What's new

ANALYSIS: Gulf excess and Pakistani slaves —Rafia Zakaria

fatman17

PDF THINK TANK: CONSULTANT
Joined
Apr 24, 2007
Messages
32,563
Reaction score
98
Country
Pakistan
Location
Pakistan
ANALYSIS: Gulf excess and Pakistani slaves —Rafia Zakaria

Pakistanis themselves, mired in denial and ever-ready to engage in the pantomime of pretending to be Arab, are inured to this reality of Arab racism. Easily appeased with the promise of Gulf jobs when their own country is in shambles they consider any paltry thankless employment a godsend

“We need slaves to build monuments,” says an Iraqi engineer living in Abu Dhabi to a reporter from the Guardian. In the published report he goes to add that he would never use the metro if it wasn’t segregated since “we would never sit next to Pakistanis and Indians because of their smell”.

The dismal condition of Pakistani labourers in the Gulf States is well known and the above statements are merely reflections of the deep-seeded and overtly racist attitudes of Arabs in the Gulf and otherwise towards Pakistanis.

The same Guardian report also details how Pakistani slave labourers work up to eighteen hours a day and often live twenty to a room without any ventilation and with only a single bathroom for several hundred people. Several do not see their families for four to ten year periods, unable to afford the airfare home and many die on the job.

Without any insurance scheme families are often not notified of deaths for months and the only compensation available to them is through an underground system through which other workers donate thirty dirham each which is then collected and donated. The strictly segregated society means that the rich Arabs never come across the lowly Pakistani workers who build their roads, clean their floors and drive their cars.

But in recent years, the oil-rich barons of the Gulf have found a new use for slave labour that goes beyond cleaning bathrooms and picking trash off the streets of Dubai. A recent statement issued by Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke in Brussels revealed that the Taliban are being funded by individuals from the Gulf States. Secretary Holbrooke said: “The Taliban receive more funding from the Gulf States than they do from the narcotics trade”.

As has been reported by several Pakistani newspapers, this means that the sources of foreign funding for the Taliban are greater than the approximate USD100 million they receive from the narcotics trade based on poppy cultivation inside Afghanistan.

While Holbrooke was careful to note that the money is not coming from governments but rather from individuals, his statement, based on credible reports tracing wire transfers from the region, illustrates a new use that rich Gulf Arabs have found for expendable Pakistani lives.

Similar to the onerous burden of cleaning one’s own bathrooms, or drilling one’s own oil or building one’s own monuments, the task of fighting one’s own holy war has proven to be far too burdensome for Arabs intoxicated with the seemingly never-ending largesse of a resource-fuelled economy. Smelly Pakistanis, the Arabs have discovered, are not only good enough to build crass monuments to consumerism but also to fight misguided holy wars that destroy nations and eviscerate thousands of innocent lives.

Holbrooke’s statement is not the only basis for believing that the Taliban are receiving support from the Gulf States. In May of this year, the United Nations sent out an international appeal for aid for the nearly 2 million people displaced by the fighting in the tribal areas and the NWFP. While the US has pledged USD320 million for the IDPs and the EU has pledged up to USD121 million, no significant pledges have been made from the Gulf States.

This strange dichotomy in which our supposed Muslim brethren have turned their back on the suffering of the people of Swat, Buner and Dir makes far more sense in light of new information that illustrates that in picking sides, rich sheikhs from the Gulf have chosen to place their bets with the Taliban rather than with the Pakistani soldiers fighting them.

Pakistanis themselves, mired in denial and ever-ready to engage in the pantomime of pretending to be Arab, are inured to this reality of Arab racism. Easily appeased with the promise of Gulf jobs when their own country is in shambles they consider any paltry thankless employment, even if it denies them basic human rights, a godsend.

Ironically, the standards they expect non-Muslim countries like the United States and the European Union to uphold in terms of equal employment, egalitarian laws and freedom of expression are all abandoned when it comes to the assessment of Arab nations. No attention is given for example to the Arabs’ discriminatory employment practices that pay a Pakistani a fraction of what is paid to a European citizen for the same engineering job.

Some workers make as little as 400 dirhams a month, barely able to afford meals while surrounded by unimaginable excess. Even less emphasis is received by the condescending and racist attitudes of Gulf law enforcement authorities that regularly detain immigrant workers without any legal process and routinely beat and abuse them.

