When we North Americans think of the differences between the
fabulously wealthy Arab sheikhdoms of the Persian Gulf and
ourselves, we think mostly in political terms. We think of their
attitude towards women and how it compares to prevailing views here
after four decades of female liberation. We compare their strict
religiosity to our secularism. Or we may think about our support
for Israel vs. their reluctance to even acknowledge that country’s
existence.
Working in the Gulf region gives you a wider perspective on
these differences. (I worked in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from
late 2004 to June 2005.) You get to swap notes with people from all
over South Asia (India, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Sri Lanka), for
one thing. They make up the bulk of the expatriate workforce in the
Gulf and have their own view of the Gulf Arabs, which is distinct
from ours and in some ways much more sophisticated.
After several conversations with South Asian friends, I found
that the differences noted by the South Asians between themselves
and the Gulf Arabs were much more interesting than the differences
I saw between Gulf Arabs and Westerners. (I do not necessarily
endorse these views, but I want to share them because I think they
will be of interest to a larger audience.)
I had one South Asian friend who made the following observation,
late one night after a rambling conversation about the Gulf Arab
states: “Can you name a single Gulf Arab who has left this region
and become a well-known, well-regarded physician in another part of
the world? Are there any Gulf Arab novelists, poets or artists who
are known to overseas audiences? What about scientists — can you
name any famous Kuwaiti or Saudi researchers, for example?” He had
lived and worked in the Gulf for years and was convinced the answer
to each question is “no.”
I remember another South Asian friend who used to shake his head
at the vagaries of Gulf Arab-style corporate management. Whenever
he heard about some bizarre request or directive from a Gulf Arab
higher-up, he would laugh and then start scratching his left ear by
putting his right hand behind his head. (Try it — you have to
twist your arm to do this).
This was an inside joke among the employees of the place where
my friend worked. His silent message: “These guys make everything
more difficult than it has to be.” They can even make the act of
scratching one’s ear more complicated than necessary. (I understand
Gulf Arabs tell the same joke about South Asians.)
WHERE NORTH AMERICANS MIGHT think mainly of the political
differences between us and the Gulf Arabs, the South Asians I met,
as you can tell, were much more keen to point out the Gulf Arab
region’s lack (in their eyes) of any significant scientific,
cultural or artistic achievements — and contrast this failure with
the energetic South Asian diaspora and its many accomplishments
across so many fields.
One popular South Asian view of the Gulf Arabs, as I came to
understand it, is that the latter have come to think that wealth is
“found,” rather than created. That is, they think wealth is what
you get when you sell oil and natural gas. This is the only form of
wealth creation they understand or are interested in. Alternative
forms of wealth creation, such as making cars or patenting new
products, leave them cold.
The oil bonanza buried under their feet has corrupted the Gulf
Arabs and ruined their capacity for hard work, from this point of
view. This collapsed work ethic has created many wonderful work
opportunities for enterprising Indians, Pakistanis and others,
however, since Gulf Arab employers must import thousands of foreign
workers to staff their organizations
One sign of the corruption of Gulf Arab culture, from this South
Asian point of view, can be found in its failure to stress the need
to study hard and master topics such as the natural sciences,
medicine, computer programming or engineering. Gulf Arabs thus do
not see the point of applying this knowledge to the work of
building, researching or creating new things. Better to try to get
a job within the state-owned oil monopolies, or sell imported
luxury goods to those people who hold such jobs.
This “wealth-is-found” view has other consequences for the Gulf
Arabs, my South Asian friends pointed out. When you believe wealth
comes only from the sale of oil, this also precludes you from
putting in the effort to build up any major manufacturing
capabilities.
Thanks to oil, the Gulf Arabs have loads of investment capital.
Motivated, skilled labor cannot be pumped out of the ground,
however. So while the Saudis, Kuwaitis et al. could easily build
first-class, high-tech plants, for example, it would be much harder
for them to find Gulf Arabs in any significant numbers willing to
work factory shifts and cut, stamp, press, cast, shape, weld, mould
or even assemble products for export.
Again, the “wealth is found” mentality represents a big
roadblock. After all, why even think of working in a factory, when
the real money is found through sinecures within the oil
ministry?
I DON’T WANT TO MAKE IT SOUND as if a dedication to manufacturing
goods for exports would end the Gulf region’s instability, but it
couldn’t hurt. A Saudi Arabia that aimed to export children’s toys
or power tools instead of Wahhabi fanatics would be a good step
forward. (I should point out that the Saudis are experimenting with industrialization on a big scale in
the cities of Jubail and Yanbu, so there’s room for hope.)
Squeezed by this shortage of skilled, enthusiastic labor,
ambitious capital-rich Gulf Arab investors instead have to find
profitable opportunities outside their region, in sectors such as
ports, real estate and hotels. The billions of dollars, yen and
euros earned by the Gulf Arabs thus end up leaving the region and
creating jobs for other people — an ironic consequence of the
skills shortage caused, in part, by the “wealth is found”
mindset.
The ruling families of the Gulf Arab states have proven
remarkably resistant to political or economic reforms of any kind.
Perhaps it is only when their energy reserves are running dry that
they will start to consider looking at how their countries could
create wealth through manufacturing or some other
non-energy-related export. Or perhaps the rise of India and China
(through industrialization and mass education) might impress them
enough to consider a shift in mindset away from merely extracting
wealth out of the ground to actively working to create it. But the
longer they put off this issue, the harder it will be to
change.
