Hello Everybody Out There (Finally, Bert contributes to the Blog)
Quite some time ago now, we created this blog for various specific reasons. Actually, I shouldn’t say “we” because, right up to now, all the work was done by Kris: the setup of the blog itself; the formatting; and, of course, all the posts and entries. I guess, therefore, it should rightfully be called “Kris’ Shifting Sand”. The name for our blog obviously had to have some connotation to our new home environment. Hence, the Sand-Shifting. But then I thought, the acronym for “Shifting Sand” would be “SS” and, considering my heritage, that would have been a little bit too close to home. So, “SSS” (Schmids Shifting Sand) it had to be.
Kris has asked me (very nicely, I might add) on quite a few occasions to write on our blog, particularly on those days when I’d come home from work and say, ‘you cannot imagine what happened today . . .’ or, ‘you won’t believe this . . .’ And believe you me, those occasions were quite frequent at the beginning of our stay here in the UAE. By now, though, the kind of wow-factor in terms of amazement, bewilderment, shock, bemusement, or outright hilarity has waned a little. I guess, one could say, we have somewhat adjusted. Whilst this kind of adjustment allows you to get through the day with much less frustration it, however, also carries with it a lurking danger, a demographical hazard: the danger of one’s mindset being diluted and, subsequently, desensitized. Depending on your ethics, values, and intrinsic worth from the outset, this can pose a potentially serious side-effect of adjusting to life in the UAE.
There were many days when I regretted not having kept a diary or daily journal. Maybe not so much for keeping track of my own experiences or personal development, but just to have a record of all those hilarious and, sadly, often heart-wrenching moments I’ve encountered and am still experiencing on an almost daily basis. This is a very different world, and living here is certainly worth documenting.
As it is with all cultures and countries, you have to live and work here to really know what it’s like, to truly appreciate the people, the culture, how things are done, all the in’s and out’s. Tourists who come for a 2-week shopping spree to glitzy Dubai, indulge in serious luxury, or soak up some sun over their winter break have no idea; they only see one side, even though, undoubtedly, a very nice side it is. Western companies, too, who want to set up business here thinking ‘we know how business is done in the developed world’ (whatever definition they may put on the word ‘developed’) very soon realize that this is, indeed, a different world. If you think you can come here and just carry on from the way you conducted business in the West, you are doomed to fail. There is no single ‘master key’ to success. Now, I don’t want this to be the foreword to my book “As-Aalam Alaykum – How to Conduct Business in the Middle East”, so, enough of that.
I first came to the UAE three years ago (it still seems like only yesterday) with the objective to set up our Australian business in the region. For the first nine months or so I kept commuting between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi two to three times a month. As the jetlag compounded so Abu Dhabi changed around me. It really is quite mind-blowing how fast this country is developing.
The UAE, rich in oil and natural gas, has become highly prosperous over the last few decades and has seen growth and progressive development of larger-than-life proportions unlike any other region in the world. Having one of the world's highest per capita incomes, Abu Dhabi and the Schmids are witnessing spectacular real estate growth rates, backed by aggressive development plans scheduled to continue until the year 2030 (worth over US$300 billion). The UAE is not immune to the global financial crisis, but, fortunately for us particularly Abu Dhabi has largely managed to avoid over-exposure to the stressed international and regional credit markets through prudent financial management and huge foreign investment.
However, every coin has a flip side, right? Far too often, I believe, one major factor contributing to the UAE’s rapid development is mostly being ignored or even forgotten. Of the UAE’s total population over 80% comprise of expatriates; around 70% of these come from Bangladesh. The remaining 30% of expats encompass mainly Indians, Filipinos, Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Nepalese, and people from a few other countries (Middle East, Asia Minor, and Africa). There is only a small minority of Westerners like us (mainly from the UK, USA, and Australia). Whilst we “white” guys may do most of the designing, planning, managing, and supervising of the mammoth projects, it is the underpaid, exploited, and often abused workforce from these third-world countries who climb around on construction sites or dig trenches on the road side in 50ºC and 90% humidity. True, the brains from the West combined with the money from the Gulf enable such large-scale rapid development; however, the physical building of the country’s infrastructure is largely undertaken by peoples who have left their poverty-stricken countries and come here to provide a “better” life for their families back home in Bangladesh and the like. Incongruously, most of them actually manage to do just that on pathetic, hardly-conceivable wages. Moreover, when it comes to dishing out the credits for the country’s achievements, these people are rarely mentioned or, worse still, totally overlooked.
