Exploring Ajman

Ajman is one of seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The term 'emirate' compares roughly to the old term 'shiekhdom'. It is the third of the seven that I have written about. To read about the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, please see my posts dated 02-13-09 Bye, Bye, Dubai? and 03-06-09 Exploring Abu Dhabi

The Oxford Business Group webpage has this to say about Ajman:

- Ajman was formed by the Al Nuaim tribe, who migrated to the region from Oman around 1775. Ajman’s first recognition as an autonomous state was the General Treaty of Peace with Britain (1820). It also subscribed to the Maritime Truce of 1835 and to the Perpetual Maritime Truce in 1853. An exclusive agreement was signed in 1892, placing Ajman and the other Trucial States’ foreign relations in the hands of the British government. In 1968, Britain announced its intention to withdraw from its Gulf treaty obligations by 1971. In December 1971, the British left the area permanently, leaving a path for the formation of the UAE, of which Ajman was a founding member.

- Ajman itself is the smallest of the seven emirates, with a total landmass of 260 sq km, accounting for approximately 0.3% of the total UAE. It is composed of three sections, the principal portion being landward on the Gulf coast, sharing almost its entire border with Sharjah. This section is also the capital city of Ajman and the emirate’s only urban settlement.

- Ajman’s climate is very dry, with minimal rainfall. The weather varies depending on distance from the Gulf coast. The climate is pleasant from November to April, with warm sunny days, cool evenings and low humidity. Daytime temperatures range from 18 degrees Celsius to 30 degrees Celsius. From May to September, the summer heat and often-high humidity forces most people to head to cooler climes, with daytime temperatures in excess of 45 degrees Celsius. There are occasional tropical storms from January to March.

- Ajman has granted petroleum concessions to foreign companies; however, no supplies have yet been discovered. The Al Zora gas field, off the coast of Ajman, has potential to be developed in the future, but operations have not yet begun. click here to read more

Additional interesting facts about Ajman that I found while looking up other things:

(1) From the brief history above - "Ajman was formed by the Al Nuaim tribe, who migrated to the region from Oman around 1775." One year before the colonies, which were to become the United States of America, declared their independence from England, the Al Nuaim tribe left Oman and, in a sense, declared its own independence. Why did the Al Nuaim tribe decide to leave Oman? Was there repression of some kind to escape, like what motivated the USA's founders? Was it to search for better natural resources?

After a lengthy research battle, with both Google and Dogpile as my allies, I most humbly admit scholarly defeat and refer to Wikipedia for this possible answer: "The Al Nuaim (Arabic: النعيم) tribe is an Arab bedouin tribe, based primarily in the Arab states of the Persian Gulf. The tribe is the ruling family in Ajman. In Bahrain, the traditional home of the tribe has been Halat Nuaim island. The tribe used to be involved in the lucrative pearl diving industry. The Al Nuaim tribe was one of the several bedouin tribes to move to Bahrain in 1783 after the Al Khalifa conquered the island."

(2) In 1988, the Ajman University of Science and Technology (AUST) was founded. Reading this brought to mind one of my alma maters, DeVry University, formerly known as Devry Institute of Technology. It would be interesting to sit down with some AUST students in electronics and compare notes. I suspect their coursework is now so far advanced from what I learned in 1979-1981, that we'd likely be speaking different languages (in more ways than one!). If I brought up troubleshooting a circuit board at the individual component level, they would probably laugh. Well, I enjoy a good laugh - even when it's at my expense.

(3) Traditional methods of learning about a foreign land can sometimes make what should be a vitally interesting exercise... well... boring. I mean, are population figures, Gross National Product, and budget figures really interesting? I know, I myself included some facts like this at the outset of the post. So your intrepid explorer has found a topic that truly bridges the gap between peoples of different countries: sewage disposal! In July of 2007, the website, arabianbusiness.com, carried an article entitled, "Ajman turns on sewage system". I quote the opening two paragraphs:

- The northern emirate of Ajman will soon switch on its new AED 800 million sewerage system, according to the Ajman Municipality. The addition to the emirate's infrastructure is being set up to cope with large-scale commercial and residential projects.

- "A healthy living environment for residents, a more vibrant economy, and a greener Ajman are just a few of the benefits promised by the new system," said Sheikh Rashid Bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, chairman of Ajman Sewerage Company. click here to read more

Yet another area of common interest, my memory called out. In the late 1950s, I remember new, large sewage pipes being installed in my south side Chicago neighborhood. They seemed enormous to my 8 year old self. The large piles of dirt created in order to accommodate the pipes were great fun to climb, and being modestly dangerous was a bonus too. Did the children in Ajman have similar fun experiences? I'd like to hope so.

