If anything was ever worth taking a picture of..
Sleeping puppies in the midst of Juffair’s construction boom

Just came home from some lazy days in Dubai. Spent three days on Jumeirah Beach which is a long, clean, public beach located in the area of Burj al Arab. Going to the beach isn’t the first thing that springs to mind when you think of Dubai but as a matter of fact I think this is one of Dubai’s greatest assests (their number one greatest asset is their ruler is Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum). I am not a big fan of private beach clubs and as a matter of fact I loathe most of them with their blingbling, staring at people, oh look at me clientèle that a lot of them attracts. I just loooove the discovery of this beach (ya ok it’s not like it was a secret) and wish my kids could have been there. The water was lovely and I managed to dodge the humidity and the really hot weather that came after I left.

Funnily enough, being in Dubai made me realise how much I am stressing here in Bahrain. For the last 5 months I been picking up the phone at all hours, coming home late and having to deal with all kinds of creeps that seems to think they are Gods gift to women. It has really stressed me out and left me with no hope for the male race whatsoever. I have now made a decision to work more effectively and focused…inshallah huh.

Sweden 1995
Yes lil dude, I will take u to a country
full of those when you’re older.

My beloved lil son just left for the airport to go to Sweden…it broke my heart to see him go. He has grown so much the last year still to me he is this little boy who used to sit on the edge of the sofa in England in his Spiderman pyjamas asking me who I thought was the strongest -Spiderman or Batman…never happy with my answer and forever explaining why I was wrong..

He is the little guy that at the age of three would take the train with me down to London and spend the day in West End, holding my hand as we were walking through China Town and along Oxford Street.

I feel it is only yesterday he was four and I would carry him on my back home from school in England with him giggling and laughing as I was skipping along Queens Road of Brentwood.

He is the little joker who would insist on getting “stingstings” (Cheestrings) more than once after having seen the commercial only to frown upon and refuse to eat them once he had them in his possession.

The young man that fell in love with Lebanon and all it’s charm and mystique.
The sweetheart who is never afraid to show his family love.
The brother who kisses his feisty sisters even when they hit him.
The boy who was sad to leave Saudi Arabia.
The mischievous sunshine that never fails to make me laugh.

He is

The little fella whom I moved one too many times. Who had too many homes. Too many countries he did not belong in. Who still fitted in. Who still made friends and who is still loved by everyone.

He is

The young man traveling alone in the night towards the country where he was born.

Yes,
he is all that
and
so much more.

My son.

Shop window Manama Souq
David Beckham and King Hamad Bin Isa al Khalifa
Kings of different cultures

Last night I read a heated debate over at “Mahmoods Den” about the real estate market here in Bahrain and the affect it may or may not have on the Bahraini society. Mahmood pointed out that many projects can be of benefit for the society whereas a person commented under the name of “Hassan Alkhuzaei” claimed that the current real estate boom had many negative effects on society and that the Bahraini people need more opportunities, not more projects…. well it’s just a short summary of what can be read.

Now, I will not get into details but reading this was interesting since I myself am an “expat” selling projects such as the ones mentioned. I love my job but like I have mentioned before it saddens me to see huge projects coming up. I am a fan of old buildings and neighborhoods with character and soul. These new projects are soulless and dead in my opinion (not saying that I don’t like any projects but look at Juffair for a bad example) . That isn’t relevant for the economy but anyway.

Me no like
(Fontana Towers)

Yes anyway.
What do I see in my line of work in regards to this?
I see land prizes increasing drastically every month.
I see people playing the property game buying one property for 90 000 BD only to sell it a couple of months later for 100 000 BD or more.
I see the same people making 7000 BD in one day from a newly acquired unit.

I meet Bahrainis that wants to buy for investment or living but cannot afford asking me to contact them when something suitable comes up. I will.

I meet people that say it saddens them to tell their kids they will not have their own bedroom (ever) because daddy can’t afford it even though he is working full time as a manger in a store. Sorry kid, you have to share with your three brothers.

I see prices shooting up over night.
Owners aggressively pushing the prices up.
Buyers withdrawing due to sudden price increases.

It’s a crazy market if you ask me.

I have asked Bahrainis what they think of the boom that is going on. Some, working in real estate think it is a great thing without touching on the social effects it may have, only financial. Others are worried about what this will do to their society and what will be left of the country the grew up in.