Comparing incomes further highlights the gross inequality. A housemaid or cleaner typically earns 600 to 1,500 dirhams a month (approx. US$160 to 400); a supervisor or office worker’s monthly salary may range from about AED 2,000 to 5,000 (US$540 to 1,350) depending on industry, capability, and responsibility. The moment you reach lower- to mid-level management positions, one’s origin and/or skin colour become quite a deciding factor in determining the salary structure. Admittedly, though, the difference in education, capability, and experience is equally obvious at times. For example, you’d have to look very hard to find an Indian or Pakistani project / operations manager that earns up to, let alone more, than 20,000 dirhams a month (US$4,000 to 5,500); whereas a Western guy in the same position would probably not even consider anything less than AED 35,000 (10,000 US dollars plus). Then you have your general managers and directors cashing in no less than 70-100,000 dirhams a month (US$20,000 + +) plus committee fees, director fees, etc and all the other perks that come with it, i.e. nice cars, housing, free schooling for the kids (and that’s not cheap, believe me) business class travel, bonuses, and so forth. And all of it is free of fringe benefit or income tax.
Yes, there’s no doubt and no denying, we’ve got it pretty good. Also, you can see why many lose perspective and their sense of reality. On the other hand, it puts some of us in a very privileged and blessed position where we can (and should) do a lot of good and show neighbourly love and compassion. For this, I thank God every day.
Both Kris and I believe it is not by chance that we ended up in this corner of the world. The way circumstances developed in mid to late 2008 (the passing of my younger brother in Germany, battling with sickness, and organizational restructure within my company) it first looked like a natural progression of my career to take on the role of an expat and move to Abu Dhabi to establish our Australian company in the Middle East. But now, looking back, it seems Almighty had a slightly different plan for us. No doubt, He wanted us in the UAE but not on our terms. So, we shouldn’t have been too surprised that even after eight strenuous months of establishing networks in the UAE (at the same time constantly commuting between Melbourne and Abu Dhabi) nothing really took off at satisfactory level. I contribute this to an accumulation of various questionable business decisions taken by the directors back in Melbourne, which, for ethical and commercial reasons I won’t discuss publicly online. Whatever the reasons, though, in November 2009 I was offered to run a locally-based and government-owned company as general manager. I accepted and, with a natural and reasonable amount of self-protecting interest, still saw this as the most logical and appropriate step in my career advancement. Well, what can I say? From that moment on things changed in a very positive but rather unexpected way.
Being responsible for the livelihood, welfare, and pretty much all other facets of their lives, my over 2,000 employees provide me with ample opportunity (and the continually renewed and deep-routed desire) to extend the Love of Christ on a daily basis. Even if you disregard the spiritual aspect of this statement, the amount of genuine care, compassion, and love for my neighbour I can provide on an emotional level and in practical terms is worth more than anything (whosesoever my neighbour may be: my wife, my children and stepchildren, my extended family and friends, all my staff and workers and their families in third-world countries, our housemaid, the pool guy, a gardener in a hotel car park, or the guy sweeping the streets on a busy intersection). Seeing the eyes and faces of my workers light up when I pay them a visit at the camp and sit on the floor with them sharing a meal with our hands from the same plate is priceless, the biggest reward, something precious, something to cherish till the end of my days; in those moments I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world. “Giving – Showing Love in Practical Ways” will be the heading for my next blog entry. Let’s just hope it won’t take another three years before I’ll sit down to write it. My love and greetings to all of you.
