Momentary Musings: 2006

26 November 2006

Take a pledge on Obesity

Today being World Obesity Day, I’m sure there would be some kind of opinions voiced from anyone who wishes to offer their pennies on the subject! Especially when UAE has a substantial number of residents who are already on their way to obesity! (Perhaps on my part I already gave my pennies away… see here and here and here).

However, the question that bothers me continuously is: Are we really serious enough on this issue? Almost on every second day we see some article in the newspapers talking about the subject, or see some dietician or a health official commenting on the issue with some authority! But any kind of concrete solutions are almost none! No wonder that 20% of high school children are facing an obese future in UAE (based on a Global School based Health Survey in UAE – conducted by WHO, UNAid, UNICEF and Unesco)

Gulf news perhaps attempted for the umpteenth time to put some sense among the masses – by targeting school kids as the most important segment to be prevented from this pandemic this time. You can see the coverage here, here, here and here.

Here are some important facts and information tid-bits from Gulf News:

1. 50% of school children eat fruit and vegetable at least once a day. These are the ones who have been taught the benefits of healthy eating.

2. 12% of kids aged 12-16 yrs are already obese in UAE, while 20% + are under risk of being obese.

3. Boys are more obese than girls; however the trend reverses for overweight children.

4. 20% eat shawarmas, biryani, carbonated drinks or high fat food at least twice a day!

5. 18% eat fast food at least thrice a week!

6. 25% of children are found obese in UK

7. 17% of kids aged 2-19 yrs are obese and 34% are overweight in USA

8. 5.6% of young adults in China are obese, while 17.6% are overweight

9. Suggested Top ten brain foods for youngsters: Fish; Nuts and seeds; Soya products; Pulses; Wholegrains; Broccoli; Organic eggs; Cheese; Fruits; Ostrich meat.

Taking these as responsible parents, let us take a pledge to consciously to prevent our progenies being affected by this pandemic

12 November 2006

Roads to Compulsive Shopping

Further to my previous post on this blog, there’s additional evidence that UAE indeed encourages binge shopping.

An in-depth report in Gulf News today, quotes AC Nielsen that:

UAE boasts the 2^nd highest number of per-capita recreational shoppers in the world: 30% of the consumers in UAE go shopping “at least once a week” (compared to 36% in Hong Kong)
49% of UAE consumers regard clothes shopping as a necessity chore – the highest in the world! - 13% find it therapeutic to shop for clothes
An average UAE shopper takes 4 shopping trips every week, making a purchase on 7 out of 10 visits to the mall
An average UAE consumer spends 127 hours per year in supermarkets alone!

As mentioned earlier, there's an increasing trend towards recreational shopping in UAE. Within the recreational shoppers, chances are great that there are many for whom shopping is an obsession / compulsion.

Currently, per capita shopping area in Dubai is 4 times that of USA! With the new malls in place, when the overall retail space in UAE quadruples by 2010, there will be even more chances that more and more people in UAE would be induced to shopping as a recreation than a necessity – hence again contributing stimulus for “Compulsive Shopping”.

Apart from some ideas proposed before, what else can we do to avoid the disorder taking over?

What's the future of "Family"?

“To be or not to be” - Hamlet’s famous dilemma could perhaps be well applied to the question of marriage and family today. With life becoming faster, and relationships more volatile, the dilemma of whether to have an arranged marriage or whether to sustain live-in relationships, is increasingly attracting more debate.

A recent report by Gulf News discussed the issue Pre-Marital relationship from the perspectives of various readers. As expected, it generated strong but mixed reaction. You can read them all here.

Why do people get into pre-marital relationships?
A Gulf News online poll indicated “loneliness” was the top reason (see pie chart). This may be true for a fast developing metro like Dubai, where there’s a substantial population of singles – who came here to shape their career and earnings. However chances are also great that most of these singles are into some kind of relationship with a similar partner – either in a live-in setting or otherwise.

In fact “live-in”, “single-mother” and “single-father” households are perhaps gaining in popularity worldwide. A recent US census indicated that for the first time in 6 years, marriage did not figure in nearly 50.2 % of American family households. It says that: “Unmarried couples gravitated toward big cities… while the farm states…and rural communities… remained bastions of traditionalism.”

Looking at the break-neck speed that Dubai is developing with, it wouldn’t be long when we’d see a similar trend here too. Modern lifestyle, Cost of living and Lengthy work hours force singles to indulge in casual, no-frills relationships, which stay away from getting married, just because responsibilities and social pressures of “married couples” are too much to cope up.

