Progress has been made – my photo posts through Facebook links worked! I’m working on a nicer looking layout so you can see them in this, but I fear my old PC may be on its last legs, so I’ll limp along this way until I can see if I can change things over using another computer – Sarah be warned – this means your laptop!
While we were still in Abu Dhabi, we decided to go see an exhibit of “A History of the World in 100 Objects” put together by the British Museum. It includes a variety of artifacts from around the world from ancient times to the present – including the first Sharia approved MasterCard – whatever that means. It was actually quite interesting and impressive as to what the British Museum loaned for the exhibit.
It is at the Manarat Al Saadiyat on Saadiyat Island through the end of July. This is one of the main man-made islands that make up the city of Abu Dhabi. The exhibit is one of the ones that are leading up to the grand opening in 2016 of the Zayed National Museum. The nickname for Saadiyat Island is “Museum Island” because in addition to the National Museum, there are plans for satellite museums of the Louvre and the Guggenheim (complete with a Geary design). There is a model of the grand plan for the island – museum and cultural buildings, as well as residences and hotels. I’m hoping that the National Museum, although I’m sure it will be grand, will not keep people from going out to Al Ain to see where modern Abu Dhabi really started.
The construction of the buildings on Saadiyat Island in particular has made the news as far as foreign construction worker abuses. I’m guessing it’s because of the involvement of high profile museums, the British Museum, the Louvre and the Guggenheim, in the project. Clearly this is not a pretty situation, and it certainly exists. Some say it’s better than it used to be, but what amounts to indentured servitude for construction workers and housekeepers is still present in the UAE and other parts of the Middle East. This issue and charges of bribery is making FIFA revisit the awarding of the World Cup to Qatar. I often wonder about this as I look across the marina watching a building going up. It is my understanding that during the hottest months construction workers are not supposed to have to work between the hours of 12-3 in the afternoon. I really don’t know if this is enforced; it looks like they work through the night from the way the site is lighted at night.
Not all workers are abused. Only fourteen percent of the population of the UAE is Emirati – thus it’s pretty clear that foreign workers are vital to the economy, so it behooves Emirati employers to keep guest workers happy – international trade attorneys included ;-). Seriously, literacy skills (so one knows what they are signing) and education level makes the difference. The taxi driver who took me to the airport last month is from Sri Lanka. He worked in Saudi Arabia for 4 years, first in a Burger King, then in a telephone call center. He says that he only got one vacation during this period, but in the UAE he is able to work for eight or nine months a year and then can go back to Sri Lanka for a long visit. Of course, comparison of labor abuses throughout the Middle East doesn’t make the situation in the UAE better – there are virtually no labor protection laws – a definite downside of the race to progress here
Judy and Richard - 1001 Arabian Nights 