Recession Shattered Dreams of Many

It has many euphemisms: “laid off,” “downsized,” “let go.” But there’s no turn of phrase that can soften the blow when you feel more like you’ve been “fired,” “canned,” “terminated” or “axed.” Unfortunately, job loss is a common challenge in these economically strained times. Dubai's rapid expansion in recent years provided jobs for millions. But the global financial meltdown has abruptly ended the dream for many people as more and more firms sack staff to cut costs.

Everyone wants one. Most people have had at least one. But every so often, some people lose one. No, it’s not about the ideal partner. It’s about jobs. Expats form most of the population in Dubai and with residency permits linked to employment many of the people who are losing their jobs face the added upheaval of leaving the country. People are losing jobs everywhere, everyday and in almost every career. Same is the case with Mr. Mansoor Ali; he was working for Al Yousuf Group for the last 9 years and on august 28th he was terminated and was told that situations are difficult for the company. “It was too quick to face a situation as such, I have been in UAE working for the last 10 years and I’m continuing to look for a job though I have cut down my expenses and have sent my family back home”, says, Mr. Mansoor Ali.

Mr. Mansoor Ali

It is devastating when one is being fired. It is even more devastating when the one who is being fired has a family to feed. More people are losing jobs thanks to the recession. Every day, there is news about companies firing people to save cost. He also states that "I don't feel that I was wronged. This is business... But I would have preferred a cut in my salary rather than being sacked".

But even in this situation Mr. Mansoor is still looking on the bright side of everything that falls on him. His visa has not been cancelled and he still is looking for jobs. He says that I have been granted with 6 months of visa extension by the government allowing me to hunt for a suitable job to continue my living in UAE.

Mr. Mansoor looking for jobs

When spoken about returning back to home land, with heavy heart and a little moist in his eyes Mr. Mansoor said, leaving this country is a course of depression, ups and downs do occur everywhere but it will be very difficult to get accustomed and adjust in home country as there is no security of one’s self and after enjoying the sophisticated life of UAE it is really a great deal to leave everything and return”.

Well job loss for people does not only hit them economically but also emotionally. The cycle of depression stirs up and shatters the dreams of many staying in UAE for years. Yet people strong enough to face such crises have still not lost hope and is looking for jobs and on the other hand there are many companies who have vacancies but with very little pay to offer.

Reading Newspaper Ranks Lowest

Examining the relationship between newspaper exposure as a student and current newspaper readership patterns, we find that there is a very strong relationship. Individuals with a high level of newspaper exposure as students are much more likely to be current regular readers of a newspaper.The impact of newspaper involvement in elementary, middle and high school separately is average. High involvement is associated with higher adult readership for every level of school. However, the impact appears to be slightly greater at the middle and high school levels. The impact of exposure to newspaper involvement programs appears strong among 21+.
Today’s teens don't really consume any of what we could call "traditional" media. They don't read newspapers because why bother reading "pages and pages of text" when they could instead "watch the news summarized on the internet or TV?"
“Being a working girl I cannot take out much time to read newspaper and flip pages but I make sure whenever I get time I read online newspaper which is very convenient and easy to read” says jasmine, 22 year old.

Jasmine, reading online newspaper

This increasing focus on the reading habits of children and teens underscores the importance of understanding adolescent newspaper use in the context of a contemporary environment full of media choices. When asked most of the teens said that their favorite sections are comics, sports, entertainment, and horoscopes and on the other hand they neglect broadsheets.
“I only read newspaper on weekends because I don’t get time and even if I do get little time in working days I prefer playing games on cell phones or computers,” said Huzaifa, 19 year old, college student.

Huzaifa

When sitting around the house with nothing to do, many teenagers instinctively reaches for their joysticks - in fact, playing video games is one of the most favorite ways teens spend an evening. Well the idea of picking up a newspaper never strikes their head. By chance if they happen to read anything it will be sports or entertainment as expected. Teens report reading magazines and newspapers just about as often as they report reading books. If roughly taken the percentage it will be near 25% that teens report reading newspaper.

Teenagers neglecting newspapers

Newspaper readership is not a priority to the majority of early teens. Given the importance of cultivating future generations of newspaper readers, it may make more sense for the newspaper industry to focus their efforts on developing readers at the elementary level, rather than middle- or high-school level.

