Shaqlawa, Iraq // It is only about an hour’s drive from the sweltering plains of Iraq, but the resort town of Shaqlawa feels like a world away.
Nestled in the lower reaches of the vast mountain range in the Kurdish region of northern Iraq, tourists from all over Iraq once flocked to Shaqlawa to escape the blistering summer heat of the arid lowlands. Today, Shaqlawa is filled with thousands of families escaping the conflict in the south – in particular, those from Fallujah.
Since ISIL took control of Fallujah in January 2014, Sunni Arabs fleeing Fallujah have found refuge in Shaqlawa.
Their presence in Shaqlawa has been so pronounced that both locals and newcomers alike jokingly refer to it as “Shaqllujah”.
“Some of the families knew Shaqlawa as a tourist destination. Now about 6,000 families from Fallujah live here,” says Mohammed Jassem, who fled Fallujah when ISIL entered it. According to Mr Jassem, the displaced from his hometown now outnumber the locals by four to one.
The exiles watch in horror as television news chronicles the gradual destruction of their hometown, where Iraqi forces are currently engaged in heavy fighting to dislodge ISIL.
“It makes me very sad. I have many friends and family there and I don’t know what will happen to them,” says Hamed Khadir, who also left Fallujah, as he glances at the images of war flickering on his television screen.
As nationalistic news programmes show Iraqi fighters shelling the city, Mr Khadir sits in his living room and explains why he chose to come to Shaqlawa.
“I didn’t take my family to Baghdad even though it’s close by. My son’s name is Omar, and in Baghdad they were killing people just because they had Sunni names,” he says.
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Read: Trapped in Fallujah, thousands of civilians risk becoming collateral damage
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Mr Khadir is one of 1.3 million internally displaced Iraqis who eschewed the turmoil and sectarianism in Iraq’s south, instead choosing the relative stability and tolerance of the autonomous Kurdish region. Most of the displaced are living in refugee camps, while those who have money are able to afford housing outside the camps. Among those who fled Fallujah from late 2013, word quickly spread that Shaqlawa had plenty of empty real estate – in the form of unused holiday homes – and that no Kurdish guarantor was needed to settle there.
While the Sunni extremists of ISIL and Iraq’s majority Shiite security forces have battled it out inconclusively over the past two years, fanning the flames of religious hatred, relations between Shaqlawa’s Arab newcomers and its Kurdish locals have been good from the outset.
“They are good and peaceful people that had to run away from a bad situation. They only want to live in peace, and don’t cause any problems,” says Baxtiar Kheder, the Kurdish manager of the Safeen Restaurant that lies on the road into the town.
This goodwill is remarkable given the anti-Arab sentiment that exists in Iraq’s Kurdish region.
Those feelings were largely born out of the bloody suppression of Kurdish aspirations for autonomy under former president Saddam Hussein, the current threat posed by ISIL, and a difficult relationship between the Iraqi government and Kurdistan Regional government (KRG).
The integration between Arabs and Kurds in Shaqlawa is no doubt helped by the positive results the Kurdish influx has had on the local economy.
Business in the resort town slumped when ISIL overran a third of the country in 2014 and attacked the autonomous Kurdish region, where recession quickly took hold. The locals soon realised that the Arabs fleeing the south helped to make up for the absence of tourists.
“Shaqlawa is known as a good place for tourism. Because of that we built a lot of extra housing, and the people from Fallujah moved into those properties,” says Mr Kheder.
House prices initially even went up as a result of the large number of new tenants, and only fell as other Kurdish towns became more lenient about letting Arabs move in without a guarantor, leading many families to take advantage of cheaper living elsewhere.
Most of the families from Fallujah still receive a salary for the government jobs they held at home, allowing them to meet rent payments and spend on food and consumer goods. The Iraqi workforce is mainly employed by the government, which has continued to pay the salaries of citizens displaced by ISIL.
The news from the south is a constant reminder of how fortunate those in Shaqlawa are.
From the safety of the town, the families worry about those left behind in Fallujah where at least 50,000 inhabitants remain trapped. The families in Shaqlawa also wonder if their houses in Fallujah will survive the battle, but do not expect to find anything but rubble by the end of it.
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Read: 20,000 children trapped in Fallujah at risk of being recruited by ISIL
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Many are bitter about the fate of their hometown.
“This is not the liberation of Fallujah, it is the destruction of Fallujah,” says Bassem Khalifa, who left the city with his family as soon as ISIL took control.
It is a common belief among the displaced in Shaqlawa that the Shiite-led government and its allied militias have come to Fallujah to exact revenge for their military defeats at the hands of ISIL. The city was the first to fall to the terror group, and has long had a reputation for being a hotbed of Sunni extremism. The American military fought costly battles to purge Al Qaeda from the city in 2004 during the US-led invasion and almost razed the entire city twice.
Mr Khadir acknowledges that ISIL became more popular in Fallujah from 2013, but blames this on the sectarian politics of former Shiite prime minister Nouri Al Maliki.
“Maliki is the main reason for the enmity between Sunnis and Shias. The Sunni tribes felt rejected by the government. That is why there was some support for Daesh in Fallujah,” he says.
In 2013, Mr Al Maliki ordered troops to fire at peaceful demonstrations in the city that were protesting government discrimination of Sunnis. A year later, ISIL had taken control of Fallujah, aided by the incompetence of the Iraqi army.
“We feel betrayed by the Iraqi government. First they shot the demonstrators, then they let Daesh come to Fallujah and now they are destroying the city,” says Mohammed Abdullah, who adds that he will not return to the city unless it is handed over to a local administration after the fighting.
Despite their fear of the government and its Shiite dominated forces, however, the Shaqlawa exiles are adamant that – once expelled – ISIL will never be allowed back into Fallujah.
“The tyranny of the Iraqi government made Daesh possible. But if Daesh came back to Fallujah I would fight them myself. We have suffered a lot and we won’t allow them to come back,” says Mr Khadir.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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.”
Company%20profile
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The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
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
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
PFA Team of the Year: David de Gea, Kyle Walker, Jan Vertonghen, Nicolas Otamendi, Marcos Alonso, David Silva, Kevin De Bruyne, Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah, Sergio Aguero
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto
Price: From Dh39,500
Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Four-speed auto
Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km
FULL%20FIGHT%20CARD
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In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
The%20Iron%20Claw
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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
Dr Amal Khalid Alias revealed a recent case of a woman with daughters, who specifically wanted a boy.
A semen analysis of the father showed abnormal sperm so the couple required IVF.
Out of 21 eggs collected, six were unused leaving 15 suitable for IVF.
A specific procedure was used, called intracytoplasmic sperm injection where a single sperm cell is inserted into the egg.
On day three of the process, 14 embryos were biopsied for gender selection.
The next day, a pre-implantation genetic report revealed four normal male embryos, three female and seven abnormal samples.
Day five of the treatment saw two male embryos transferred to the patient.
The woman recorded a positive pregnancy test two weeks later.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
The%C2%A0specs%20
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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
