Bahrain Taxi

Brighton Taxi now up and running

bahraintaxiblog — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 07:50:44 +0000

For the latest installment of the Taxi adventure, please visit

http://www.brightontaxi.wordpress.com

Ma’salama Bahrain

bahraintaxiblog — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:22:04 +0000

Once again the taxi is hanging up her keys and heading off to pastures new. Having been Al Ain Taxi and Bahrain Taxi, I will soon be Brighton Taxi as I head back home after nearly a decade in the Gulf.

So did the protests push me? No. But the government response and crackdown did. I’m a journalist and I could not carry on living in a country where journalists were being silenced. I am lucky I can leave, for Bahraini journalists and bloggers it’s not so easy.

Brighton Taxi is now up and running: http://www.brightontaxi.wordpress.com

A sad farewell

bahraintaxiblog — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:41:52 +0000

but not from me, from Krazy Kevin.

Now regular readers of this blog will know that although I bitch and moan about a lot of things, KK is always safe from my diatribe. The man is a national treasure and his departure tomorrow will be a sad one for both him and us. The last 11 years he has grabbed Bahrain with both hands or rather hugged the place with both arms and made the place a little cheerier. To say that he has united nationalities and races would start to make this sound like I’m writing a Nobel Peace Prize recommendation for the guy but there is no doubt most people in Bahrain know the name and it will always raise a smile or at least an opinion, mostly good.

Last night Bahrain Taxi rolled into the British Embassy and witnessed the man and 100 of his best friends say fond farewells. There were people from all walks of Bahrain life and this Taxi was privileged to be amongst them, all united with a love of the Krazy One.

I’ve moaned about Radio Bahrain here before and I hope that his departure will not mean an turn for the worst. I say it once again, its time for a revamp, a spring clean at RB. You have some great people working for you, its time to start paying them well and on time and give them a little bit more creative muscle. The possibilities are very exciting!

Press ‘delete’ on bulk SMS messages in Bahrain

bahraintaxiblog — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 13:19:08 +0000

If, like me, you’re fed up with receiving unsolicited text messages from companies, hospitals, restaurants, the list goes on; you can actually do something to stop them. The Telecoms Regulation Authority is asking for public opinion on unsolicited bulk messaging.

You can e mail them at bulk.SMS@tra.org.bh

Or maybe you love getting them because they’re the only SMSs you get. You can tell them that if you like and they’ll make sure you get even more…

Virgin recommends Mein Kampf?!

bahraintaxiblog — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 11:26:44 +0000

Its been pretty much talking about before, Hitler’s ‘Mein Kampf’ (My Struggle) which outlines in no uncertain terms his political ideology is a best seller in the Arab world. This is not the first time I’ve seen this highly controversial book on the shelves of mainstream bookshops in the Gulf, the first time I saw it I was so taken aback I ran home to tell a fellow expat who didn’t even raise an eyebrow.

It could be the ‘any enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine’ syndrome which fuels the sales of this book, there’s enough Jew-bashing rhetoric to give the most foamy at the mouth anti Semite a hard-on, but digging deeper into the history, Hitler was no friend of the Arab people and had he managed to get to the Arab lands he would’ve not stopped the slaughter especially to get his hands on all the oil.

While I don’t believe in banning the book, it has its place as a ‘warning from history’ for scholars and historians, it certainly should not be produced as cheap paperback racist porn to fuel hatred while lining pockets. To see it on the shelves of the Virgin Megastore in Bahrain’s City Centre as ‘ recommended reading’ is a shocker, I wonder what the politically correct global minded Richard Branson would have to say about it?

Only in the USA!

bahraintaxiblog — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 18:33:53 +0000

You may have escaped Antoine Dodson, in which case let me explain. Antoine and his sister Kelly live(d) in a housing project in Lincoln Park, Huntsville, Alabama. One night in August an intruder broke into the family home by climbing into an open window and tried to rape Kelly as she slept. Her elder brother Antoine was alerted by her screams, ran to her room and interrupted the rapist who left from whence he came leaving his T-Shirt and many fingerprints.

The Dodson family reported the incident to the police who didn’t take it seriously at all and went as far as saying “we can rule out the brother”, refering to Antoine who is gay. So the family took it to the local news station who came a filmed an interview with the family. Antoine’s anger and protectiveness of his sister was so passionate and powerful on screen that it wasn’t long until he was appearing on You Tube. A few days later New York geek band ‘The Gregory Brothers‘ of ‘Auto Tune the News’ fame took the report, autotuned it and ‘Bed Intruder Song’ was born. They put it on ITunes for a $1.29, 50% of proceeds going to the Dodson family. Then there’ s the ringtones and the T-Shirts. The ITunes download even managed to make the Billboard Top 100.

So, there you have it. The Dodsons are going to use the money to leave the project where crime is rife and move to a much smarter neighbourhood. Antoine is making the most of his15 minutes of fame because its all about grabbing it while you can and improving your situation because no ones going to help you out there. Some have critised the Dodsons and The Gregory Brothers for making light of a serious situaton but talk is cheap and the rights and the wrongs of that aren’t going to move the family out of danger.

