Bullies, who likes them? Everyone, apparently. We admire people who scoff, tease, hit and jeer at others just to show how powerful they are. Look at the movie The Avengers, where so-called superheroes and a mythic god take merciless jabs at each other. Children love it, but what kind of message is it sending?
There are similar messages in cartoons, video games, websites and other media. It's a Molotov cocktail of angst, fear and hurt. But bullying is a learnt behaviour and, with a little work, it can be undone. “There are three kinds of people in this world – the bullies, the bullied and those who watch, but don’t stop it,” says psychologist Philip Zimbardo, who created the infamous Stanford Experiment, where subjects in a lab were assigned the roles of guards or inmates in a simulation of prison life. The result was an epic tale of bullying in which the guards used their power to humiliate and harm the prisoners. It became so bad it had to be abandoned.
But what happens when, instead of having power over each other, individuals feel the need to help and take care of each other?
A Turkish friend of mine wore really big, thick glasses as a child, yet he says that he was never bullied because of this. I call this the “kardash effect”, from the Turkish word for sibling. Through this lens, other people are seen as an extension of oneself. It is a powerful concept and it prevents children – and adults – from being hurt.
Brotherhood and sisterhood is what stitches individuals into the fabric of society. When I worked at Turkish schools, I was amazed how the children never fought with each other – unlike in the United States, where they fought all day, every day. In Turkey, to fight was regarded as shameful; in America it was almost a type of entertainment. Some children would actually feel bored if there wasn’t any trouble going on.
This concept has become a staple of reality television shows, where one person throws another “under the bus” or yells in someone’s face.
Bullying – from the boss to the street cleaner to the child at school – also occurs in the UAE. It seems to me that everyone has had a taste of it.
Two years ago, a child suffered brain damage after being bullied at school. In another case, an engineer in Dubai was bullied so badly at work that he quit his job. “Most people do it because they know that they will not get caught, or that no one has the guts to fight back,” the man told me. “The victims, mostly, are afraid that they will lose their jobs and get deported for causing trouble.”
Imagine a father who gets bullied at work, then comes home and bullies his wife and children. This turns into an angry ball of confusion spreading throughout society. It becomes a case of Zimbardo’s three: the bullied, the bully and those who do nothing to stop it.
Schools are mirrors of society, where administrators and parents may bully each other and both may gang up on the teachers. The pupils see this and then learn the power of bullying. The question is: what can individuals do to stop the cycle? Learn adab and akhlaq.
Adab is the knowledge that saves one from doing wrong. Akhlaq involves right actions and right behaviour. Together, they ensure the safety and comfort of everyone. These concepts are the foundation of Islam, and hold universal value for any society that wants to improve itself. The book Good Character, by Musa Kazim Gulcur, is a guide to these concepts and how to implement them at every level. The book serves well as a parenting book and as a business leadership manual.
In the 1990s, New York City adopted a “Nice New Yorker” campaign in an attempt to change the image of its citizens. Perhaps we could start an akhlaq campaign, were people can learn adab and akhlaq. It can start at school and, insha Allah, grow from there.
Maryam Ismail is a sociologist and teacher who divides her time between the US and the UAE
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Other workplace saving schemes
- The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
- Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
- National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
- In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
- Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
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Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km
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WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
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3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
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Virat Kohli (captain), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik (wkt), Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Mohammad Shami, Jasprit Bumrah.
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
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3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
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Jordan cabinet changes
In
- Raed Mozafar Abu Al Saoud, Minister of Water and Irrigation
- Dr Bassam Samir Al Talhouni, Minister of Justice
- Majd Mohamed Shoueikeh, State Minister of Development of Foundation Performance
- Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education and Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research
- Falah Abdalla Al Ammoush, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Basma Moussa Ishakat, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Ghazi Monawar Al Zein, Minister of Health
- Ibrahim Sobhi Alshahahede, Minister of Agriculture and Minister of Environment
- Dr Mohamed Suleiman Aburamman, Minister of Culture and Minister of Youth
Out
- Dr Adel Issa Al Tawissi, Minister of High Education and Scientific Research
- Hala Noaman “Basiso Lattouf”, Minister of Social Development
- Dr Mahmud Yassin Al Sheyab, Minister of Health
- Yahya Moussa Kasbi, Minister of Public Works and Housing
- Nayef Hamidi Al Fayez, Minister of Environment
- Majd Mohamed Shoueika, Minister of Public Sector Development
- Khalid Moussa Al Huneifat, Minister of Agriculture
- Dr Awad Abu Jarad Al Mushakiba, Minister of Justice
- Mounir Moussa Ouwais, Minister of Water and Agriculture
- Dr Azmi Mahmud Mohafaza, Minister of Education
- Mokarram Mustafa Al Kaysi, Minister of Youth
- Basma Mohamed Al Nousour, Minister of Culture
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