Internet Piracy-A Biggest Threat

The rise of internet file-sharing has opened a whole new front for piracy of all films - not least independents. The availability of films for download on the internet even before their initial theatrical release makes the prospect of profitable licensed distribution of independent films in some territories even more remote, according to many in the industry. The pirated films are coming earlier all the time, and the fact that there's going to be faster and faster broadband and faster and faster downloads is only going to make it worse.Piracy is primarily a problem for the entertainment and software industries, and therefore piracy most often involves violations of copyright law.“I am against any piracy either internet or any other property right. It deprives commercial gains to all the people who deal with a original literally artifacts and discourages them from further investing their time, effort and money in creating new ideas and programs” says R.N.Shukul, faculty of Manipal University.

There are many as such people who value the creativity and do not steal any of the material from internet. Most of the acts of piracy are common among youngster and students. They largely depend on the content given on internet which is basically for reference. Youngsters download movies, songs, games etc without realizing that what kind of crime they are committing. There are few students who think that piracy is a crime and do not support it at any cost. Nilofar khatib, 20 year old student says “if you value creative intelligence you should never indulge in piracy. I will kill any person who will steal my creativity.”

Well the industries are taking steps from very long, many of them has been successful in discontinuing piracy while others are still striving. Copyright is a legal right that protects creative works from being reproduced, performed, or disseminated without permission of the copyright owner. Essentially, a copyright gives its owner the exclusive right to make copies of the material in question. “I feel that it is the responsibility of the information technology giants such as the World Wide Web consortiums (w3c) and the internet society (ISOC) to come with innovative and practical solutions to the piracy issue to secure people’s right on the internet” says Adnan Ali, student of IT.

If this problem continues to grow then no one could even imagine what havoc it will cause to all the major entertainment companies and what threat it is causing to their business. Taking serious measure will definitely help in ceasing this theft.

Power of Images

An image, simply nothing but only the piece of art and it is we humans who denotes various meanings to these pieces of art. In our culture pictures have become tools used to elicit specific and planned emotional reactions in the people who see them. These pictures-these images are created to give us pleasure-as when we watch them or to convey any order or warning. Various images of signs or symbols are also related to respective religions and hold religious pictures. For instance the cross signs, pictures that evoke these deep memories can be very powerful-and also very spiritual.

Apart from these even a small object of everyday use can hold a deep essence of life. A person looking at a flame will not give the thought that how this small string of flame is filled with passion, divine, life and lust and is associated with various other meanings and beliefs be held by people. Fire signs act on instinct or "sixth sense," and that makes them look reckless to more cautious types.

Flame

Red is hot. It's a strong color that conjures up a range of seemingly conflicting emotions from passionate love to violence and warfare. Red is Cupid and the Devil. If color red is seen from cultural point of view it denotes red power tie for business people and the red carpet for celebrities and VIPs. Flashing red lights denote danger or emergency. Stop signs and stop lights are red to get the drivers' attention and alert them to the dangers of the intersection. In some cultures, red denotes purity, joy, and celebration.

A safety sign is a visual alerting device which advises the observer of a potential hazard. The signs are usually eye catching and clearly convey the intended message. They are again denoted in red colors as to attract attention and also convey danger which is nearby. Safety signs consist of signal word, a message panel, and/or a pictorial symbol that are displayed in specific colors to alert and inform observers to take precautionary or other appropriate action in the presence of potential hazards. These signs are for sure not learnt by any of us but they are in are subconscious and we do observe and follow them.

No honking sign

Well this logo does not require any explanations. It is universally used by all countries governments and followed by people. This trash logo placed on every bin also awakens the responsibility of citizens to keep their country clean. Many of the people do see this sign and yet do not put garbage in trash bins which is a shame on their part. Countries like UAE take serious actions on throwing garbage on roads like giving fines to people who do not follow the rule of using trash bins are successful in keeping the country free of roadside garbage and have maintained high standards of living.

Trash Bin

While images may represent our experiences much like a shadow represents the object that casts the shadow, symbols represent ideas. Other symbols are part of affirmations and metaphors that catch our attention because they resonate with our experience. While there is power in universally shared symbols, there is perhaps greater power in those that grow out of personal experiences also.

Filipino Expatriates find UAE Ideal

People migrating to UAE in large numbers, despite of the global recession thinking that staying in UAE is just like a walk in the park; the tax free life charms every individual and encourages them to come and stay here. Life is not always bed of roses; the statement fits well when expats come across to the harsh realities of life even after migrating from their homelands. Well there is no place like home," goes the adage. Apparently, this does not seem to be quite true for some Filipino overseas workers in the UAE. Many of them seem to enjoy here as it has been years staying in UAE, they celebrate their culture and several other historic occasions here with friends and families, yet at the end they say they want to go back home but after earning enough to have their own businesses. Are these Filipinos losing their sense of patriotism?