But since UAE law is based upon Shariah, how such relationships are allowed to exist in Dubai? Is it because another law discourages person to sponsor a married partner on basis of lower monthly income? Is there any trend that we’re looking at, but not accepting?

And talking of families, it is now a widely known phenomenon that - thanks to steep rise in rents and hence inflation - many of the middle-class households are breaking into singles – thus leaving the ground open for casual relationships among expatriates. Maybe soon we’d see “raising families” draw the least attention among priorities among Expats in Dubai. Again, is there anything we’re missing out here?

Your turn dear readers…

Price of Life!

Recently an Ajman court ruling on “sufficient compensation” for the death of a 5 year old schoolgirl immensely disturbed me. The court had refused the Indian parent’s claim of Dhs 3 million blood money, and thus ruled that Dhs 100,000 was a sufficient compensation.

The news started me thinking on some basic moral, judicial and human issues:

How does one decide the price of a life? Especially a 5 year-old school girl?
What would have been the case if the schoolgirl was a national? Definitely it would have been more?
Is Dhs 100,000 enough? Or for that matter is even a Dhs 3 million enough?
Can money really replace the life of a child?
Or is the driver really punished if he pays a blood money, sent to jail and his licence revoked for a month?

Personally I feel that the price of life can never be equated against blood money. How can one really decide the price for a life on which rested the dreams of the parents, the years of emotional journeys of giving birth and seeing a life grow up? With all due respects for the judicial system of this country, while the law of paying blood money is definitely well respected, I do not think any jury (or any person) can decide the value of this.

While the final verdict is still subject to appeal to Supreme Court, what do you think of this? Let’s hear it…

(see comments posted on UAE Community blog)

Image Courtesy: http://images.scotsman.com
Technorati :Society. UAE. Blood Money. Law

31 October 2006

Is UAE promoting Compulsive Shopping?

Compulsive Shopping Disorder (CSD) is a psychological disorder which has gained increased attention in the West over the years.

Recent articles in Gulf News and Medical News Today quoting American Journal of Psychiatry indicated that there may be 10 million plus people in US alone, who shop compulsively, placing their work, families and their mental health in jeopardy! And in UAE, going by lower rates for personal loans, frequent launch of attractive credit card promotions (sometimes even by Finance houses), pushing loans to boost bank earnings, and high growth potential for credit cards in the region, we may expect to have our own share of compulsive shoppers soon! In a recent online poll by Gulf News indicated that 16% of respondents do shopping as a therapy – for 6% it’s an addiction, 8% do it to tackle boredom and 2% do it to socialize.

Compulsive Shoppers are those people who "shop till they drop" believing that they will feel better if they do so, and often run their credit cards up to the limit. The behavior may result in interpersonal, occupational, family and financial problems in one's life. In many ways the consequences of this behavior are similar to that of any other addiction.

Looking at the scores of promotions running throughout the year, e.g. DSF, DSS, Ramadan, Eid, Christmas, GITEX, etc. and more, one might tend to think that UAE is indeed promoting more and more shopping! Celebrities coming to Dubai are often quoted saying: "…every time I've come here, I've emptied my purse". The big stores are always embarking on sales and marketing promotions, in order to attract more customers and increase the volume of business: more discounts, competitive prices; added value offers, etc. force the shoppers to buy certain goods – often by impulse.

Shopping in UAE often equates psychiatric treatment. It means different things to different residents; e.g. a cure to combat loneliness; a source of evening entertainment; a venue for a family outing; a source of enhancing one’s self-esteem; or sometimes...just to give rein to a compulsive disorder (see pie chart).

How to avoid shopping habit to degrade into a compulsion?

Although the importance of judging one’s own spending couldn’t be better highlighted, I’ve provided some additional links below to tackle the personal / psychiatric aspect of this.

On a socio-economic level, here are a few ideas worth exploring in UAE:

Ceiling on the number of promotions in a year. For example, 2-3 grand promotions in a year – DSF, DSS and any other one. This will reduce the impulse to “grab the offer” every time.
Ceiling on the extent of discounts advertised. Many a times we see “Up to 70% discounts” in the malls / outlets, which is rubbish! More realistic discount values will restrain the compulsion need for shopping.
All Grand Events need not be equated to heavy promotion. Limiting promotional activities within the grand events will reduce the rush for shopping within those few days of shopping.
Cut down easy loan availability on credit cards. Easy credit on credit cards is one of the worst nuisances existing in the market. Imposing stricter conditions to offer such loans as well as accepting such loans will create a lesser indebted society!
Establish stricter / heavier collaterals on personal loans. This will limit personal loans to situations when you need them badly – not just to pay your credit card or buy that expensive watch! Hence creating a lesser indebted society again!
Enforce stricter rules for Credit Card promotions. Restricting launches of rampant promotions will limit newer customers as well as limit spending on existing credit cards, thus affecting binge buying.
Squeeze cash-flow in the market. Restricted cash flow will retrain spending and hence limit visits to shopping malls.

