Everyone who moves to the UAE finds themselves at some point comparing how things are done here to the way they are at home.
Some things – such as the exceptional levels of tolerance towards other philosophies and faiths, the emphasis on the importance of family and the absence of income tax – are demonstrably better here. Others – like the concept of orderly queuing and using indicators when changing lanes – are little things that have me hankering for the way things were done back home.
Overall this comparison is a good thing. Too many of our attitudes and behaviours tend to be simply because everyone in our country of origin – in my case, New Zealand – has always done things that way, without questioning whether there’s a better approach.
That kind of mindlessness doesn’t survive long amid the 200-plus nationalities represented in the UAE, but since the underlying tenet of the UAE’s famous tolerance is also to be accepting of others’ values rather than seeking to impose my own, I’ve sought to restrict changes to what I do rather than expect anyone else to change what they do.
My sole exception to this policy has been with recycling, where I've always found it jarring to send to the landfill items that at home would have been diverted and reused. This is particularly pertinent with my running club, which meets once a week to share a meal from one of Abu Dhabi's legion of cheap take-away restaurants after slogging around the streets of the capital.
When the meals are curries or a stir-fry, the restaurant usually provides dozens of disposable plates and plastic cutlery destined to be used briefly and then thrown into a bin and sent on to the mammoth landfill in the desert.
This always struck a discordant note with me so about a year ago, when an expat family was selling up, I bought dozens of spoons, forks and knives from them. Then I went to a supermarket and bought about 50 stainless steel bowls and a plastic crate to put them in.
The next time we had a meal that required plates and cutlery, I brought the crate and suggested we use the bowls instead of taking the restaurant’s disposable eatware.
It’s fair to say this met with some resistance, even from people who hail from countries with a long history of recycling.
“But they give us the plates for free,” one response came from a longterm English expatriate who works in a senior role in a government department.
“It’s not free,” I responded. “They just factor the cost of providing plates into the price of the meal. If people didn’t expect free plates, they could offer food at a lower price. And they’re only factoring in the cost in dirhams of buying disposable plates, not the environmental cost of using it once and then sending it to a landfill.”
One year on, the battle continues. An Indian restaurant catered last week’s post-run meal and the staff had to be told in unambiguous terms not to provide disposable plates or cutlery. After a few rounds of “But Maamsir, they’re free!”, it seemed like the point had been made. But after they laid out the food and headed on their way, there on the bench was a pile of disposable plates and cutlery, albeit in smaller quantities than would have occurred a year ago. I guess that’s progress, even if the pace seems glacial.
Realistically, is one – apparently deluded – expat turning down the “free” plates going to change the restaurant’s pricing policy? Probably not.
Is diverting 500 or so disposable plates that would have been thrown away each year going to make any discernible difference to the quantity of rubbish sent the landfill? Inevitably not.
But one of the things expats tend to forget when they land here is that all movements – be it a recycling ethos or anything else – have to evolve rather than be imposed.
It was not that long ago back home that the reduce-reuse-recycle ethos was something for lentil-eating hippies who spun their own clothes. It took time for the rest of the population to come on board, even if now the pre-recycling era seems anachronistic.
For my running club in 2015, I’m now the equivalent of the lentil-eating hippie. In time, maybe the idea will catch on and I won’t have to battle the restaurants of Abu Dhabi who insist on giving me “free” plates.
JHenzell@thenational.ae
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About Housecall
Date started: July 2020
Founders: Omar and Humaid Alzaabi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech
# of staff: 10
Funding to date: Self-funded
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Indoor Cricket World Cup
Venue Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE squad Saqib Nazir (captain), Aaqib Malik, Fahad Al Hashmi, Isuru Umesh, Nadir Hussain, Sachin Talwar, Nashwan Nasir, Prashath Kumara, Ramveer Rai, Sameer Nayyak, Umar Shah, Vikrant Shetty
ALL THE RESULTS
Bantamweight
Siyovush Gulmomdov (TJK) bt Rey Nacionales (PHI) by decision.
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) bt Hussein Fakhir Abed (SYR) by submission.
Catch 74kg
Omar Hussein (JOR) bt Tohir Zhuraev (TJK) by decision.
Strawweight (Female)
Seo Ye-dam (KOR) bt Weronika Zygmunt (POL) by decision.
Featherweight
Kaan Ofli (TUR) bt Walid Laidi (ALG) by TKO.
Lightweight
Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) bt Leandro Martins (BRA) by TKO.
Welterweight
Ahmad Labban (LEB) bt Sofiane Benchohra (ALG) by TKO.
Bantamweight
Jaures Dea (CAM) v Nawras Abzakh (JOR) no contest.
Lightweight
Mohammed Yahya (UAE) bt Glen Ranillo (PHI) by TKO round 1.
Lightweight
Alan Omer (GER) bt Aidan Aguilera (AUS) by TKO round 1.
Welterweight
Mounir Lazzez (TUN) bt Sasha Palatkinov (HKG) by TKO round 1.
Featherweight title bout
Romando Dy (PHI) v Lee Do-gyeom (KOR) by KO round 1.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