Rodge

Rodge, a 30 year old electrician working here for 5 years says “I do miss my wife and children back home but I am happy working here because of good pay and I have been celebrating my Christmas and new years with my friends here and there are many places to go and enjoy here”. Rodge also loves cooking his favorite Pansit a Filipino dish on the eve of Christmas. He attends church on Christmas morning and then party with friends all night long.

Lori

Secretary in Luci electronics, Lori states that, “I have been working here for 8 years now and the only occasion I celebrate with my brother here is “Soul Day” it is held on 1st of November every year. We go to cemetery and pray for our relatives who have passed out”. She also says that she misses her mom but do not want to go back as she is not paid well over there.

Marilyn

Marilyn is 28 years old working as a cashier in Al Ghandi Motors. It’s been only a year she shifted to Dubai and is mesmerized with the life so vibrant of Dubai. Her good pay also encouraged her to settle and get married over here. She says, “My new friends made my first New Year in Dubai so memorable that I think I have always been a part of these people since ages, after visiting church they took me to dessert safari and then club. It was the happiest day of my life”.

Ana

For Ana the case is different she thinks that she misses her family a lot but is bound to stay here as she is paid double of what she is paid in Philippines. She says that “On Christmas Day I decorate a small tree and cook Pagluluto (rice dish) and meet my sister. After working all day I usually read a book to spend leisure time”.

Elyssa

Elyssa, a 22 year old working as sales lady in garment trading has a long list of dreams which were not impossible to fulfill in Philippines because of poor economical and political conditions. Elyssa use to be a singer in band in her home country but was paid poorly. She had to support her family and that made her shift to UAE. She says “On every Christmas I literally miss my family and pray for their goodwill in church. The only thing which makes me happy on Christmas Day is a beautiful present from my sister and the most delicious Chopsuey cooked by my sister for me. I do nothing special on this day but chat all day with my family in Philippines”.

For many Filipinos, it might be difficult to stay away from their families and friends back home but still there are many who are happy staying here. In spite of the non-assurance of permanent stay in the UAE, Filipinos still flock to the country to earn good income and consider the country as an ideal place to raise their family -- a concept that is inevitable considering the economic and political problems besetting the Philippines.

The Weird Life of an Expat

Being an expat is like living out a really strange existence – one you never imagined. You do things you never foresaw you would do before you left your homeland on your work and locals naturally find you a bit odd. Every expat-especially women strive to have a perfect home similar to the one back home. In order to achieve their objective these women keep on planning one or the other tricks and tweaks with the material present in home. Reusing many objects is not only necessity for them but has also become their hobby.

“I like to collect shopping bags and never reuse them; I have a stash of colorful shopping bags just waiting to be discovered and reused in a very appropriate style” says Halima 55 year old, staying with her son’s family in UAE. Well there might not be any women who would throw plastic bag and would use it in a fashionable manner. Not only plastic bags but also cloth made bags which contain rice and other grains are largely used by women though for a very witty matter. Fiona, a junior assistant working for herbal centre says, “I cut out these cloth bag into small pieces and reuse them to wipe out oil on kitchen floor if it gets spill at times.”

Giving a second thought to other items which are almost used on regular basis in many homes, reusing them also gives a special touch to expat homes. Rashida, teaching in our own says, “ me and my husband use small and sleek mushroom jars as water glasses as the glass material is not easily breakable.” Must say a unique way of using glass jars. These kinds of oddity just not help them in their daily life but using it in a useful manner makes them proud.

Kitchen materials usually takes a lead because they are unique in some or the other way. Appliances after performing their job are still not retired and are used for another task until n unless it is left completely worthless. “Being a working woman I could not remember most of the food items which are needed to be stocked so I use my old chopping boards as grocery checklist” says, Dr Reena Begum, a dentist. Well a very fair way of using a chopping board, she list out the items with a marker and once it is used on one side the second side comes handy next month. On the other hand most of the food items become vital for serving as completely different purpose. Mohammad Shafique, 35 years old who has a craze for his plants and looks after them 24/7 says “I open used teabags, boils its tealeaves and use that water for my plants which help them grow faster and even protects them from pests.”

Other than teabag another food item PEPSI/COKE which is highly consumed by today’s generation is also used as a cleaning agent in most of the houses “when first I was given a can of coke to clean the toilet bowl I was stunned to see that it removed all the stains due to its acidic agent, I wonder what it must be doing to out bones and intestine when consumed.” Says Zayed, a 38 year old domestic worker.