Some Useful Links:

27 October 2006

More thoughts on Obesity (UAE)

Obesity is a subject that keeps on popping up time and again all over the world. I have commented upon this twice before (see here and here). Gulf News alone gave 100 matches related to obesity (Jan-Oct'06), while the New York Times had 33 matched articles for the last 30 days.

As a resident, I feel there are some ready indicators which safely point towards possible reasons for obesity in UAE. Fast-food and Eating Habits are definitely two of the important reasons.

A recent online poll done by Gulf News gave some interesting results on “use of fast food outlets” in UAE (see the attached pie-chart):

1) A whopping 72% of the respondents polled in favor of eating in a fast food outlet at least once a week!
2) Almost half of the respondents definitely eat in a fast food outlet once a week
3) 6% of the respondents use a fast-food outlet everyday of the week.

A second poll threw some light on the Eating Habits (see the bar chart):
Half of the respondents said they eat because of love of food – 6.3% said they eat because of comfort, while 1.4% each eats because of greed and socializing.

Although the sample-size of the polls is not available to me, I feel the above are good indicators worth pondering upon. For example, if one considers the Emirati community today, obesity is the most alarming! Considering a vast majority of the locals is aged 15-25 years, it’s easy to understand why. Most often than not, one finds group of young men – some of them are at least overweight - are socializing in fast-food joints.

Similarly, if one looks at the subcon families, one again finds that the usual “daily outing” happens to be the fast-food joints! Parents are more often than not overweight. And some of the children are found to be excessively out of shape compared to their ages!

As expressed earlier, my personal opinion is that pricing of food, especially ready-made / fast-food need to be re-looked at, especially in UAE – if not in the whole GCC region! Tax-free income (even though salaries refuse to rise!!), expensive ready-to-wear apparels, recreation opportunities, entertainment, etc. make fast-food the last inexpensive resort to spend money upon. The result? You order more, eat more and waste more… just to have a weekend high! If the fast-food / read-made food is priced higher than usual, the excessive expenditure on fast-food is bound to reduce – thus affecting obesity too!

I know the above solution seems too simplistic or "easier said than done"! However, I open the house to readers to submit more ideas for the benefit of the young nation. Here to you, readers...

20 October 2006

Debating Dubai's Distinctiveness

John B. Chilton, who's writes the Emirates Economist blog, has posted a NYT article on Dubai on UAE Community Blog, which, sort of validates my oft-voiced contention that in its mind-blowing -speed growth initiatives, Dubai - and to some extent UAE as a whole - is fearing the loss of its grip on its Arab identity.

Some quotes from the article:

“We fear that the expatriate is going to impose his culture on us,” said Maya Rashid Ghadeer, a columnist with the daily Al Bayan in Dubai who writes about the local community. “Most locals are afraid that they are losing their basic identity forever.”
"Usually minorities assimilate into the majority,” Mr. Abdulkhaliq Abdallah (a professor of political science at UAE University) said. “But we don’t want to assimilate into the majority. We want to preserve the localness, the Emiratiness of this city.”
“There is this pressure to stake out your claims, especially with the locals,” Mr. James Piecowye - a radio talk show host said. “There is more and more pressure to say, ‘This is how things should be.’ ”

The article raises a few very interesting and thought provoking questions that I would like to pose to the readers:

1) How much permissive Dubai should be? - I guess in it's strategic efforts to draw attention and business, it has stopped considering that it's a Muslim state governed by Sharia laws.
2) Does Dubai really have any deep-rooted culture that can be sustained? - As a city-state, it has all signs of a flourishing metro culture, but sadly, no "Arabic culture", that Sharjah / Abu Dhabi enjoy.
3) Does Dubai at all wants to be recognised as an epitome of Arab culture and values? - I guess not! Showcase to some extent, yes, but not a live example of GCC Arab culture which can be practiced / assimilated. Much of its showcased culture is often meant for sale to Western world - not for adoption.
4) How much Dubai closer to UAE? - Yes, it enjoys the position of a commercial capital of UAE, a conduit for Western entry to UAE; But it is more recognised as a wealthy priveledged brother of UAE.