(4) Finally, what better bridge-builder between peoples is there than sports? When members of racial minorities were permitted to play in the major USA sports, resistance was experienced at first. But soon, you had white Americans cheering for African American, Hispanic, and Asian players. And what is rarely mentioned, is the reverse. You had minority group kids and adults cheering for white athletes. It gets tougher and tougher to hate someone when you're cheering for them.

So I close this week's post with this item from the March 18, 2009 Gulf Daily News:

- Al Nuaim Boys School clinched the Secondary Schools Handball Championship after a 44-32 victory over Ahmed Al Omran School at Al Shabab Club gym in Jedhafs.

- The final match was held under the patronage of Education Ministry's physical education and scouts director Dr Shaikha Al Jeeb who presented the trophy and other individual prizes to the winners at the awarding ceremony in presence of physical education head Ghazi Al Marzooq and other ministry officials.

Impress your friends, coworkers, and neighbors by mentioning that sports item at your next get-together!

Bye Bye, Dubai?

The worldwide economic house of cards continues its collapse. The latest victim? Dubai. On February 11, the New York Times carried an article entitled, "Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down" Click here to read more. Before examining this report, let's look at a bit of background on Dubai.

What and where is Dubai? It is a city/emirate within the country known as the United Arab Emirates (UAE) See Dubai map. An 'emirate' is defined as a domain that is ruled by an emir. An 'emir' is the term applied to a leader, or chiefain, especially in the Middle East. The UAE is located in the Middle East. It borders Saudi Arabia and Oman. See UAE map. It is made up of seven emirates (Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah, Fujairah, Umm Al Quwain) that were previously known as the Trucial States.

What is Dubai's recent history? The following is a partial quote from an official Dubai government website: Click here to read more

"In the 1980s and early 1990s, Dubai took a strategic decision to emerge as a major international-quality tourism destination. Investments in tourism infrastructure have paid off handsomely over the years.

Dubai is now a city that boasts unmatchable hotels, remarkable architecture and world-class entertainment and sporting events. The beautiful Burj Al Arab hotel presiding over the coastline of Jumeira beach is the world's only hotel with a seven star rating. The Emirates Towers are one of the many structures that remind us of the commercial confidence in a city that expands at a remarkable rate. Standing 350 meters high, the office tower is the tallest building in the Middle East and Europe.

Dubai also hosts major international sporting events. The Dubai Desert Classic is a major stop on the Professional Golf Association tour. The Dubai Open, an ATP tennis tournament, and the Dubai World Cup, the world's richest horse race, draw thousands every year."

The world's tallest building is being built there. Man-made recreational islands were constructed for those in the world's wealthiest class to enjoy. At least one could admire Dubai's attempts to diversify its economy.

These projects were begun when oil was approaching $100 a barrel, and economic boom times seemed to have no end in site. Tens of thousands of people from around the world flocked to Dubai for good-paying jobs and low, sometimes non-existent, taxes. As a matter of fact, 90% of Dubai's population is comprised of these foreigners.

That brings us to Sofia's story in the Times article:

"Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai’s fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage." ... “I’m really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here,” said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. “If I can’t pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors’ prison.”

Well, debtor's prison certainly worked wonders during the Middle Ages, didn't it? It worked so well that it totally eliminated the problem of people going in over their heads in debt, right? Similarly, when punishment for stealing a loaf of bread resulted in the thief's hand being cut off resulted in the virtual end of theft as a category of crime. But back to Dubai.

Dubai may also have the dubious distinction of having the world's largest used car lot. It's known as the Dubai airport parking lot.

"With Dubai’s economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield."

The Dubai government has officially declined comment on this economic collapse-in-progress. However, the word on the street, in the form of real estate and auto sales, says it all:

"Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai’s six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody’s Investor’s Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai’s most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say."

Many people must wonder if no corner of the globe is immune from this recession/depression. We might have thought that even though oil prices are down to ~$35 a barrel, the oil-producing Middle Eastern countries would still stay monetarily afloat, minus a few Mercedes or so. But look at Dubai. Its foreign population is fleeing. And what of its native populace? Neighboring emirates of the UAE are not helping Dubai. Neighboring Middle Eastern countries are not helping. It has become every group for itself.

Now is the time for a unified vision and approach. Not fractured fearful reactions. Yet what has history shown us? The Great Depression of the 1930s did nothing to unite nations in the common bond of economic despair. It was followed by World War II, setting the world chessboard for the matches we've been playing the past 65 years.

Will this current economic free fall result in a reshuffling of the chess pieces? Maybe, it's time to change the game.

See my other posts on emirates: Exploring Abu Dhabi, Exploring Ajman, and Exploring Fujairah