High Income Developing Country

Abu Dhabi appears to be a modern city with several sleek high rises, high quality roads, a new bus system, and expensive cars. While some buildings are dilapidated and crumbling, most apartments and villas are nice looking and clean. Malls are modern to the extreme. Living in Abu Dhabi made me wonder, why do they call UAE a high income developing country?

This week I traveled about a half an hour from Abu Dhabi to tour the Musaffah and ICAD Industrial Areas with two inspectors from the Abu Dhabi Environment Agency. It was another world. Musaffah is an old industrial are with several small automotive, painting, and other small-scale shops. ICAD I is a relatively new industrial area with asphalt manufacturing, cement mix facilities, and iron and steel makers. Right now, plans are afoot to expand the large ICAD areas from 1 to 5.

I have toured industrial sites in the U.S. before, and they are generally clean and organized, with workers wearing safety equipment. The shops in Musaffah are dirty, with oil contamination in the sand and dark smoke coming from smoke stacks. There is a large salt water lake where dump trucks come to illegally offload construction waste. One water way was completely red. My colleague said it looked like the Saudi Arabian industrial areas he worked in 30 years ago.

Perhaps the saddest sight was the worker accommodations. The workers lived right next to a massive city waste transfer station overfilling with stinking trash. Small, primitive cinderblock dwellings were divided into two. I have no idea how many people live in each dwelling. There was a pile of thin mattresses sitting out in the sun. Socks and underwear hung in some windows. Luckily there were window AC units on each trailer. How sad that they are stuck in the middle of industrial wasteland with no shops and no entertainment. I assume this is how agricultural workers live in the US. As we left a large tanker truck of drinking water was pulling in and one of the inspectors said “Here is the water for the animals—I mean the workers.” He shared my sentiments on the sad conditions. I had to have a moment of silence for the sad plight of the workers and the environment in Musaffah.

The ICAD areas are a bit more advanced; industries are larger and their facilities appeared to be cleaner. There is a massive new development for worker housing called ICAD Worker City that looked pretty impressive from a distance. It’s still amazing to think of the number of workers living out in the middle of the desert to work in dangerous factories. The inspectors confirmed that there are environmental problems at many of the facilities: air pollution, lack of worker safety equipment, soil contamination, no areas for waste, etc. There is a lot of work to do here.

Apartment Hunt Facts

Prices for renting flats in Abu Dhabi have increased by 50% on average in the last 7 months. A furnished apartment that we found in January for $3,000 is now $5,000 unfurnished (that IS U.S. dollars). And we thought DC was expensive.

Questions from an apartment application:
Do you have any tame animal?
If your answer is yes please mention your animal.
Do you have any mechanical machines?
Do you like plants?

For apartment furnishings, we've been ask to choose between two styles of decor: Yoshi and Rana. Which would you choose?

The first time I flew to Dubai

The first time I flew to Dubai, I was immediately whisked from the
airport to a fancy banquet and laser/fire light show; I had to change
into an evening dress in the back of an SUV on the way. It
was strange to arrive in Abu Dhabi this time with four massive bags
and realize this is my new home.

Until we find a flat, we are staying in the same hotel I had visited
on my last trip to here. There is an amazing view of the azure
sea. A new island has appeared in the view, close enough to swim to,
since I was last here a year and a half ago. One morning as we gazed
out the window at breakfast my colleague asked "Was that building
there when I went to bed last night?" The pace of development is
astounding. There are 120 large development projects under review
right now by the Environment Agency. Some of them are complex
industrial areas and many are large resorts. One project requires
that 20,000 animals be removed from an island so that large hotels can be built.

My favorite activity so far is people watching; women look exotic and
mysterious and men look quite regal. Local men wear long white robes,
sandals, sun glasses, and mobile phone microphones next to their
mouths. Individuality is displayed by the choice and knotting of the
headscarf: white and long, red and tied together in the back; white
and held in place by a black ring. Some teen males sport long white
robes and baseball caps; one teenage posse wore black plaid robes.
Women from the Gulf wear long black robes; some robes have bands of
sequins or sparkles along the borders. Some women show their face,
some only their eyes, and some completely cover their face in
translucent black material. A few women wear a metal mask that covers
the eyebrows, nose and mouth.

Reading the local paper is enlightening. Headlines include: Sloppy
Animals in the Road, British Woman Arrested for Lewd Acts (for making out on the beach); Robber uses Chili Paste to Stun Victim. I'll send more
entertaining headlines and highlights as I come across them.