I feel therefore, that no matter how the professors / intelligentsia / social thinkers would like to talk or debate about it, Dubai has come too far to sustain the deep Arabian flavour in it's identity. Any move to enforce the strict rules of Sharia law, a-la-Saudia, runs the risk of violent opposition, thus severely affecting its marketability to the Western World, plus negatively affecting the overall economy of the region.

Any other opinions?

18 October 2006

Microcredit Revolution in the MiddleEast?

I hope I’m not too late in blogging about it, but I read an interview of Dr Yunus, which assured me that potential of Microcredit in Middle-East is recognized well! Read the full interview and support article from Gulf News.

A few key points from the coverage are as follows:

One of the ways Microcredit net was expanded was through “Word-of-mouth” marketing: you hear your neighbors benefiting from the scheme, and decide to enter the scheme yourself. (I feel same process will succeed in this region too, esp. among worker class)
Initially the scheme was never thought out on a scale it is done today. Dr Yunus just kept on finding solutions arising out of day-to-day field problems and it kept on getting better
Jordan is the first one to set up a Microcredit company, (JMCC) – launched by Queen Rania with Dr Yunus on the advisory board. Egypt (Al Tadamun, RADE) and Yemen are also introducing the scheme as a part of their poverty eradication strategy
Good news is that KSA (through PFP) – the largest among GCC countries - will also see Microcredit being implemented in certain areas soon. “Grameen Trust” organization is ready to support any initiatives in any other GCC / Middle-Eastern countries
Conventional Banks can also open the doors to the poorer borrowers (a point that I raised in my previous post below), by framing supporting rules. However this will lower their profit margin – benefiting the have-nots.
Remittance business is an area where Grameen Bank would be interested to enter. This perhaps would reduce dependency on non-banking modes of money transfers (that I talked of before)
Although Libya, Malta and 6 GCC countries have highest per-capita income (~ $4000) there are 12 other active / potentially active World Bank borrowers, with per-capita incomes between $330-2,870.

I feel Microcredit scheme could really change the face of economic reforms in all the WB borrowing / non-borrowing countries. It all depends how the potential of the scheme is recognized and implemented in each economy.

One other point worth musing about is that except KSA, all other GCC countries are very much dependent on expat workers for the growth of their economies. Majority of these workers are from developing Asian economies. Therefore is it possible to have any significant change in economic outlook, should microfinance schemes are allowed to operate among these workers? Does it also improve the forex outlook of the parent countries of these workers?

I guess I need expert / specialist opinions from the blogosphere…

Some more useful Links on Microcredit:

Technorati :Microcredit. Dr Yunus. Expats. Remittances. GCC. Middle East

15 October 2006

Needed - a Dr.Yunus for every Gulf state!

The awarding of Nobel Prize for Peace (instead of Economics) to Dr Mohammad Yunus could perhaps be one of the many controversial decisions that the Nobel Prize Committee has taken for the Peace prize over the years. However, it cannot be denied that Dr Yunus well deserved this kind of world recognition – esp. since his feat and achievement is perhaps a slap on the face of conventional banking as we know it! Ever since I read about him in "The 8th Habit" - a book by Stephen Covey, I’ve been feeling a mix of excitement and agitation.

“Microcredit” – the core system he pioneered and implemented in his “Grameen Bank” is perhaps not something new. In simplest terms, we all lend small amounts of monies to friends / acquaintances for a short period, against trust / emotional bonding we develop with them. However the flesh and blood he has put into the idea is a success story in itself.

The system has been copied in more than 100 nations, and even though economies of UAE / GCC are far stronger than Bangladesh, I feel the model can be utilized in this region too!

Majority of the banks in the Gulf region (kindly correct me) seem to be operating on “profit” model of business – i.e. “if you have a collateral we can give you a credit; if you want to manage your small finances, then pay us for the service; however sorry - no interests will be paid against your savings deposits with us!”

The result? Majority of the Expat savings are never kept in the banks for a longer periods; they are instead remitted to their home countries where they are able to invest and earn. And if that Expat happens to be the hapless laborers / construction-site workers – then even a bank remittance is avoided due to the fee involved! The meager savings are then invested in illegal, but close-knit groups known as “kitty” or “committee” or "society". Depending on the number of members, one can have the money back within 6-12 months or temporarily multiples of it, at any time.

However, come to think of this – if every person could approach a Dr Yunus (or his institution) operating in every Gulf country, then all the low paid Expats (e.g. site workers / laborers / maids etc.) would have preferred to keep the money here for a longer time, utilized it to the benefit of this country’s economy (in whatever little ways they can!) and had benefited themselves too to some extent. Simply a win-win situation for everybody!

