Father of 78 eyes new brides for century target

Reuters & stuff.co.nz, Tuesday, 21 August 2007

A one-legged Emirati father of 78 is lining up his next two wives in a bid to reach his target of 100 children by 2015, Emirates Today reported.

Daad Mohammed Murad Abdul Rahman, 60, has already had 15 brides although he has to divorce them as he goes along to remain within the legal limit of four wives at a time.

"In 2015 I will be 68 years old and will have 100 children," the local tabloid quoted Abdul Rahman as saying.

"After that I will stop marrying. I have to have at least three more marriages to hit the century."

The United Arab Emirates newspaper splashed its front page with a picture of Abdul Rahman surrounded by his children, the eldest of whom is 36 years old and the youngest of whom is 20 days old. Two of his current three wives are also pregnant.

Abdul Rahman said his large family lived in 15 houses. He supports them with his military pension and the help of the government of Ajman, one of seven emirates that comprise the UAE, which includes the Gulf trade and tourism hub of Dubai.

Islam allows men to marry up to four women at a time, though most marry only one. The UAE is a Muslim country but is home to migrants from around the world.

Insiktsfullt om Dubai

Mats Larsson på Expressen har skrivit en jättebra artikelserie om Dubai. Läs mer här.

Huva!

35 grader är okej. 40 grader är okej. Till och med 45 grader är okej. Men med 60 procents luftfuktighet, är det verkligen INTE okej.

Artikeln nedan är från Gulf News idag:

Dubai records another sizzling day
By Daniel Bardsly, Staff Reporter

Dubai: Wednesday ranked as the most uncomfortable day of the year so far as high humidity and high temperatures jointly combined to make life outdoors a sweat-drenched ordeal.

The emirate recorded a high of 41 degrees centigrade and the midday humidity peaked at 61 per cent.

In Dubai, the meteorologists' comfort index shot up to eight on a 10-point scale, which represents "extremely uncomfortable" conditions.

It is only the second time this year the index has reached eight, the first occasion being on June 16.

UAE residents tried to avoid spending too much time out of doors because of the trying conditions.

Man måste lära sig krypa innan man kan gå

Det har varit mycket diskussion om landets byggnadsarbetares rättigheter. Byggnadsarbetarna står för nästan hälften av Dubais befolkning, men trots att det i praktiken är de som är själva grundbulten i den fantastiska byggboom som just nu genomsyrar emiratet, har deras rättigheter varit långt ner på listan över sådant som bör prioriteras i den nya ekonomin.

Arbetarnas rättigheter har starkt kritiserats av Human Rights Watch och utländsk media.

Vi har kunnat läsa att arbetarnas rättigheterna är noll. Men på senaste år verkar shejkerna ha tagit åt sig av kritiken. Förbättringar - om än små - görs ständigt.

Några exempel:
1. Förr slussades arbetarna till och från arbetsplatsen på boskapsflak. Nu måste alla som körs till och från sin arbetsplats enligt lag köras i luftkondidionerade bussar.

2. Arbetarna har ofta fått sin lön endast när det passat företaget det jobbar på. Med jämna mellanrum har arbetare protesterat för att de inte fått lön på några månader, domstolen har dömt att lönen måste betalas ut. Några månader senare upprepas samma sak med någon annan arbetsgivare. Det har nästan varit en regel att de två första månadslönerna inte betaladets ut förrän i slutet av den tredje månaden. Nu ska det vara slut med det. En ny lag i Abu Dhabi stipulerar att alla pengar måste betalas till de anställdas bankkonton, för att hårdare koll ska kunna hållas.

3. Emiratet Sharjah har också börjat ta sig en titt på arbetarnas situation. Nyligen lagstiftades det om att inte mer än högst sex arbetare för inhysas i samma sovrum, och att rummen ska vara tillräckligt stora för att arbetarna ska få minst 3,5 kvadratmeter stor yta. Läs mer här.

4. Mitt på dagen är det paus som gäller. Åtminstone nu när temperaturen redan tangerar 50 grader, och luftfuktigheten gör det svårt att ens gå till bilen utan att bli genomblöt. Varje år dör en handfull arbetare av överhettning. Därför måste arbetsgivarna sedan 2005 låta byggnadsarbetarna vila mellan halv ett och tre på eftermiddagen. Många, många arbetsgivare bryter mot reglerna. Men straffen är hårda, och fler förväntas följa reglerna i år. Läs mer här.

Än är det en lång väg att vandra tills arbetarnas ges samma rättigheter som oss andra, men de första stapplande stegen har åtminstone börjat tas. Vem vet - om några år kanske arbetarna till och med ses som människor.

The Palm on Fire

As usual, we didn't know about it. As was the case last time, when there was a fire in a house in the marina, it was the people back home that told us.

Media is not open here, which is one reason that we didn't know about it. The other is that media in Sweden sometimes tend to embrace Jante and its don't-think-that-you-are-someone mentality.

Anyhow, even though Aftonbladet said that the black smoke from the palm was floating over Dubai like a giant shadow, noone I know noticed anything. The fire were really a local one and, as I have heard, quickly put out.

The pictures to the left are taken from www.skyskrapercity.com

60 percent...

...of Dubai is under construction. You can se the buidings that are growing on some of those procents on these pictures. This is from outside Greens, on my way to work.

Sand Storm

Divorse for calling wife a mouse

A Dubai court granted a divorce to a 28-year-old Arab woman because she was offended when her husband said she looked like a mouse.

The court said comparing the wife to a mouse was an insult to a "mother, wife and a woman".

"The mouse is a disgusting animal. A woman should not be compared to it or any other animal," said the lawyer of the woman, a mother of three children.

The Dubai Sharia Court of First Instance had earlier turned down the wife's claim for divorce. She then appealed and was granted the divorce. The 37-year-old husband was also ordered to pay her a monthly maintenance.

Source: Gulf News

The traffic...

...is getting worse by the day. Almost 213 000 new cars were registered in Dubai alone last year, which is an increase by 30 percent. No wonder we have all these traffic congestions!

On the picture, you can see how the Dubai metro is being built - a monorail system that will give people like me an option when it comes to transport. At least in 2008 when the first rails are planned to be finished.

The Formula 1 festival...

...in Abu Dhabi was to be hold as a secret as long as possible. Dubai or any other emirate shouldn't get a chance to intervene in the plans to let Abu Dhabi host an official Formula 1 race.

It worked. In the afternoon of last Saturday, the owner of Formula 1 and the sheikhs of Abu Dhabi signed a contract, allowing Abu Dhabi to have an official Formula 1 race in 2009.

Even though it had been a secret, many visitors showed up for the Formula 1 festival. Two of those being this couple from Philippines.

Burj Dubai

Burj Dubai recently reached 100 floors. Exactly how tall it will be is still a well kept secret.