Well the list goes on and on and it also teaches and assist other families how to make the best use out of very minor or major item so even they can be successful in making their homes a perfect place to live in.

Recycling Myths

Everyone today has heard of how important it is to recycle and most cities offer a recycling program, but what exactly is recycling and how beneficial is it really to us and the environment?
Recycling is the process of turning one products useful part into a new product; this is done to conserve on the consumption of resources, energy and space used in landfills.Recycling can also be done in exceptionally creative methods. Mr. Shabbir, working for “Hamna” household decors says “The cardboard cartons filled with decors are not discarded but recycled effectively by cutting them and gluing them in the shape of folders or small shelves to store papers or keeping light weight stuff on the shelf”. These kind of acts do not only keep environment green but also helps people to understand the importance of recycling and reusing most of the items and also helps cut down extra expenditures.

Many of the times we hear people recycling aluminum or papers but the myth of recycling glass amaze many of us. “The glass bulbs are used to make the kite thread (manjha). It is highly skilled art as it requires a long process to get the sharp thread so that it helps fight the other kites”, says mridul, a kite retailer in meena bazaar.

Well apart from all these even technology can be reused without wasting a great deal out of them. Many of the cell phone retailers think that it is one of the great ways to recycle n secure technology. Cell phone batteries, chargers, cameras and various other parts which are in good shape are recycled by placing them into other cell phones which lack these parts. According to 2009 report, Nokia India launched its “Take Back” initiative to recycle mobile phones in Hyderabad as a part of the nationwide rollout of the program over 25 cities in India by year end. The program is aimed at creating consumer awareness on the benefits of recycling old phones, chargers and accessories. The initiative aims at inducing behavioral change among Indian mobile users to recycle their used handsets in an environmentally sustainable way. "Nokia will plant a tree sapling, for every handset dropped, irrespective of brand or model, into one of its recycling bins and also offer surprise gifts to the consumers.

The average consumer may replace their household carpet once or several times during a 5 year time period. The cost of recycling carpet is equivalent to the cost of dumping used carpet into a landfill, with greater positive environmental impact. The fact figured out during interviewing Mr. Hamid khan was that, “the dumped carpets are taken to factories back and are recycled as the cost is cut down on manufacturing a new one but the old ones are treated chemically and are recycled”.

This grass-roots consumer recycling process can offset the cost of collection and provide a positive community contribution towards the green initiative. It beats leaving old carpeting curb-side, destined for the landfill.

Recycling is a very environmentally green activity; however, there are ways that you can make it greener as well as building a strong beginning if you do not currently recycle. The fact is many of our resources as well as our Earth is not renewable and we have to start taking control of our selves beginning with the world we live in.

Living Out Of Odds

Imagine being born without arms. No arms to wrap around someone, no hands to experience touch, or to hold another hand with. Or what about being born without legs? Having no ability to dance, walk, run, or even stand on two feet. Now put both of those scenarios together. No arms and no legs. What would you do? How would that affect your everyday life?


Sabir Fati born in 1969 in Jordan without any medical explanation or warning came into the world with neither arms nor legs. This situation often made him depressed at times but living out of odds was only solution for him. Sitting on his electronic wheel chair, Sabir Fati attracts the crowd by selling different colors of rose flowers to the crowd who’s minds are continuously thinking about business deals, purchasing of electronics and various other things regarding the huge exhibition of Gitex Shoppers 2009 held in Dubai.

Sabir Fati selling flowers at Gitex

Many of you must be thinking what a florist is doing in this mini world of technology where every individual personality is only interested in buying and selling goods but Sabir Fati does not think the same like every does, he says that “when God takes one opportunity from you he bless you with 1000 other opportunities.”

It’s been now 10 years that he is living in UAE with his wife and daughter. Both of them are not suffering the way he is but yet he do not regret being this way coz wholeheartedly he believes that there is a purpose in each of the struggles he encounters in his life and that his attitude towards those struggles that can be the single most effective factor in overcoming them.


“I have my own floral shop and I export all kinds of special and expensive flowers to other countries, other than this there is also a very high demand in UAE also. It’s now been 4 years I sell flowers in Gitex shoppers, Modesh Fun city and flower village”, says Sabir Fati.


Talking to him through business point of view Sabir Fati tells that his dealers are loyal to him and by the grace of God his business is not at all affected due to his condition. When asked about his business in Gitex he told that “ when visitors enters they do not really pay attention but once they are done with their shopping and when they are finally content of what they have bought they approach to me with smile on their faces and buy a rose. Many of my customers are males and they prefer red rose as they visit either with their girlfriends or wives so I ‘m sure a 10 Dhs rose is no harm to them”.