To give an example, the outward remittances from the Gulf reached Dhs 213.15 billion in 2004-05. Assuming just 20% of this represents remittances from the low-salaried workers, who usually remit either in bulk or through trusted hands (not banks), at least a quarter of this money (or Dhs 10 billion) could be utilized! It could perhaps be in form of short-term investments, e.g. small-scale businesses, involving these workers, who’d love to recycle their monies, rather than working multiple shifts to earn that extra buck (see examples here and here)!

Doesn’t it make sense?

I currently do not have the statistics of unskilled low-wage earners in UAE to calculate how it could affect UAE alone. So stay tuned till I find some more data.

ADDENDUM:
Gulf News Print editorial today rightly comments "...It wasn't about money... It was about respect...". I strongly feel that here's a chance to give that respect to thousands of deprived Expat workers here.

(read comments on the article in UAE Community Blog)

Some useful links:

What is Microcredit?
The Microfinance Gateway (most comprehensive info on the web)
The Grameen (Bank) Foundation
Microcredit Summit Campaign
Taking Capitalism to the Poor, by Columbia Business School members
Banker to the Poor: The Autobiography of Muhammad Yunus
The Hidden Wealth of the Poor (Economist)

07 October 2006

Obesity - the fast-food link

A few weeks ago, I had pondered about obesity among GCC nationals. Some startling facts published today reassure me that one of the most important causes indeed is Diet.

Consider these:

- There are 315 fast food outlets in the UAE; 43 of these are McDonald’s alone!
- One single Hardee’s outlet sells 20,000 burgers per day!
- In 2004, total sales recorded for GCC fast-food market was US$ 600M! UAE’s fast food market is estimated at US$117M
- At least 26% of UAE residents eat at a fast-food joint once a week! This figure shoots up to 65% in case of Emiratis and Expat Arabs!

The facts raise a few questions which are worth pondering about:

1) Could there be a possibility of a “Food Law” that restricts the menus (or ingredients) of these fast-food joint? Knowing that obesity is high among Emiratis and fast food contribute largely to this menace, I feel this kind of law would be in best interest of all residents

2) Is there a possibility that Food companies and MNCs are requested to launch “good food habit” campaigns targeted primarily to the parents of school-going kids? Knowing the revenues generated from the Gulf food sector esp. during Ramadan and festival times, I feel it would be easier for Govt. lobbies to convince these companies.

3) Is there a possibility of restricting the growth of “unhealthy” fast-food joints in favour of “healthier” ones? Growth of Fast-food culture is fuelled by the growth of mall culture in GCC. Perhaps by looking at the menus and ingredients, a certification could be imposed as “necessary” to have a shop in the malls.

Any more ideas on this?

See UAE Community blog discussions on this post. Photo Courtesy: Gulf News

Technorati :Obesity. Emiratis. UAE. Fast-Food. Behaviour. Business

30 September 2006

Needed - an honest debate

There's a very thought provoking article from the celebrated NYT editor, journalist and author, Thomas L Friedman, that was reproduced in Gulf News print edition today. (Unfortunately, it is not available free online - not even in NYT)

It talks about the fundamental issue of Muslims attacking Muslims, which has perhaps heavily tarnished the image of Islam as a compassionate religion and repeatedly increased the distance between Muslims and Non-Muslims.

"Part of the problem in getting answers is that Islam has no hierarchy. There's no Muslim pope defining the faith. There are centres of Muslim learning, in Egypt and Saudi Arabia, but their credibility with the masses is uneven because they're often seen as tools of regimes"

He feels that "...there's a huge body of disenfranchised Sunni Muslims, who are neither violent fundamentalists, nor wannabe secularists. They are the people who'd like to see a marriage between Islam and modernity. But right now there's little space in the Sunni world... for that synthesis to be discussed and defined".

When I see the progressive Arabs and non Arab Muslims here in UAE, I tend to agree with Friedman. I feel UAE, by lieu of its economic status and a model of progress, could take the first step towards initiating a debate within the Muslim community to find a common progressive message for the world.

No sensible Muslim - who has understood the teachings of Islam - would want to see violence as an precursor to solutions. Like all other communities of the world, all the Muslims also like to share, enjoy, and live life in peace, friendship and togetherness. Isn't UAE one of the best examples of this?

Food Wastage - Must we be complacent?