All this injustice, perhaps because it is committed by fellow Muslims, who make a great pretence at religious devotion, is somehow unthinkingly and unquestioningly forgiven. The fact that such discrimination overtly and blatantly flouts any minimal allegiance to the concept of the Islamic ummah is never even considered.

This latest news presents an urgent challenge to the apathy of those Pakistanis unwilling to acknowledge the reality of Arab discrimination and disdain toward South Asians. The fact that Gulf sheikhs are contributing hundreds of millions of dollars to the Taliban who are bombing schools, marauding villages and devastating the economy and infrastructure of our nation while shutting their coffers to the IDPs languishing in tents should irk even the most minimal nationalist.

More pressingly, it should expose the duplicity of our Arab overlords who, while freely engaging in debaucheries behind their castle walls now wish to use the Taliban to impose a virulent and dogmatic form of Islam on the poor smelly Pakistanis.

Sending money to fuel a war that is depleting Pakistan’s already meagre resources, turning young men and boys into human bombs and transforming Pakistani cities into battlegrounds exposes their desire to condemn Pakistan into oblivion.

Rafia Zakaria is an attorney living in the United States where she teaches courses on Constitutional Law and Political Philosophy. She can be contacted at rafia.zakaria@gmail.com
 
.
:yahoo:
“We need slaves to build monuments,” says an Iraqi engineer living in Abu Dhabi to a reporter from the Guardian. In the published report he goes to add that he would never use the metro if it wasn’t segregated since “we would never sit next to Pakistanis and Indians because of their smell”.

There are recists Arabs but there are racist Pakistanis, Americans, Canadian, Iranians and Europeans as well. Lets not use actions of one person or few people to stereo type an entire ethnicity.

We should also remember the way we treat Bangladeshi and Pakistani labourers in Pakistan.

The same Guardian report also details how Pakistani slave labourers work up to eighteen hours a day and often live twenty to a room without any ventilation and with only a single bathroom for several hundred people. Several do not see their families for four to ten year periods, unable to afford the airfare home and many die on the job.

Well Guardian should pay attention to the plight of Pakistanis in UK first :)

Only a few months back, innocent Pakistanis, in UK, were dragged out of their residences and arrested under the charge of terrorism without any evidence.

Many Asian immigrants live in similar condition in UK to save money.

In Toronto, many Asian immigrants live in almost the same condition as well.

My point is, lets sort out our own socieites before criticizing others.

A recent statement issued by Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke in Brussels revealed that the Taliban are being funded by individuals from the Gulf States. Secretary Holbrooke said: “The Taliban receive more funding from the Gulf States than they do from the narcotics trade”.

This statement is made to undermine the fact that opium and drug trade still thrive in Afghanistan. US always like to delegate their own problems on to someone else.

Real issue is that campaign in Afghanistan is a complete failure and biggest contributor has been the drug trade which is also supported by the rogue elements within the Allied forces and the CIA.

The US envoy is trying to divert attention from the real issue so that people can not blame the US forces and the govt. in their complete incompetence.


As has been reported by several Pakistani newspapers, this means that the sources of foreign funding for the Taliban are greater than the approximate USD100 million they receive from the narcotics trade based on poppy cultivation inside Afghanistan.

Ms. Zakaria should invetsigate herself instead of depending others. us $100 million can't be right. The amount has to be far more greater than that.

Holbrooke’s statement is not the only basis for believing that the Taliban are receiving support from the Gulf States. In May of this year, the United Nations sent out an international appeal for aid for the nearly 2 million people displaced by the fighting in the tribal areas and the NWFP. While the US has pledged USD320 million for the IDPs and the EU has pledged up to USD121 million, no significant pledges have been made from the Gulf States.

Please ignore the above paragraph because it is quoting a US govt. official ... IRAQ HAS WMDs this is still fresh in our minds.

Rafia Zakaria is an attorney living in the United States where she teaches courses on Constitutional Law and Political Philosophy.

OMG! Only God can save the American constitution :yahoo:

Article has some decent points on the plight of Asian migrants working in ME but it sounds more like a pro-Irani or a pro-US POV which is extremly bias.

In our hate or extreme dislikeness for a certain ethnicity, we forget that Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was also an Arab and use words like 'Arab discrimination'

Author and Guadian should write about the support insurgents in Pakistan are recieving from elements within Afghanistan but offcourse they will wait till it is verified by the US envoy


:pakistan:
 
.
Quote
Pakistanis themselves, mired in denial and ever-ready to engage in the pantomime of pretending to be Arab, are inured to this reality of Arab racism. Easily appeased with the promise of Gulf jobs when their own country is in shambles they consider any paltry thankless employment a godsend

“We need slaves to build monuments,” says an Iraqi engineer living in Abu Dhabi to a reporter from the Guardian. In the published report he goes to add that he would never use the metro if it wasn’t segregated since “we would never sit next to Pakistanis and Indians because of their smell”.

