Meandering memoirs of the middle east
Prologue: This a meandering post where I go from reminiscing my childhood memories of summer vacations in Saudi, to the oil economies and present day problems of the region with no particular point to make except just penning my thoughts
I've had a long connection with the middle east. That sounds a bit serious, as though I've been an ambassador or a foreign service official. Fact is, I am just an average Indian whose concept of foreign lands where one pursued financial betterment in the 1980s and 1990s was limited to the USA, South East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and most of all "the Gulf"
My father was a chartered mechanical engineer, whose pursuits for career opportunities outside India took him to the middle east. Between 1985 and 1998 he worked on and off, through a contracting agency, for a few petrochemical refining companies in Saudi Arabia and Iran. I remember spending summer holidays in the unrelenting heat of the border town of Ras Al Khafji between Saudi and Kuwait, the long shopping trips to Riyadh and the few trips we made to Bahrain to visit my mum's cousin. My memories of these visits are very patchy as I was between 4,5years old respectively on both my vacation trips to visit my father. The more I dwell on it though, I find slivers of long lost scenes replaying in my mind - smells, sound and sights that have long been forgotten.
Like the big glass jar which my father had in the bedroom to drop loose change and unburden his wallet, the small litle sanctum of hindu deities my mum kept hidden away in one of the kitchen cupboards (there were regular inspections carried out by company housing officials to ensure that other religions weren't being actively practised by the expatriate population), the smell of the washing powder in the laundry room, the music in my dad's car (old tamil melodies by Illayraja) My best friend whose name I cant remember now (was it Khaled?) with whom I used to get up to all sorts of tricks (we started his dad's car engine once - two 5 year olds, imagine that!), the evening visit to the warm, sultry beach et al. What stands out in photographs which I just cant remember distinctly now is that my mum and I had to wear the hijab.
Years later when my father was working in Tabriz, Iran (where I did not visit him) he spoke of the snow, the delectable food, of enightened 'Persians' upon whom the cultural revolution had forced backward Islamist values - their secret parties, drinking and music and their stylish,liberal women. All of this I just listened to and imagined a far away land that was very different from the Arab world I had seen. Then one summer, an Iranian couple who were friend's with my dad visited us in Hyderabad to attend a Vipasana meditation course. They were a spiritual pair in pursuit of peace and enlightenment. I distinctly remember the excitement, the curiosity and the sense of uniqueness I felt at having"foreign" guests at our home. I was thrilled with the sweets and cheese they bought us and enjoyed the sight seeing tour around town that my parents took them on, with me in tow.
Several years later in 2003, my maternal uncle travelled to the middle east for better wages and more opoprtunities. He moved throught Muscat, Oman, Dubai and finally settles in Abu Dhabi over a span in 15 years. I spent a summer vacation in Duabi with my cousin with just the two of us travelling from Hyderabad to Dubai our first trip abroad with no adult supervision! Needless to say it was extremely exciting. We went around town in buses, walked about freely, engaged in unashamed consumerism in Dubai's famed malls, took long walks on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Around 4 years later I joined a oilfield services company and my induction programme was in Abu Dhabi. By this time my uncle had moved to AD as well. I spent 2 weeks in one of the biggest training ceneters I have seen in my life. I was smitten by the opulence of the training center, the guest accommodation and the kind of treatment we recieved. I returned for a 2 month training course in 2009. This time, while the day was reserved for a gruelling training programme, a few nights and weekends were spent partying, visiting nightclubs, lavish restaurants etc at the company's expense. By this time I also began to understand the economics of oil and why these countries were so rich. Nonetheless the interplay of Islam, oil revenues, economic development and governance was still an enigma to me - why was Saudi so different from the UAE? And what of Iran - why were they being isolated by the west? Was it true that oil was the root of all problems that the middle east was facing or was it religious fundamentalism too?
Last week I went back to Abu Dhabi after a 5 year gap. The amount I learned on this trip about the UAE, the formation and unificationof the Emirates, their independence from British rule, the vision and execution of the first rules of modern UAE and how he engaged with the west and his own people was fascinating. I learnt about the $1.3 trillion emirati fund, about a king who took a country from the dark ages to the 21st century in 60 years, about a nation that chose to take a distinctly different path, economically, from that of its Nothern neighbour despite having the same religious beliefs and how the world economy as well as the Emirati people have benefited from this choice.
The middle east has been a troubled area ever since western nations discovered the wealth of oil reserves that the region possesses. This fact is indisputable. This is further complicated by a medieval religion which demands intolerance in a highly interconnected and globalised world. My visit to Turkey, conversations with a Syrian colleague, exposure to documentaries on Lebannon, Egypt and other countries of the Levant, has helped me glimpse the cultural richness and beauty of these places in terms of their arts, music and heritage. That the dominant religion of the region has not been able to evolve and lend itself to present day realities is a real pity.
Despite this fact, I remain a firm optimist. I believe the internet and social media have connected us like never before. The masses in the middle east have and will continue to benefit from this over time, in terms of opening minds. People in the west will slowly but surely move away from mindless consumption and consumerism. The greed for oil will diminish as alternate sources of fuel and technological advancements continue to take place. Western nations have learned tough lessons from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the cost of human lives. Over the next century, advancements in technology, science, healthcare and growing global awareness will help eradicate the issues of terrorism and intolerance we see today. This is my hope..