The "Speak Your Mind" section of Gulf News today highlighted reader's views on Food Wastage in UAE. Many of the readers have expressed their opinions on crazy wastage of food during Ramadan "feasting", which I had observed here a couple of days ago.

Strangely though, 61% readers tend to agree - and perhaps are relaxed - over the fact that wastage of food in the UAE is at par with the rest of the world!

Personally this feedback was very depressing for me, and raised a few thoughts:
1) Is it necesssary that UAE is expected to run shoulder-to-shoulder with even the negative trends of the world (eg. food wastage)?
2) Is junk food mentality (to quote one of the respondents) one of the primary reasons for food wastage? Are we - due to better lifestyle - increasingly moving towards being a throw-away society?
3) Why do we have to order a lot more food than we can consume? Is there something to do with "Showing off" our prosperity status in public when we have a lot of "left-overs"?
4) In a structured society, driven to some extent by laws inspired by the Shariah, isn't there any way by which we can control the "visual hunger" for more food?
5) While a nationwide Food Recovery Program would definitely help, are the private sector companies the only ones held socially responsible for developing funds to fight hunger?
6) Couldn't the higher prices, that we see in garments and other lifestyle objects, be able to control "over spending" and hence wastage of food?

I'm sure readers would have more ideas to tackle this menace - Ramadan is a good time to start thinking!

(Addendum: Read comments posted on this article in UAE Community Blog).

29 September 2006

Rants of Rents & Remuneration

The tug-of war between house rent (plus other) inflation and salaries would perhaps take a long time to end. The Rent Inflation debate made headlines today in the Gulf News, along with the inadequate salaries in UAE.

The tenancy law amendment by the Ajman Govt. is highly commendable:

“The Ajman government yesterday put a 20 per cent cap on rent increases and barred landlords from increasing rents for three years after the initial contract has been signed.”

The rent-freeze for 3 years on a new contract seems to be similar to what we used to have in UAE long ago (I guess at that time it was for 2 years), with the additional benefit of complete cleaning, painting and pest control services given free when the contract was renewed 2^nd time! In some cases (esp. if the building was old) the landlord used to give a token reduction of rent (eg Dhs 500) if the additional benefits were not included in the new contract.

While Sharjah Municipality has set up a committee to look into the growing disputes between landlords and tenants over increasing rents, it remains to be seen how our beloved Dubai would ultimately rule this year.

On the salary front, according to this report there has been an overall increase – although it is still inadequate. The Hay Group Middle East study reports that “managers and executives have seen their basic pay packets expand by a healthy 8-11 per cent on average, compared to just 4 per cent for middle income earners”

Personally I take this report with a pinch of salt:

1) It’s observed that “the average increase in guaranteed cash levels (basic salary plus cash allowances) at 5.3 per cent from April 2005 to April 2006” - which is compared to UAE’s official inflation rate of 6%. I’d put the differences much wider than quoted!

2) Instead of narrowing, the pay differentials are widening – it’s easy to observe that despite better capabilities salaries set for some nationalities are lower than that of others

3) Though research was based on info from 160 companies, I suspect that the selection is skewed local conglomerates (instead of MNCs and enterprises)

I’m sure community members would have different views…

Image Courtesy: http://www.civicforum.org.uk

26 September 2006

Ramadan: 'Fasting' or 'Feasting' time?

A couple of days ago, I published this post in UAE Community Blog commenting on the way Ramadan is observed in the Gulf! Perhaps nowhere in the world you’ll find fasters frantically fishing for food during these 30 days of the year! A few blogger comments on this are worth reading!

It’s quite a well publicized fact that sales of the food items during this period in the GCC region phenomenally increase – whereas it should have logically decreased. What could be the reason for this?

One of the bloggers points out that “the greatest amount of food wastage (in Gulf countries) also takes place during this month… tonnes of uneaten food is thrown away during the month of Ramadan”.

Food wastage is definitely one of the reasons, which to some extent conformsto one of the characteristics of this region (I commented about this here). Many of the Gulf residents (Arabs / non Arabs alike) seem to take this pious month as a time for celebrating – instead of praying and pardoning – and hence the idea of “Feasting” instead of “Fasting” prevails all over.

However, do all the Muslims see Ramadan alike? I think not! Perhaps this has a lot to do with the feeding psychology of only the residents in the Gulf: “Since I’m fasting, I need to compensate by eating more!” And frankly speaking, I suspect this is also an extension of the general feeling that I observed in KSA - as a resident few years ago: “It is Ramadan… I’m fasting… hence I’m doing a favor by coming out of home and working… and so better don’t mess up with me!” It’s a pity that despite some of the best Islamic scholars residing in this region has not been able to change this attitude!

