Dubai Falls on Hard Times
NRC HANDELSBLAD: The wealthy Gulf state of Dubai has been hit hard by the global economic crisis. Tens of thousands of workers have been laid off and forced to return to their homelands. The Dutch community in Dubai is also feeling the pinch.

Jan Demmink has lived in Dubai for 28 years. It's the pleasant atmosphere, the entrepreneurial spirit and the climate that keep him in the Gulf state. He witnessed the transformation of what was once a tranquil and prosperous town into the vast collection of skyscrapers that makes up modern-day Dubai.

Under the leadership of Sheik Mohammed and his father Maktoum III, the emirate invested in the financial sector, tourism and real estate. The bigger, more expensive and more luxurious the better. Yet these are the very sectors that have been shaken to their foundations by the crisis and meanwhile Dubai has no major oil reserves to fall back on.

Financial nosedive

Jan Demmink works in the electronic security of complexes such as refineries, palaces and roads. His position is safe for the time being. "I work on long-running projects, so I have yet to feel the effects of the crisis," he explains. "But in construction you can see the signs already. A halt has been called to projects that were only started recently, or which have yet to get under way."

Dutch dredging company Van Oord is one of those in the firing line. The company hit the headlines worldwide with the construction of Palm Jumeirah, the first of Dubai's famous Palm islands and the construction of The World archipelago. Van Oord was all set to embark on a third island project, Palm Deira, an order worth 2.5 billion euros, the largest in the company's history. Part of the order has already been realised but the rest is on the back burner for the foreseeable future. The funding simply isn't there. Spokesman Bert Groothuizen says no one saw the rapid changes coming. "It was a nosedive. Especially in the fourth quarter of 2008. And I don't think these problems will be solved in six months' time." Expats Feeling the Economic Nosedive in Dubai >>> By Willemien Groot for Radio Netherlands Worldwide | Friday, February 27, 2009

The Dawning of a New Dark Age (Paperback & Hardback – The Netherlands) >>>

Nervousness in the Dutch Expat Community because of Geert Wilders’ Film
RADIO NETHERLANDS WORLDWIDE: Dutch people living abroad are worried about the effects of right-wing politician Geert Wilders' anti-Qu'ran film. In recent weeks Dutch embassies have been busy making emergency plans, a move which many people have judged as an over-reaction. However, Dutch expats in Islamic countries in particular say that they are already having problems as a result of comments made by Wilders and that they are beginning to fear for their personal safety.

More than 1000 Dutch participants in Radio Netherlands Worldwide's World Panel - all of them living outside the Netherlands - have responded to questions put to them about the commotion surrounding the Wilders' film, which has yet to be released. 

The Dutch embassies' fears of a possible violent reaction seem to have escaped the attention of the majority of the respondents. However, of those living in Islamic countries, nine percent say they had been approached by or received relevant information from their embassy.

For the rest, most of the Dutch expats seem fairly calm and believe the media have devoted too much attention to Mr Wilders' comments. Furthermore, there was no talk of any of them returning - temporarily or otherwise - to the Netherlands in connection with this issue.



Danger


Geert Wilders, leader of the new Freedom Party, has been major news in the Netherlands for weeks with his anti-Qu'ran film, even though no one has seen a single second of it and it's not yet known where and when it will be released. 



For many people, though, they simply have think back to what happened following the release of Theo van Gogh's film Submission in 2004. He was killed by an extremist Muslim several months later. 



Many Dutch expats are concerned about their own position and no fewer than nine out of ten believe that Wilders' has put his own life in danger too. Around half of the respondents to the RNW survey warn that Dutch firms could soon be boycotted as a result of the film. 



A somewhat smaller percentage fears that there could also be attacks on Dutch targets. However, the most remarkable finding concerns the number of Dutch citizens in Islamic countries who say they are already facing problems or even danger in connection with Geert Wilders: 43 percent.

Politics

Even in Islamic countries, however, the majority of the expats who responded to the survey believe that Wilders should be able to say whatever he wants and that the Dutch government should not take action against the film. While they think that his statements are indeed polarising Dutch society and offensive to a large group of people, nearly two-thirds believe that he is only saying what most people think. Wilders and his film worry Dutch expats >>> By Perro de Jong

Mark Alexander (Paperback)
Mark Alexander (Hardback)