I worked and lived in Muscat for nearly two years (August 2008 - October 2010). Prior to going to Oman, I worked in Qatar and had something like 13 years experience working in the Middle East. I have worked in most GGC countries and have visted the rest. Before I took the job in Oman, several colleagues who had worked there before were extolling the virtues of the country, the people, the feel-good factor that is Oman. So, I felt very comfortable with the prospect of moving there. What made it more accommodating was that I would be staying with an ex-Kuwait colleague, John, who was kind enough to put me up in his apartment in Muscat for free! And that is one of the main reasons why I went there in the first place because I would be working alongside another ex-QatarGas colleague who alerted me to the fact that accommodation in Muscat city is not cheap - he wasn't kidding! I took a drop in salary because I felt that maybe, just maybe, I might be there for several years. So I arrived in Oman, settled into my job as Technical Writer, and I have to admit I loved the place and, yes, the Omani people were some of the nicest, more friendly people one could meet on a day's march.
So why did I leave? In a word - money! During my time in Oman, I experienced a dramatic increase in prices, everything from meals in restaurants, a kilo of potatoes, milk, bread - you name it - every single commodity seemed to be going up in price. Apartment and villa rentals increased dramatically, even clothes. The only thing that didn't seem to go up in price was petrol but that is one commodity in the Middle East that rarely increases. A pint of beer in the various pubs didn't get any cheaper either. So, all in all, life was just getting more expensive in the Sultanate. And for the first time since having worked in the Middle East, I saw local Arab beggars. They mostly sat outside supermarkets and ATMs, hands outstretched, in destitution. I heard many stories of local Omanis such as, “My son is very sick and needs to be taken to a hospital as soon as possible, but I don’t have a car to go to my town, nor do I have the money to get there. Can you at least give me the taxi charge?” Now this is in a country where Porches and Lamborghinis share the highways and byways with Mercedes and exotic 4x4s.
Ali Al Hadi, a driving instructor, said, “The main reason for begging is the widespread unemployment and the large number of laid-off foreigners in the country.”
According to him, these people work more like a group controlled by certain gangs which send children and adults for begging. Sometimes children are permanently disabled and used for begging purposes. He continued, “The community sometimes accepts some cases of begging, but nowadays the interference of gangs and certain institutions in this business has made it totally unacceptable. In the past, beggars were few and far between and the ‘trade’ was practiced in an entirely different manner.”
Is there a solution? Well, in a word - no! Well, there could be and that is down to the massive Indian expat presence in Oman. When I arrived in Muscat almost two years ago, I just couldn't believe the sheer number of Indians, Pakistanis and Bangladeshis from the sub-Continent. In 2002 this amounted to 80% of the total population of the country. Why are there so many from the sub-Continent? Cheap labour is the answer. And during the time I worked there Oman had a mammoth problem with expats from these nations who were 'unemployed aliens'. In other words, after completing their contracts/jobs, they simply hung around in the country staying with friends and relations. And I know for a fact that this was bitterly resented by the local Omanis. Having said that, in mid-2010, the Ministry of Labour had 'rounded up' 13,000 illegal aliens and had instigated a programme of deportations.
Omanis are very proud people, jovial, friendly, helpful and when you make friends with them, you have friends for life. They'd do anything for you. I left Oman with many happy memories but I also left a country that faces huge employment and ethnic problems in the future. The Omanisation programme I studied was bogged down with too much red tape, a dearth of inward investment and, just over the horizon, a depletion of oil reserves. Oman just does not have the oil and gas reserves to support the economy over the next ten years. Diversification is the answer . . .
No comments:
Post a Comment