just last month, Sheikh Mohammed's Dubai Cares organized a massive drive to help Gazans following the ethnic cleansing spree Israel conducted...and now, less than a month later, Dubai is granting a visa to an Israeli tennis player.

Which begs another question: would an Emarati football player for example be able to get into Israel to play a football match? For some reason, I find that possibility highly unlikely...

Yes, this post may seem harsh, and biased to some, but it's coming from a very personal place. A place where my elderly aunt who lives here in the UAE, and who only has a Lebanese passport, is unable to see her 2 sisters who live in Israel, for the pure and simple reason that she has a Lebanese passport, and they have Israeli passports.

It comes from a place where my siblings and I did not get to meet our cousins and aunts who live in Israel, until we got our Canadian passports...because that was the only way for us to visit the land where my father was born, the land where his father and mother lived and raised them, the land where he went to school, the land where my father formed his earliest memories.

In a way, I hope that the tennis tournament will be canceled next year...Maybe it'll serve as a lesson to all those involved...A lesson on how to stand up for what's right...

State of the nation...

I haven't been a very prolific blogger this year have I? Apologies for being away for so long...It's almost February and I have no clue where the first month of the year has gone.

Oh ya, I know. Work. Been really busy, which I guess is a good thing these days. But no one's safe, really. I keep hearing of people being laid off, from different industries. And it's not just dozens of people...no...it's hundreds of people being laid off at once. Scary. So has the bubble finally burst?

And what's scarier is that they say (not sure who "they" is but it's OK. Humour me for a second here) that the worst is yet to come. My company has not laid off anyone yet, but that's not to say that it ain't gonna happen eventually. They're being very nice and considerate about it but at the end of the day, there's a bottom line they need to worry about and that comes first, right? So yeah, no one's safe.

I guess there are couple of good things that have come out of this situation so far:

1) Less traffic. Has anyone noticed that there are less cars in Dubai? Is it because there are less people or because more people are leaving their cars at home (or sold their cars)?

2) Less useless people getting paid for doing nothing. I equate this economic crisis to a good detergent, getting rid of a bunch of people who were overpaid and under-productive. And making sure that the people who DO have a job are actually working. Like real estate agents for example. Now, they actually have to do a selling job, rather than just serve as a middle-man between the buyer and the seller.

3) Lower rents? Not that I've experienced that as of yet, and again, "they" say that in a couple of months, rents will go down even more. But is that really true? I am highly concerned because I am on the hunt for a bigger apartment. Not by choice really. If I could, I would stay put rather than having to pay over Dhs 160K for a 2 bedroom. Can I find anything for less than that in the "New Dubai" area? Oh, and is it a good time to be buying? Or should I stick to renting?

Will be back soon. Promise.

Dubai Cares

Just got back from the Dubai Cares volunteering campaign for Gaza. A great way to spend the afternoon. It's taking place at the Emperor hall at DIFC, and there were literally hundreds of people already waiting in line by the time we got there a little after 2PM today. But the line moved pretty quickly and that was largely due to the efficient organization of the team running the campaign, who were quick to dispatch volunteers to various stations across the hall. There were two floors that were fully occupied.

When we first walked into the hall, it really seemed like complete chaos. But we soon got a grip on what was happening, as an assembly line was formed. Some people were taping the boxes, others were filling them, some were sent on the hunt for more supplies, while others were closing the boxes and transporting them to the storage area. Everyone was working quickly and efficiently, and it was great to see parents bring their kids along to have them participate in this great initiative. And it was also great to see people from different nationalities participating in the effort.

We were in charge of putting together the hygiene kit which consisted of 2 toothbrushes, a towel, 2 bars of soap, baby shampoo, toothpaste, detergent, 2 combs and 2 toilet paper rolls. Others were putting together a school kit for kids. And I believe there was also a first aid kit station, but I'm not sure about that.

Thousands of boxes were filled today alone, and the campaign has been going on since last Wednesday. The last day is tomorrow and they are starting at 10AM (till 6PM) so if you can, do take the time to spend a couple of hours there tomorrow. It's really worth it.

I just hope that all these boxes will reach the citizens of Gaza sooner rather than later. God only knows that they are in dire need of these supplies.

