Quote Unquote

We are told that capitalism discovers wants that people did not realize they had and thus moves humanity forward. But it is truer to say that the market economy is sustained by the stimulation of greed and envy through advertising.

The above quote by Robert Skidelsky is an excerpt from one of his articles titled "The Moral Vulnerability of Markets". I read it in the latest edition of The World but unfortunately it is not available on their website. Thanks to google, I found the article online, you can read it here.

Why am I sharing it here? Because I fully agree with the author's point of view. In fact, this is what I have observed in the UAE during the last couple of years. Luxuries have becme basic needs & satisfying those needs the ultimate aim of our lives. I am not sure about other parts of the world, but I can for sure say that blindly following capitalism has definitely not helped "humanity move forward".

A widow, Zainab, who lived in one of the houses with her two teenage daughters, said she had kept some goats and sheep and earned her living selling their milk and meat.

"I have been living here for the past 30 years. I have no place to go. No money to rent another house. The power and water were switched off several days ago," she said.

She said they had received evacuation notices many times in the past, but had nowhere else to go. She said she approached the municipality several times asking for help but was ignored.

The above mentioned incident is not an isolated one. I am sure similar incidents are being repeated frequently across the Emirates as the country marches forward towards "development". But is it really development?

You still want to know why people have started calling the Emirates a place without soul? Is blindly following the laws of demand & supply worth killing the soul of the country? Is this what the country's founders had in mind when they decided to unite & form United Arab Emirates?

Real Builders of UAE

Yet again another post inspired by the articles from The National. I feel their focus is more on the human aspecs of the society instead of "Tallest" & "Biggest" structure stories in other local newspapers. Two articles during the past week caught my attention & both highlighted the lives of poor labourers working in the construction sector.

The first article highlighted the small pleasure enjoyed by people most of us see as inferior to us. Yes they are poor, but the amount of sacrifices they make & the big hearts they have, they are much better than us. An excerpt from that article:

“Tonight, everyone will have meat and rice,” Muntazir Khan says, washing his hands, then pressing them against his beige kurta. “We will eat well.”

Thursday night was a busy night for Khan. His friends were looking forward to dinner, so when he got home from work he went straight into the kitchen.

Inside are all the essentials for a typical Pakistani meal: one shelf has a box of garam masala and a bag of basmati rice, jars of black pepper and lentils, Maggi chicken cubes, and a bag of onions. Another shelf is lined with plastic bowls, spoons, and a pot.

But Khan’s tidy kitchen sits in the middle of a small Mussafah junkyard that doubles as a labour camp for him and another 100 men. For Khan’s friends, his Thursday night dinner is one of their few pleasures – a good meal before their only day off.

The second article was in fact a column by Mishaal Al Gergawi. Below is an excerpt:

These labourers come here to work out of need not want. Believe me, most of them would rather be back home with their families — it’s not like they hang out at Starbucks after they get off work anyway! And yes, obviously, their compensation here is substantially higher than they would receive in their home country, which is why they are here.

Yet you hear people saying: “They are so lucky they are here; it’s not like they are hungry or cold, and they will get their pay eventually.”

So let’s see if your average corporate executive would forgo his or her pay for a few months till their employer lands a major account — would they feel they were lucky to be fed and housed?

Both articles very well described the ground reality. I hope some day UAE is lauded not for its super structures but for the quality living standard people living on its soil enjoy, irrespective of their race, religion & income. Or am I asking for too much?

What is Beauty?

An excerpt from an article about Ras al Khaimah's royal family in today's edition of The National.
“There is a new beauty saloon opening here every other day,” he says. “Why are women chasing fake powders and puffy hair?” the Sheikh complains. “Emirati women are beautiful as they are, so it is disappointing to see how much make-up they put on.”

“It is ugly,” he adds. “A woman’s beauty is in how she presents herself.”
What do you think? :-)

Benefits of Capitalism

What is Happiness?

Despite the obvious failings in development, Mrs Kaabi, who has lived in the same home for 30 years, is happy. She said with a smile: “I have all my children here with me. How many city mothers can say that?

This is the last paragraph of an article which appeared in the first issue of The National, the newest English newspaper in the UAE. I must say that I am really impressed, I hope they will maintain the same standards in the coming months & years.

I am really speechless. I see
people who are blessed with all the wordly comforts & yet they are not satisfied. And here we have a "poor" (as per our standards) lady from Fujairah who is happy & content with her life. This story reminds me of a hadith I had quoted earlier in one of my posts.

Narrated Abu Huraira: The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Riches does not mean, having a great amount of property, but riches is self contentment."