The dismal condition of Pakistani labourers in the Gulf States is well known and the above statements are merely reflections of the deep-seeded and overtly racist attitudes of Arabs in the Gulf and otherwise towards Pakistanis.
Unquote


The problem is not with Pakistanis alone but with all expatriates who belong to poor countries. No doubt the conditions are bad and most of the UAE development is thru slave labour from Pakistan/India, Sri Lanka, Bangla Desh and Philippines.

Despite the fact the most of the Pakistani labourers are living under pathetic conditions and have no human rights whatsoever; the ones over in the UAE are considered fortunate by those who want to come but are unable to do so.

Dear Compatriots, the answer lies in improving conditions in Pakistan so that Pakistanis don’t need to go abroad.
 
.
A recent statement issued by Special Envoy Richard Holbrooke in Brussels revealed that the Taliban are being funded by individuals from the Gulf States. Secretary Holbrooke said: “The Taliban receive more funding from the Gulf States than they do from the narcotics trade”.
This statement is made to undermine the fact how Taliban can afford a war with NATO+US+PAKISTAN !!!!
Fact is there is no real war in Afghanistan as it is in northern parts of Pakistan: TTP vs Pak army. Financing of TTP is a circumstancial evidence which was criminaly not put up on table by Pakistan's newly appointed govt.
It is same when surprisingly Pak arm crushed the gorkha soldiers furnished by US arms and to cover up the **** US media leaked that US arms are stolen in Afghanistan. It was again same as when private militia in Iraq were countered by locals and US wepons were found from there custody and media leaked US guns are stolen in Iraq!
Similarly today Pakistan govt. have suddenly banned religous organisations in a surprise move.

Dubai sheikhs pamper Pakistani politicians by issuing them visa for spending money and Pakistani politicians in return do not discuss the issue on diplomatic level.
Irespective that whole Pakistan is willing to travel to Dubai on meger conditions, laws of the state should protect the basic human rights.
Labor laws should be on top of basic human rights issues.
Every one must be forced to go on holiday, every year for a period of one month.
18 hours work is criminal and some times labor does not get they money for 18 hour work and this should be treated very very strictly.
 
Last edited:
.
:yahoo:

There are recists Arabs but there are racist Pakistanis, Americans, Canadian, Iranians and Europeans as well. Lets not use actions of one person or few people to stereo type an entire ethnicity.

We should also remember the way we treat Bangladeshi and Pakistani labourers in Pakistan.



Well Guardian should pay attention to the plight of Pakistanis in UK first :)

Only a few months back, innocent Pakistanis, in UK, were dragged out of their residences and arrested under the charge of terrorism without any evidence.

Many Asian immigrants live in similar condition in UK to save money.

In Toronto, many Asian immigrants live in almost the same condition as well.

My point is, lets sort out our own socieites before criticizing others.



This statement is made to undermine the fact that opium and drug trade still thrive in Afghanistan. US always like to delegate their own problems on to someone else.

Real issue is that campaign in Afghanistan is a complete failure and biggest contributor has been the drug trade which is also supported by the rogue elements within the Allied forces and the CIA.

The US envoy is trying to divert attention from the real issue so that people can not blame the US forces and the govt. in their complete incompetence.




Ms. Zakaria should invetsigate herself instead of depending others. us $100 million can't be right. The amount has to be far more greater than that.



Please ignore the above paragraph because it is quoting a US govt. official ... IRAQ HAS WMDs this is still fresh in our minds.



OMG! Only God can save the American constitution :yahoo:

Article has some decent points on the plight of Asian migrants working in ME but it sounds more like a pro-Irani or a pro-US POV which is extremly bias.

In our hate or extreme dislikeness for a certain ethnicity, we forget that Prophet Mohammed (peace be upon him) was also an Arab and use words like 'Arab discrimination'

Author and Guadian should write about the support insurgents in Pakistan are recieving from elements within Afghanistan but offcourse they will wait till it is verified by the US envoy


:pakistan:

Friend, you've done an excellent job exposing the lies in this 'objective' propaganda piece. :cheers:
 
.

Country Latest Posts

Back
Top Bottom