Hello

It's been a while....Haven't posted here since....well...last year!
Not much to report on except for a hectic month of December (out of town family visiting, lots and lots of time spent in malls, lots of work too...whoever said December is a slow month was lying!, plus a trip to Beirut over the New Year holiday).

Been back for a week now, battling a nasty cold that just won't seem to go away.

But I did want to share my disgust about the situation in Gaza. I can't believe the pictures and the reports that are coming out of there. And I can't believe that the only reaction that's come out of Arab leaders is silence. How can anyone be silent when you hear of innocent civilians being killed, of children clinging to their dead mothers' bodies for days, of people living in a state of constant fear, with no electricity, no food, nowhere to go, of people bleeding to death because Israel has restricted access to emergency and first aid vehicles?

The Arab community here and around the region has been extremely supportive, organizing rallies and demonstrations, collecting food, clothes, blankets and medical supplies to send to Gaza. Everyone, even the least politically-involved, has been touched and affected by what's been happening. So why have Arab governments remained silent? Why has nothing been done to stop this genocide?

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank Moryarti for informing people about the Aramex campaign for Gaza, and the Gaza care packages that you can buy in pharmacies.

I'd also like to urge you to read Laila's blog. Although she does not live in Gaza, her parents do, and the stories she tells on their behalf are simply horrifying.

May the souls of all those innocent lives rest in peace.

Emirates ID

Does ID stand for "Idiocy...Definitely" or "Incredibly Daft"? Because the whole process is a mess apparently.

If you have 5 minutes and would like to laugh your pants off, check out Fake Plastic Souk's hilarious post on the Emirates ID saga... Stand-up comedy material I tell ya!

I have yet to experience what many others have been experiencing around me, because my company is trying to get our IDs done all together, as a company. My fingers are crossed that this will, in fact, happen, because I cannot imagine dealing with the frustration of trying to get this done by the end of the year. Imagine the loss in productivity if each of us had to be absent from work for half a day (or a full day)to figure this out... Ridiculous!

My family in Abu Dhabi has experienced the same frustrations as everyone else, trying to fill out the application on the website, queuing in line for endless hours. There is no clear process and there are no clear answers.

I think it's safe to say that the December 31st deadline is simply not realistic. Someone, somewhere, better wake up and smell the coffee and do something about this....

PS: Just as I was finishing up this post, we got an e-mail saying that applying as a company is no longer possible as this service was cancelled. Oh GREAT!

It's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas...

....well, Christmas in the Gulf at least!

I've only ever spent the holiday season in the UAE. I've never had a white Christmas. The idea of going to the beach on Christmas day is definitely not a foreign one to me.

I love it when the weather starts cooling down, and there's a nice, almost chilly breeze in the evenings, almost requiring a little jacket or a pashmina...

I love it when you wake up in the morning, and it's a beautifully sunny day, and it's the absolutely perfect temperature for spending the day at the beach.

I love it when you can walk outside without breaking into a sweat (or without you hair frizzing up at the sight of humidity...)

The change of weather also usually means a more relaxed time for me. I tend to take a few days off in December to spend them with some family members that visit from overseas... And it's usually a less hectic time at the office anyway, so I don't mind going into work if I have to.

I love "winter" in the UAE :)

Stop/Start

No, I'm not referring to how frequently I update this blog....I'm referring to the way some (most) taxi drivers drive their cars in this city.

I'm guessing they all went to the same driving school, because they all tend to press on the gas pedal for a couple of seconds, then take their foot off it for a couple of seconds, then press on it again for a couple of seconds...and so on and so forth....

Which makes for a very, very unpleasant ride (this is particularly true after a long night filled with boozy antics).

Who has taught these people how to drive? How hard is it to just keep your foot on the pedal? Has anyone else experienced (or been bothered by) this type of driving?

Who's handling the PR for Atlantis?

And do they really think they're doing a good job by letting all this negative publicity surround them, without really responding to it? I know we usually say "all publicity is good publicity" but still...this has got to hurt them at some point, no?

Ever since the opening of the water-themed resort, there has been a slew of reports and articles highlighting how unprepared they were for what was meant to be a soft launch.

