It's been two years since the Arab Spring, and surely by now only the most committed Kool-Aid drinkers would deny that what started as a genuine bid to be part of a vibrant democratic and aspiration-driven global village has morphed into a battle between the reform-minded and the religious over the turf vacated by ousted autocrats. It was easy to get romantic, but events in Syria have woken us up to the grim reality that what started as a struggle for a better life has descended into sectarian slaughter.
Nonetheless, many organisations have seized on the phenomenon as an excuse to call for fundamental change across the region. "Rethinking Economic Growth: Towards Productive and Inclusive Arab Societies" is a joint report of the United Nations Development Programme and the International Labour Organization on the importance of good governance in maximising economic output after, what its authors see as 20 years of "skewed development policies, social justice deficits and … poorly managed economic liberalisation".
New regimes, it says, need to set new standards in good governance. It is not enough just to create jobs. There must be jobs with dignity, government accountability and what it calls "democratic participation". On the business side, the report cites the need for "a level playing field in order to be able to pursue legitimate profit-seeking activities, from micro and small-scale undertakings to full-scale investments".
This is all true and all very worthy, but, and you can call me an old curmudgeon if you like, the fundamental behavioural shift required for the report's recommendations to be put into practice would have to be so seismic that I can't see it happening in my lifetime.
Still, as part of its bid to spread the gospel, the two bodies held what policy wonks like to call a round-table in Beirut last week, during which Mary Kawar, a senior regional policy specialist for the ILO, said that Lebanon had to "rethink its economic model".
My first reaction to this was to ask: what model? There is no model. The Corleones were better organised.
Still, the fact remains that 70 per cent of Lebanese jobs are in the low-paying service industries in a country where there is little opportunity for the training of skilled workers.
Yet one of the saddest ironies of modern Lebanese society is that, while we place huge stock on educating our children, we have 23 per cent youth unemployment.
Lebanon is full of trilingual taxi drivers and bilingual valet parkers, fast-food deliverymen and supermarket bag packers. An MBA graduate from the American University of Beirut, if he can find a job without travelling abroad, is unlikely to command more than US$1,500 (Dh5,509) per month. It is hardly a decent return on the $37,000 tuition fees and barely enough to eke an existence in a country where the cost of living rivals western Europe.
If there is a Lebanese "model", it works like this: the talented go abroad, perpetuating the centuries-old, not to mention romanticised, tradition of emigration. These dutiful sons and daughters send money (30 per cent of GDP) to those living under the toxic influence of a corrupt political class and a stern religious establishment.
The talent that stays - bankers, importers, and the professional classes - carve out a cosy niche for themselves and are allowed to flourish. The rest of the country works for a pittance and lives under the protection of one of the sectarian-based political parties, despite showing outward allegiance to the flag.
It is a system that snuffs out both motivation and aspiration and operates on a far from level playing field. The politicians who are dutifully elected every four years are widely acknowledged as crooks and gangsters by those who send them to parliament, hence the belief that the ladder cannot be climbed through hard work alone. Cynicism sets in. The only way to break out is to leave.
I will wager that it is unlikely to change any time soon.
Michael Karam is a writer based in Beirut
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
'Peninsula'
Stars: Gang Dong-won, Lee Jung-hyun, Lee Ra
Director: Yeon Sang-ho
Rating: 2/5
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
EA Sports FC 25
Developer: EA Vancouver, EA Romania
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4&5, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
