5 ms·

Yes, this is awful, but what more can you expect from the Middle East? On a more political note, did Al Jazeera, report on this ?

by enupten 13y ago

ucha 13y ago
Yes, they did. A quick search turns this: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/06/201261472812737158.html http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/06/2012... http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/06/201261264715371679.html http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/06/2012612647... http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/201327142630923249.html http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132714263...
- enupten 13y ago
  Wow, that's very nice; thank you for making up for my laziness.
- sammyo 13y ago
  I do wonder if these stories are distributed to the Arabic editions.
zizee 13y ago
You should not paint all countries in the Middle East with the same brush.
- camus 13y ago
  Yeah there are great beaches in Dubai... and a lot of slaves building fancy hotels too, see , that's not the same.
  - Ecio78 13y ago
    relevant article: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-har...
- CervezaPorFavor 13y ago
  I've only been to a few countries in the Middle East, so I can't generalise. But one thing common among these countries is the lack of warmth, sincerity and humility among the locals. It is one of the most unpleasant and hostile cultures that I have encountered in my years of travel. They treat blue-collar foreigners as lesser humans. EDIT: To clarify, I've only been to Qatar, UAE and Bahrain.
  - chad_oliver 13y ago
    Here's a blog post (from someone I trust) which seems to contradict you: http://www.wanderingearl.com/welcome-to-syria-my-friend/ http://www.wanderingearl.com/welcome-to-syria-my-friend/ "I am simply unable to recall any other country that I’ve visited where I’ve been so instantly and warmly welcomed and I still cannot believe how many people have approached me in the streets just to literally say the words “Welcome to Syria my friend!”"
    - vacri 13y ago
      A lesbian couple I know travelled through west Africa and the middle east. They mentioned that Syria was far more welcoming than the stereotype suggests, and that they felt safe there. This was only a few years ago. While I doubt they were openly advertising their homosexuality, they still were two women travelling alone, off the beaten path, which was enough to cause a lot of their friends back home to express concern.
  - contingencies 13y ago
    They treat blue-collar foreigners as lesser humans. Singapore, too.
    - twic 13y ago
      And Buckinghamshire.
  - Tzunamitom 13y ago
    What a load of crap. So you saw the airport in Qatar, stayed in a 5-Star hotel in the UAE and caught a connection at Bahrain without ever actually speaking to a local??? I can tell you from my experience of living in the UAE for 3 years and regularly travelling to Saudi overland via Bahrain, the locals are just like people anywhere in the world - some crappy, most decent, and some really nice. Minor differences include the fact that they are generally more spoilt, and much more hospitable than people in the west. Most that I've spoken to care about the worker conditions, and would hate to see people hurt, though they worry about being a minority in their own countries, they find it hard to say no to the comfortable lure if unbridled capitalism and its shiny things. How many of you have actually been to labour camps? I've been to a couple - I drove on (hardly a "prison") and was invited into the home of a worker, who bought me a juice. There were 6 guys living in a small space (about 10 feet by 20 feet), and they had a rota system for sleeping space. The place was clean and they had somehow managed to afford satellite TV. Maybe don't be so quick to generalise next time?
- auctiontheory 13y ago
  You should not paint all countries in the Middle East with the same brush. How many Middle Eastern countries (besides Israel) have anything resembling democracy, or equal rights for women, or any rights for gay people?
  - mcv 13y ago
    Israel is lacking in such rights as well. It's not exactly a shining example for the rest of the Middle East.
    - smsm42 13y ago
      Implying there are many Middle East countries that have better record on woman or gay rights, for example, than Israel? Care to name a few? Israel has its problems, but compared to the rest of the ME, it is a shining example.
  - Andrew_Quentin 13y ago
    Turkey

Yes, this is awful, but what more can you expect from the Middle East? On a more political note, did Al Jazeera, report on this ?

by enupten 13y ago

Yes, this is awful, but what more can you expect from the Middle East? On a more political note, did Al Jazeera, report on this ?

ucha 13y ago

Yes, they did. A quick search turns this: http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/06/201261472812737158.html http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/insidestory/2012/06/2012... http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/06/201261264715371679.html http://www.aljazeera.com/video/middleeast/2012/06/2012612647... http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/201327142630923249.html http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/02/20132714263...

enupten 13y ago
Wow, that's very nice; thank you for making up for my laziness.
sammyo 13y ago
I do wonder if these stories are distributed to the Arabic editions.

zizee 13y ago

You should not paint all countries in the Middle East with the same brush.

camus 13y ago
Yeah there are great beaches in Dubai... and a lot of slaves building fancy hotels too, see , that's not the same.
- Ecio78 13y ago
  relevant article: http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/the-dark-side-of-dubai-1664368.html http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-har...
CervezaPorFavor 13y ago
I've only been to a few countries in the Middle East, so I can't generalise. But one thing common among these countries is the lack of warmth, sincerity and humility among the locals. It is one of the most unpleasant and hostile cultures that I have encountered in my years of travel. They treat blue-collar foreigners as lesser humans. EDIT: To clarify, I've only been to Qatar, UAE and Bahrain.
- chad_oliver 13y ago
  Here's a blog post (from someone I trust) which seems to contradict you: http://www.wanderingearl.com/welcome-to-syria-my-friend/ http://www.wanderingearl.com/welcome-to-syria-my-friend/ "I am simply unable to recall any other country that I’ve visited where I’ve been so instantly and warmly welcomed and I still cannot believe how many people have approached me in the streets just to literally say the words “Welcome to Syria my friend!”"
  - vacri 13y ago
    A lesbian couple I know travelled through west Africa and the middle east. They mentioned that Syria was far more welcoming than the stereotype suggests, and that they felt safe there. This was only a few years ago. While I doubt they were openly advertising their homosexuality, they still were two women travelling alone, off the beaten path, which was enough to cause a lot of their friends back home to express concern.
- contingencies 13y ago
  They treat blue-collar foreigners as lesser humans. Singapore, too.
  - twic 13y ago
    And Buckinghamshire.
- Tzunamitom 13y ago
  What a load of crap. So you saw the airport in Qatar, stayed in a 5-Star hotel in the UAE and caught a connection at Bahrain without ever actually speaking to a local??? I can tell you from my experience of living in the UAE for 3 years and regularly travelling to Saudi overland via Bahrain, the locals are just like people anywhere in the world - some crappy, most decent, and some really nice. Minor differences include the fact that they are generally more spoilt, and much more hospitable than people in the west. Most that I've spoken to care about the worker conditions, and would hate to see people hurt, though they worry about being a minority in their own countries, they find it hard to say no to the comfortable lure if unbridled capitalism and its shiny things. How many of you have actually been to labour camps? I've been to a couple - I drove on (hardly a "prison") and was invited into the home of a worker, who bought me a juice. There were 6 guys living in a small space (about 10 feet by 20 feet), and they had a rota system for sleeping space. The place was clean and they had somehow managed to afford satellite TV. Maybe don't be so quick to generalise next time?
auctiontheory 13y ago
You should not paint all countries in the Middle East with the same brush. How many Middle Eastern countries (besides Israel) have anything resembling democracy, or equal rights for women, or any rights for gay people?
- mcv 13y ago
  Israel is lacking in such rights as well. It's not exactly a shining example for the rest of the Middle East.
  - smsm42 13y ago
    Implying there are many Middle East countries that have better record on woman or gay rights, for example, than Israel? Care to name a few? Israel has its problems, but compared to the rest of the ME, it is a shining example.
- Andrew_Quentin 13y ago
  Turkey