I've had a long connection with the middle east. That sounds a bit serious, as though I've been an ambassador or a foreign service official. Fact is, I am just an average Indian whose concept of foreign lands where one pursued financial betterment in the 1980s and 1990s was limited to the USA, South East Asian countries like Singapore, Malaysia and most of all "the Gulf"
My father was a chartered mechanical engineer, whose pursuits for career opportunities outside India took him to the middle east. Between 1985 and 1998 he worked on and off, through a contracting agency, for a few petrochemical refining companies in Saudi Arabia and Iran. I remember spending summer holidays in the unrelenting heat of the border town of Ras Al Khafji between Saudi and Kuwait, the long shopping trips to Riyadh and the few trips we made to Bahrain to visit my mum's cousin. My memories of these visits are very patchy as I was between 4,5years old respectively on both my vacation trips to visit my father. The more I dwell on it though, I find slivers of long lost scenes replaying in my mind - smells, sound and sights that have long been forgotten.
Like the big glass jar which my father had in the bedroom to drop loose change and unburden his wallet, the small litle sanctum of hindu deities my mum kept hidden away in one of the kitchen cupboards (there were regular inspections carried out by company housing officials to ensure that other religions weren't being actively practised by the expatriate population), the smell of the washing powder in the laundry room, the music in my dad's car (old tamil melodies by Illayraja) My best friend whose name I cant remember now (was it Khaled?) with whom I used to get up to all sorts of tricks (we started his dad's car engine once - two 5 year olds, imagine that!), the evening visit to the warm, sultry beach et al. What stands out in photographs which I just cant remember distinctly now is that my mum and I had to wear the hijab.
Years later when my father was working in Tabriz, Iran (where I did not visit him) he spoke of the snow, the delectable food, of enightened 'Persians' upon whom the cultural revolution had forced backward Islamist values - their secret parties, drinking and music and their stylish,liberal women. All of this I just listened to and imagined a far away land that was very different from the Arab world I had seen. Then one summer, an Iranian couple who were friend's with my dad visited us in Hyderabad to attend a Vipasana meditation course. They were a spiritual pair in pursuit of peace and enlightenment. I distinctly remember the excitement, the curiosity and the sense of uniqueness I felt at having"foreign" guests at our home. I was thrilled with the sweets and cheese they bought us and enjoyed the sight seeing tour around town that my parents took them on, with me in tow.
Several years later in 2003, my maternal uncle travelled to the middle east for better wages and more opoprtunities. He moved throught Muscat, Oman, Dubai and finally settles in Abu Dhabi over a span in 15 years. I spent a summer vacation in Duabi with my cousin with just the two of us travelling from Hyderabad to Dubai our first trip abroad with no adult supervision! Needless to say it was extremely exciting. We went around town in buses, walked about freely, engaged in unashamed consumerism in Dubai's famed malls, took long walks on the beach and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.
Around 4 years later I joined a oilfield services company and my induction programme was in Abu Dhabi. By this time my uncle had moved to AD as well. I spent 2 weeks in one of the biggest training ceneters I have seen in my life. I was smitten by the opulence of the training center, the guest accommodation and the kind of treatment we recieved. I returned for a 2 month training course in 2009. This time, while the day was reserved for a gruelling training programme, a few nights and weekends were spent partying, visiting nightclubs, lavish restaurants etc at the company's expense. By this time I also began to understand the economics of oil and why these countries were so rich. Nonetheless the interplay of Islam, oil revenues, economic development and governance was still an enigma to me - why was Saudi so different from the UAE? And what of Iran - why were they being isolated by the west? Was it true that oil was the root of all problems that the middle east was facing or was it religious fundamentalism too?
Last week I went back to Abu Dhabi after a 5 year gap. The amount I learned on this trip about the UAE, the formation and unificationof the Emirates, their independence from British rule, the vision and execution of the first rules of modern UAE and how he engaged with the west and his own people was fascinating. I learnt about the $1.3 trillion emirati fund, about a king who took a country from the dark ages to the 21st century in 60 years, about a nation that chose to take a distinctly different path, economically, from that of its Nothern neighbour despite having the same religious beliefs and how the world economy as well as the Emirati people have benefited from this choice.
The middle east has been a troubled area ever since western nations discovered the wealth of oil reserves that the region possesses. This fact is indisputable. This is further complicated by a medieval religion which demands intolerance in a highly interconnected and globalised world. My visit to Turkey, conversations with a Syrian colleague, exposure to documentaries on Lebannon, Egypt and other countries of the Levant, has helped me glimpse the cultural richness and beauty of these places in terms of their arts, music and heritage. That the dominant religion of the region has not been able to evolve and lend itself to present day realities is a real pity.
Despite this fact, I remain a firm optimist. I believe the internet and social media have connected us like never before. The masses in the middle east have and will continue to benefit from this over time, in terms of opening minds. People in the west will slowly but surely move away from mindless consumption and consumerism. The greed for oil will diminish as alternate sources of fuel and technological advancements continue to take place. Western nations have learned tough lessons from the war in Iraq and Afghanistan at the cost of human lives. Over the next century, advancements in technology, science, healthcare and growing global awareness will help eradicate the issues of terrorism and intolerance we see today. This is my hope..
posted by Archana Ramana @ 8:47 AM
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