From parking woes to check-in fiascoes, from the lack of water (at a water-themed park...ha!) to refusing to book non-hotel guests into their restaurants, Atlantis has really been dominating the news for the past couple of weeks.

And now the latest PR blunder to have come out of Atlantis revolves around "Sammy the Shark", a whale shark that was , apparently fatigued and disoriented and placed in the Atlantis aquarium. Initially, he was meant to stay there just long enough to recover. But now, it seems, Atlantis have decided to keep the shark in the aquarium. And this has upset quite a few people, including Gulf News which has launched a "Free Sammy the Shark" campaign which has now gone global.

And yet, despite all this, Atlantis has barely uttered a word, which makes me think that:
a) They are still scrambling, trying to figure out how to
deal with the situation (release the shark...they'll never win if they keep him)
b) They are deliberately not responding, because they're getting so much publicity anyway so who cares?
c) The whole thing was staged...Sammy the Shark was never really captured off the coast of Jebel Ali, this whole thing about him being fatigued and disoriented was just a story that was spun around the shark to make Atlantis look like heroes. And they did, for a little while, not realizing that it would eventually backfire when people started asking for Sammy to be released. So now they're in deep trouble because Atlantis does not really want to release a shark that they probably bought from somewhere and probably paid a lot of money for.

Yes, I'm speculating here, but really...How convenient is it that the Atlantis "found" this shark just a couple of weeks before they launched? And how odd is it that it was the Atlantis team that announced the capture of the shark, and not some environmental body? And how coincidental is it that Atlantis had "a custom-made transport unit with a highly advanced marine life transport system that was used to ensure the safety and well-being of the animal"??

Hmm??? Sounds a bit fishy to me!

Simply disgusting

There's been a recent wave of illegal dumping of raw sewage in storm water drains over the past few months, and this has now led to the closing of the Dubai Sailing Club due to water contamination.

Basically, sewage tank drivers have found a way to cut corners by dumping sewage in drains and other deserted areas, rather than going to the Al Aweer sewage treatment plant. Why? Because apparently they have to wait for up to 12 hours to dump their load at the treatment plant. And they get paid based on the number of loads they dump.

Little did they know that in doing so, they were causing serious environmental and potential health issues, with E-Coli and bacteria now floating around in the water and on our shores.

So who's to blame here? The drivers? Maybe a little bit, but then again, they're just trying to make a living and are probably oblivious to the fact that they are causing environmental damage.

Do we blame the companies that hire these drivers? Yes definitely. They should be blamed for not keeping a vigilant eye on how they run their business. And for not training their employees properly. Or, maybe they DO know what's happening but decide to turn a blind eye, simply because they only care about how much money they make at the end of the day.

Do we blame Dubai Municipality? For sure! With everything in Dubai growing at breakneck speed, no one thought that we would need more than one sewage treatment plant to handle the load of treating the sewage of an ever-expanding city that gets hundreds of new residents every day. Not only that, it seems that they are not doing a thorough job of warning residents not to swim in contaminated waters, with most beach-goers oblivious to the fact that there's been an illegal sewage dumping issue.

Do we blame Dubai Police? Yes, them too. Although they claim to be dealing with the situation by going after these trucks and fining them, there's also been reports of them being very slow in reacting to calls from residents who have spotted these trucks doing their illegal dumping.

All this to say that while we are all willing to put up with the growing pains of Dubai, I, for one, am not willing to accept cutting-corner tactics that may potentially damage my health and harm the environment. It's simply disgusting, and it's simply unacceptable.

I am sick and tired of traffic!

Seriously!

I don't know if it's because it's Ramadan, or because schools started again, or because of construction, or because of Salik, or a combination of all of the above, but traffic in the mornings has been horrendous.

Every single morning, I hear the following traffic report on the radio: Getting out of the Greens, the Springs, the Meadows and Arabian Ranches is a nightmare. And it is! (well, I know in the Greens it is...)

It's simply not normal that it can take up to an hour to get out of the Greens...Just to get on the main road! But no one seems to give a crap...except for the people who live in these places of course. By no one, I mean the RTA and the government. As long as they get to make their money off of Salik, and continue their round-the-clock building of new interchanges, they're happy.