Now something I am wondering is… Why are there so few Bahrainis selling property? I mean, there is a lot of money to be made in this line of business yet when I ask people that are looking for work they are simply not interested in doing it. I have asked managers of real estate companies why they have no Bahrainis on their teams (some don’t even have ONE Arabic speaking person) and they all answer that Bahrainis start and then they leave after a couple of months. Some even point out that they have no intentions of staying.
It just puzzles me when I know that many young people are on such low wages. Working in real estate kicks ass most of the time to be honest.

It was commented on Mahmoods blog that sometimes companies hire Bahrainis just to get visas for expats and I can confirm that this indeed happens. I have heard more than one person mention that this is how it is done.

Conclusion.
None.

I’m homesick yes.

Mahooz

Todays best catch in the search strings

“do lebanese like indians”

I love to read these things cus it is like a window into peoples minds even if I will never know who they are.

After having spent two days working in the Property Arabia real estate show my feet are killing me. Yes! Uhu. Aha, killing me. My shoes aren’t uncomfortable but just the fact that I been wearing heels for two days standing and walking 9-21 is just a killer. Even though it’s a small comfort we start at 12 today so my poor feet can get some rest until then. I will try to sit more today.

Woke up at 8 in the morning today which I haven’t done for ….ages. Gurls at daddies so I even got to sleep without any interruptions as well….ages ago as well. Still feeling a little battered though since the Ac was on.

Anyway. It is really interesting to spend all this time in the Property Arabia show to see all the projects that are coming up in both Bahrain and in other countries. Of course also good to see all the faces behind real estate here in Bahrain.

I haven’t had time before but I want to mention the brilliant idea by some members of parliament to ban and evict all the Bangladeshis from this country. Nice idea I think. Why do they want this? Well one Bangladeshi apparently killed a Bahraini which of course is terrible but from there on apparently it is in the nature of the Bangladeshis to be criminals and therefore 90 000 people should be sent back to their country (no decision has been made to send them back yet as far as I know)… This is what Gulf Daily News reported the other day…

Yup kids, you better get an education and stop smilling cus we don’t want you here!
Best Regards
(some) Members of Parliament - Bahrain

(and just to clarify no the members of parliament DID NOT ACTUALLY write the the text under this picture - I DID (uh can’t believe I have to write that uuh))

Well I thought that sounded unbelievable. Surely it can’t happen. The next day the same paper reported that Bahrain has stopped issuing visas for people from Bangladesh… to be continued. I don’t need to express what I think of this..

(Ban Haifa for life damn it! And yes I am really, really jealous! I want to be just like her ah aaah!)

Aaah aaah aaaah aaannnaaaaaahh Haifa!

Seems the members of parliament here are really busy with really important issues such as banning Haifa Webhe and kicking out hard working people that haven’t committed any crimes. How about implementing stricter rules and punishment for people that come here every weekend and drive like…well fuckers - jeopardizing the lives of Bahraini families? People that have no respect for this country nor it’s residence. Or how about cleaning up the brothels of Hoora and Juffair? Or are they useful for the country in any way that I haven’t been inform of? Oh yes I remember now…they bring people from other countres…well we wouldn’t want to be without these kind of people here right?

Really….really…..there are no words for such waste of time…

A few days ago my son came to me and told me that his American social science teacher had taught them about the holocaust that day. He had done this even though the school had asked him not to teach the kids about this…
What can I say?
How sad is the world?
Are people down here so blinded by their hate for Israel that they refuse to acknowledge what happened? I can tell you that I surely don’t like Israel and what they are up to but that won’t stop me from telling my kids about the holocaust. Why? Because it happened and it was awful. Shame we are letting the same thing happen again and again in other countries and with other people. I am really disappointed in the school since this is part of basic education in my opinion. Didn’t expect this from a school that calls itself “International”. Do any schools down here teach the kids what happened?

Want to deny this? Ignore it perhaps?

From the Holocaust Research Project site:

“It was once said that not remembering the Holocaust means to side with the executioners against its victims; not to remember means to kill the victims a second time; not to remember means to become an accomplice of the enemy. On the other hand, to remember means to feel compassion for the victims of all persecutions.

By solemnly commemorating the tragedy of the Holocaust, we will keep history in mind, never forget the past, cherish all lives, and create a better future.”

http://www.holocaustresearchproject.org/toc.html

Muharraq
By Bob