The city lights still stretch out before us as dawn is just starting. Today the forecast is for 31 deg C and sunny - nothing new for this spring day. The air at this time of the morning is still cool with the breeze.
Our thoughts wander off to the ongoing unrest in the region, although all is calm in the Magic Kingdom.
We are surrounded by turmoil - Libya in the far west, Tunisia and Egypt fortunately now more settled after starting this viral like spread of political dissent in the region. The ongoing conflict of Israel and Palestine in the north, with the limited unrest in Jordan, but increasing issues in Syria. On the Arabian Peninsula there are the increasing problems in Yemen and Bahrain, Oman now just grumbling along. Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia so far are quiet. History is unfolding before our eyes. This was not on our list of expectations when we planned this "tour of duty" or later life work adventure. But we are safe and ok, despite what one may imagine from watching CNN, BBC or Aljazeera news stations.
Yemen and Bahrain are clearly closer to "home" as both have borders with Saudi Arabia.
Yemen is the poorest country on the Arabian Peninsula, marked by tribal allegiances, and a long time dictator/president. It has been a smoldering powder keg for some time, now ignited by the spreading voices of the younger generation throughout the region.
Bahrain is somewhat different. It is an island nation state in the Gulf joined to Saudi Arabia by a land bridge. It is open to Western influences and has been a popular weekend destination for people from the Kingdom. It is also where I proposed to Joy many years ago now. Recently it was to be the location of one of the auto Grand Prix events on the world circuit, but the event was cancelled due to the recent increasing unrest. The country is not poor, unlike most of the other countries with uprisings in the region. The Royal Family has ties with the Royal Family in the Kingdom here. That in itself is an important fact leading to the invitation of troops from the Kingdom here to try to limit the unrest there. The unrest however has political/religious roots, not coming from poverty as has been the case in other locations. It is important at this time to point out that Islam has two major sects - Sunni and Shia. Iran across the Gulf from Bahrain is Shia. Saudi Arabia is predominantly Sunni. The Royal Family in Bahrain is Sunni, but the majority of its population, like its close neighbor Iran is Shia. Without getting into regional and national politics I believe you can see where this is going.
Now what about the Magic Kingdom, where we presently reside? How is the government coping when surrounded by virulent unrest? Fortunately the Kingdom is a very rich country, the major economic power in the Middle East. Politically it has a moderating influence in the region. It also sits on the largest oil reserves in the world and is a major supplier of this black gold. Therefore the west, as well as these two expats, best hope that the tsunami of unrest stops at its borders.
Here there have been a number of political and economic moves, resulting from the concerns over the surrounding political tsunami. Yesterday there was a special edition of the Arab News, the major local English language newspaper. I will share some items from that issue as they show one "window" of what is viewed and what is being done in an attempt to stem the tide. I apologize ahead of time for the quality of "photos of the pages" - I have essentially used the "photos" as props.
I am not sure whether any other country in the world would be able to drop that chunk of change?! Remember also that there is no income tax in this country. That's a lot of barrels of black gold.
Elsewhere in this issue there are articles dealing with a lot of the regional conflicts of which we are all aware.
It is always interesting looking at the local point of view.
Did you notice the Canadian flag on the jet?
So that is a short overview of the happenings in the region from a political perspective - the "political tsunami"
So what of "Mardi Gras" in the title of this Blog episode?
Despite what one sees in the news, life goes on at its usual pace. Expats like ourselves still carry on enjoying life as best we can. A sense of community becomes even more important than at home as we now live in a foreign country with very different customs and lifestyle. As one cannot "go native" one develops a community within a community and strive to make life happen. It is a very different world but clearly one learns that we are a very adaptable species.
Yes "Mardi Gras" did take place, without going to New Orleans, with pot luck Cajun and other delicacies.
A brief snapshot of life in the Kingdom at this time.
Turmoil in the region - yes. Life carrying on as usual - yes.
Next weekend we will be flying back across the Atlantic for the first time since leaving Canada.
Hard to believe its now been six months. Stay tuned for the next set of ramblings.
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