Interestingly, in many countries of the world, this is not so. Ramadan comes and goes quietly, with its usual fare of late dining joints sprouting in the city, late night community dinners, early morning wait for the final call for breakfast and commencing of the fast! And then of course the culmination of the period of fasting into Eid – definitely a time to celebrate / feast / etc! This is possible most likely because the civil law does not allow a change in schedules because of Ramadan, or restrictions are not imposed on Non-Muslims during this time.

Coming back to fasting, some Islamic scholars believe that one has not really understood the spirit of fasting if on the day of Eid he has gained weight!! Many of my friends really take the time of Ramadan in a different light – a period of abstinence, control and abhorrence from most of the bad habits and ills of daily life! They come out more energetic, composed, controlled and better prepared for the next eleven months!

But is there anybody who matters, listening in this region? I guess not - otherwise Ramadan food sales scene in the Gulf would have been pretty different!

Some useful Ramadan Links:

·Capturing the True Spirit of Ramadan

· The Inner Secrets of Fasting

· The Mysteries of Fasting the Month of Ramadan

· Diet during Ramadan

· Medical Benefits of Ramadan

· Misunderstandings and Violations in Ramadan

· Reaping the benefits of Ramadan

· Ramadan: Reflections on Fasting (Read page 3 within this link)

· Science of Fasting - Medical benefits of fasting and beyond

· Fasting and Feasting

Image Courtesy: http://static.howstuffworks.com

15 September 2006

Dubai – A Fusion Spot or a Melting Pot?

Often Dubai is marketed particularly to the Western World as an “international City” where societies “integrate” and cultures assimilate. But how far Dubai has progressed on this front? Or does Dubai at all have the chance of truly assimilating various cultures? Does Dubai, or the UAE offer enough opportunities and avenues to make it so?

Despite my otherwise positive views on Dubai on numerous aspects, I tend to agree with this long interview based article in Gulf News today, that it is still a “Fusion Spot”.

I feel that progressing towards being a melting pot will take a long time – esp. not until the time it is at least “allowed” to be so! Here’s how Dubai can fast convert its current status of a “Fusion Spot” to a “Melting Pot” of cultures:

1) Have a common International Language – Be it Arabic or English or any other language, one language should have a prime importance. A common language offers a common platform to share ideas, opinions and cross pollination & assimilation of cultures. Unlike “International“ cities like Singapore, London, etc., Dubai seems to have been caught up in a language dilemma between English and Arabic.

2) Remove Racialism in Employment – Perhaps it is one of the few “international” cities (correct me if I’m wrong) where nationality criteria overrides education, experience, aptitude, abilities, and other professional criteria, for recruiting. As if this was not enough, salary levels differ by different nationalities. This immediately becomes a barrier for interaction of cultures. People tend to form their own clusters within their own communities.

3) Have a Central attraction point that inculcates mixing of cultures – Currently Dubai lacks a common platform for mixing cultures. Despite DSS and DSF being great opportunities, one could feel strong Arabic undercurrent in the former - and shopping priority in the latter (DSF = Dubai Shopping Festival). And shopping and retailing is not what promotes cultural assimilation.

4) Remove barriers to permanent adoption – Although Dubai has been offering various options to invest and buy in residential properties, all one gets is a “residency visa” and not a “citizenship”. Hence it consolidates the existing belief that Dubai is a place to earn and go back – the city will never accept you as its own! This is a major barrier to people genuinely wanting to contribute, integrate and assimilate to the local / existing culture and societies!

5) Promote higher and more accessible higher education – It is said that universities are the best promoters of cross cultural acceptance. Currently, Dubai / UAE has limited opportunity that promotes other nationalities to prefer it as a place for higher education. AUS and AUD do have limited scope but are currently regarded as too expensive for majority of the Dubai population – even if that majority happens to be from Indian sub-continent! Quality is still a point of argument. A vibrant university which promotes quality higher education primarily for locals (and perhaps by quota system for other nationalities), would contribute immeasurably to making Dubai a melting pot.

All the above are my own conservative opinions. There are chances that some of the assumptions above could be generalist “impressions”. Hence, over to you all, for your views!

05 September 2006

Pondering on a Pandemic

One of the most common sights in GCC is obesity among nationals. Obesity perhaps surpasses any kind of health ailments characteristic of GCC – and could also be the contributing factor for higher diabetes, heart problems, high blood pressure, stroke and some forms of cancer. Yesterday’s articles in Gulf News and 7Days indicate that it is now a worldwide trend. And as reported here, nearly 1/3^rd of men in England will be obese by 2010 in Britain!