The Gregory Brothers haven’t done too badly out of it either….

The Bed Intruder Song is here

Antoine’s Website is here

Back in Bahrain but not blogging til after Eid

bahraintaxiblog — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 09:45:18 +0000

Watch this space!

Get real….estate

bahraintaxiblog — Tue, 20 Jul 2010 19:58:29 +0000

First of all, huge apologies for the prolonged silence. If I’ve dropped a few readers then I only have myself to blame. I get out the habit of blogging and the next thing I know, months have passed.

BT is about to depart for the annual summer holiday but the last few weeks have been busy ones while I look for a new place to live. There’s nothing particular wrong with the current pad but its time to upgrade while its a tenant’s market and there are so many places on offer which means landlords are more willing to negotiate than they have been in previous years. I should say most landlords as there are still many who haven’t noticed the economic crisis going on outside.

I’ve got a few agents on the case, looking for my dream home but time after time they keep showing me round the standard expat fare: a nice little white villa with a patch of grass outside in Saar/Janabiya. They all begin to blend into one, some of them more reasonable value than others but none of them have the wow factor. Unlike many expats, these places don’t float my boat and what I really want is one the those funky old rambling private villas, surrounded by a high wall in which is contained a mature garden of local greenery. I don’t care if the paint is peeling or if you have to drive through a *shock, horror* ‘village’ to get there or even get the occasional whiff of burning tyre mixing with the BBQ smoke, these places can be incredibly good value for money if you find one.

Most Bahrain estate agents don’t deal with such places. Owners don’t tend to advertise, leaving it to chance if you happen to pass by and see the ‘For Rent’ sign. If you really strike lucky and get an owner who values keeping the place occupied and tidy as much as the bottom line, whack down your advance rent and get signing that contract, you’ve hit the real estate jackpot.

So my quest continues… somewhere behind a traditional Bahraini style gate, behind a peeling wall is my ideal home. All I need to do is to find it! You know the e mail, bahraintaxi@gmail.com..

Expats. Are we safe?

bahraintaxiblog — Wed, 19 May 2010 10:08:25 +0000

This is a blog post about job security. During a recession, we’re more likely feel unsettled in our jobs. With unemployment rising, its always a fear that you might end up a statistic. If you’re an expat working in the Gulf, the implications of losing your job are worse than at home and yet we don’t have the protection that many of us enjoy in our home countries. Usually if you are on a contract that is more than a few months, you have certain employment rights with regard to security of your job. If you are dismissed or simply don’t have your job renewed you are entitled to a full explanation and you can even take your employer to court for wrongful dismissal if things are done in an underhand way. There are laws that protect employees from bad HR practices.

However, such laws don’t exist in Bahrain or if they do, its very hard to get them enforced if you’re an expat. I know of people who have been dismissed with no explanation, given hardly any time to pack up and go home. You can easily fall foul of company politics here and as an expat you’re vulnerable. Shifting sands mean that one day you could be your boss’s star employee only to find the next day you have a new boss who doesn’t like you. Such things do happen in the west but like I said, you do have rights and a certain level of protection.

Whats the reason behind this post? Well firstly, I think that expatriate staff should be given protection against becoming victims of politicking, especially those who have been hired to make controversial decisions. It is always easy to shoot the messenger when the message itself has come from way up on high. Secondly, for all expats working here in Bahrain and in the Gulf in general, please bear in mind that you don’t have the protection and rights that you might have back home. Make back up plans and make sure you’ll never be destitute if the worse comes to the worst because sometimes, simply doing your job well doesn’t guarantee you job security. Say the wrong thing to the wrong person and it could all start to go horribly…… wrong

If you don’t like it you can just..

bahraintaxiblog — Sat, 15 May 2010 06:11:11 +0000

…leave.

You know where the airport is.

The stock answer to every expat moan and groan. If you live in the Gulf and you’re not a GCC citizen you’ve probably heard this at least once and if not, you’ve certainly read it in the pages of a local newspaper or on the forum of a website . IT HURTS. Why? I guess its the feeling of not being wanted or needed, to be told to put up or shut up. No matter how much we try, many expats do start to feel at home and to hear those words is like having the rug pulled out from under our feet.

The relationship between expatriates living the Gulf and their hosts is a complex one. Most people are here because they have a job on a limited contract basis. Nobody should come to the Gulf and expect to put down roots, you would be extremely foolish to do so. However, if you’re out here for year after year its not surprising that it begins to feel like home. Its a normal human response to complain and moan, its a coping strategy but to be told that such complaints are futile because there’s always the airport can add to the frustration!

So expats, please realise that this is not forever and don’t get too upset when you hear the stock answer. GCC Nationals, please realise that the moaning is just a way of venting frustration and sometimes its constructive and could actually make things better if heeded.

Peace, my friends.