Compared to his early ages now, Sabir accepts it, embraces it and oftentimes pokes fun at his own circumstance. He meets challenges with his special blend of humor, and faith in God. Through his amazing ability to connect with people from all walks of life and his incredible sense of humor that captivates children, teens and adults alike, Nick is a truly inspirational motivational speaker.

“What do I do at 70”

Many people hold the perception that fasting in Ramadan demands a tremendous amount of energy, and therefore many activities should be reduced and many projects should be postponed until Ramadan is over. But this statement is most of the time justified only for the people who have the options to run their business according to their convenience. On the other hand giving a thought to those people who are small vendors or delivery man or grocery shop workers how they deal with this holy month of Ramadan. These people do not only work from dawn to dusk but most of them happen to enjoy their work but most of them also kill their time as they do not have any activity to do.

Coming across to Yasir Hameed, a 70 year old Iranian, who sells pottery and other decorations of household in Sharjah Expo Centre which belongs to the old traditions of Arabs. These pieces of art and the symbol of Arab culture are not only famous in Middle East but are widely known overseas. Yasir Hameed states that “as a Muslim, I feel the time spent for serving during the holy month is part of the reason for this feeling of enlightenment.” The most exciting fact I came across was that Yasir is doing this job to pass his time and not because he needs money, he has his own business which is being looked after by his two sons. Yasir also states that “I m not given any job because of my old age and has no specific activities for my leisure time.”

Yaseer Hamid selling pottery

This piece of information does not only demands the attention for old age people but also requests UAE’s government to foresee in this matter to establish enough recreational centers for old age people or to pay slightest of attention that how these old age people spend their lives in this part of the world.

Rhythm and Beats Keep Culture Alive

Classical Indian Dance is a unique style of dance with its own specific charm, combining the flowing movements of expressive Indian dance with the vibrant and beautiful costumes, which make the dance scenes come to life.On the basic Indian dance model, various gurus incorporate their own imaginative innovations, leading to various schools within a particular dance form. Apart from the movements of the hands & legs, the dancers have to acquire the skill of portraying emotions in every facial and body expression. Every body part conveys a different meaning, in accordance with its posture, and it is only when all these aspects come together fluidly that it can truly be called Classical Indian Dance.

Group Dancing

India offers a number of classical dance forms, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. Each form represents the culture and ethos of a particular region or a group of people. The most famous classical forms are BHARATANATYAM of Tamilnadu, KATHAKALI and MOHINIYATTAM of Kerala, ODISSIof Orissa, KATHAK of Uttarpradesh, KUCHIPUDI of Andhra Pradesh and MANIPURI of Manipur. Apart from these classical dance forms, India is particularly rich in folk idioms. Each area has its own special varieties, be they martial, seasonal, ritual, sacrificial or celebratory. It can vary from village to village but they all share a common heritage of myths and symbols.

Gaurav, a 19 year old is keeping in touch with his cultural roots through dance. He says that “We have a group of 12 boys; we are getting trained at Nora dance school situated in Dubai.“When we are getting ready for a competition, the members of our group spend up to 8 hours a day rehearsing. We are learning Bharatanatyam dance and now it’s been 8 months we are in this school. The Bharatanatyam dance course is for 2 years”.

Gaurav’s group members come from diverse backgrounds. Some were born in the UAE while others came from India or moved with their families when they were children. He also says dancing gives them a way to keep in touch with their roots. "These competitions and these shows around the country have really been a means to unite the young South Asian community at all these different colleges to come together and really show off their culture, come together and have pride in the fact that they're South Asian”.

Gaurav

Indian classical dance are the combination of rhythm and expression. To appreciate dance drama, one has to understand and appreciate Indian legends. Most Indian dances take their themes from India's rich mythology and folk legends. Each dance form also draws inspiration from stories depicting the life and beliefs of the Indians.

Gaurav hopes to continue dancing after he graduates. While Indian dance groups are popping up on college campuses across the country, there aren't that many opportunities for young adults to join groups. But that may be changing. “Several former Nora Dance School members have created a dance troupe for working professionals in UAE. They practice a few nights a week after work, and have even performed in some college-level competitions”, says gaurav.

Classical Indian dance is an attempt to embody the divine beauty, charm, rhythms and symbols that exist in heaven. It is also means of spiritual elevation both for the dancer and the audience.