Of particular interest to us is UAE! Overall, 60% of Emiratis are estimated to be overweight, and over 38% of married Emirati women are obese! Another national study indicated that frequency of obesity among UAE youth is 2-3 times greater than the international standard! Further, a research team from UAE University found in 2004 that one-in-six school girls aged 5-14 in Al Ain were obese.

Often looking at the extent of left-over food in various restaurants and food joints, could give you some clues on perhaps the most important reason for obesity. Dr Abdul Ghaffar Al Hawi, chairman of Emirates Medical Association once commented that abundance of all-you-can -eat-and-drink buffets, have trained UAE residents to seek more food for their money – thus leading to obesity.

Three main causes identified were:
1) Diet: Young Emiratis eat more and more high-carbohydrate, high-fat burgers and pizzas in fast-food restaurants
2) Lifestyle: Due to cheaper expat work force, many Emiratis now have sedentary jobs, and do not exercise regularly
3) Education. Lack of education and awareness and attitude to food often lead to over-consumption.

Is there any solution for this increasingly serious health issue?
A few solutions I could think of are:

1) Compulsory physical sports programs for all students – aimed to develop young sports professionals in the country. An active and compulsory sports curriculum sharply reduces sedentary lifestyles

2) Arresting growth of Internet / Video Game parlours. Most gamers in these parlours tend to grow overweight.

3) Building more sports stadiums / clubs offering sports training opportunities for all ages and levels. (Instead of being taken over for construction of new cities)

4) Programs to attract young grads to take up lucrative careers involving physical / manual activities

5) Arresting growth of or controlling the menus in fast-food joints

Finally, I believe that it’s important to properly disseminate knowledge on obesity to children, youth and parents. A higher degree general awareness would lead to eradication of the same.

Any more ideas?

Some useful Links:
1) Abu Dhabi Men's College on obesity
2) Cause and Effect essay on Obesity.
3) Obesity amongst Al Ain women
4) Obesity in Saudi Arabia.
5) Prevalence of Obesity in the Saudi Population
6) Article on how to treat obesity.
7) How to solve the problem of teenage obesity
8) List of Obesity related articles in Gulf News

Image courtesy : www.sochealth.co.uk

Technorati :Behaviour. Community. Culture. Emiratis. Health. Obesity. Pandemic. Research. Society. Strategy

29 August 2006

A case of height and handedness

I’ve always been awed by the phenomenal success achieved by one of the most prolific film personalities (and a living legend) in India – Amitabh Bachchan (AB). Like many of my compatriots of my age, while growing up, I used to emulate his voice, behavior, and what not! Later I tried finding out, whether it is the stars or hard work or lineage, which helped him to be a celebrity – not once but twice!!

While it could be a mix of one or all of these factors, a recent post from Stephen J. Dubner indicated that 2 other factors must have been crucial:
– his height (AB’s has above-average height than most of his compatriots / competitors)
– his left handedness (even though he is ambidextrous)

Height
In a recent paper, Anne Case and Christina Paxson say that taller adults generally seemed to hold higher-status jobs, and on average earn more than others. They “earn more because they are smarter... As adults, taller individuals are more likely to select into higher paying occupations that require more advanced verbal and numerical skills and greater intelligence, for which they earn handsome returns”.

Left-handedness
Scores of research have substantiated that left-handed people are better at everything than right-handed people. Here’s the latest, from economists Christopher S. Ruebeck, Joseph E. Harrington and Robert Moffitt. They argue that “left-handed college-educated people earn 15% more than right-handed college educated people” - especially among males. In his book Right-Hand, Left-Hand, Chris McManus of University College London argues that left-handed people have historically produced an above-average quota of high achievers. He says that left-handers' brains are differently structured, to widen their range of abilities; the genes that determine left-handedness also govern development of the language-centers of the brain.

A quick check of a list of famous tall men and famous left-handed people in Wikipedia was a sort of revelations for me.

I can now understand why:

1) My parents and relatives used to often hand me on air, just by holding my head at right and left – To make me taller!
2) A few of my bosses always stressed up while listening to me – I had to look down on them!
3) Many countries have left-hand-drive system – Train to produce high achievers vis-à-vis other countries!
4) Some parents encourage their children to draw/ paint by their left hand – Da Vinci was left handed!
5) It is rarer to find a left-handed person in tailoring / apparel designing – Hard to find a pair of scissors for them

Do have some more to add?

Image source : www.vedamsbooks.com