Middle East Unrest !!!
 

Has any of you expats been affected by the recent unrest in the middle east and do you see a future for us expats regarding stability and security for our families staying in the middle east.

Flightnight
 

Way back in '78, my Dad was extremely prosperous & wealthy inTehran. I expressed concern at developments which he dismissed as a "few little skirmishes in the Villages" ! The rest is history. The Captain of the RAF Hercules which airlifted him & others out of there broke the icey silence after an hour or so by saying, something like.."Ladies & Gentlemen, we have just crossed the Iranian Border. If you would like to reset your watches, wind them BACK about 2000 years.

I wish nothing but prosperity but mainly, safety to all my friends & colleagues who have decided to remain in the Middle East. I fear for those who are unable to find safer havens. The wake up call has just gone off.

I think what the Captain really meant to say was...

A380
 

You remind me of the Captain of the Titanic who turned to his First Officer and said; "What f.....g iceberg ?" !!

Question is what will happen if Saudi's east coast joins forces with its brethren in
 

Don't worry, they've closed the causeway

Very interesting regarding the causeway closure.

Back in the mid/late '90s when there was a spurt of unrest in Bahrain the Saudis basically told their brotherly neighbors 'get it under control of we will.' (need to look up my source for the precise details)

In light of the violence of the past few hours I'm sure Riyadh has issued a similar decree.

From what I hear protesters are mostly disgruntled Gulf Air Pilots and Cabin Crew, police and army sent in at SMs request. :p

Getting really ugly there

What are the chances of this protest to get Saudia, Qatar and UAE?

Well as regards the UAE - I'm not sure the locals are that energetic.... :ouch:

Time to raise the Amwaj drawbridge :p
Mind you we might need to let it down on Saturday to let the booze delivery trucks in :E Hic!

What's pissing me off is all these western journalists who in their desperate attempt to link this to Cairo are calling it Pearl Square.

It's Pearl (or Lulu) Roundabout not a f@#king square.

:mad::mad::mad:

No worries here.

Piss up and brewery spring to mind!

Locals in UAE have it all on silver platter! They don't need any revolution here. But ya, if the remaining non-local 80% population come out, there's going to be a LOT of chaos for sure. Imagine democracy in UAE - a South Indian as your president with Pakistani ministers in the parliament. Filipinos will still be at cashiers though. :}

Ah yes! The Bakala Brigade!

"Hello Sirrrrrrrrrrr. I'm sorrrrrrry sirrrrrrrrrrr."

"That will be Phipe Dirhams and Phipty Phils Maam"

You have to pity them! - 1200 a month

The DXB crowd seem to have it slightly better than here in MCT.

Just heared that the protests are spreading across the bridge from Bahrain..is it true ?

Shooting at people with machine guns from helicopters... Put to rest, yes, you could call it that.

I never thought the people of Bahrain would start to demonstrate. Even the women are out in the streets shouting: Down with Khalifa!
Now, I will not be surprised if the same happens in Qatar, UAE and Oman.

Loads will certainly not increase because of this. Close your eyes if you want to, but this could turn ugly very fast.

Hope against hope
 

It is not about to die down. Forget "loads", the problem is how this affects the West, which will impact directly on the oil-producers/oil beneficiaries.

IMHO I fear the unfolding drama is not good news for most in the short-term. But maybe, just maybe, the future will be brighter with some form of freedom for the Arabs. As for the Gulf States airlines, it is unlikely that their growth projections will be realised. EK, EY, QR are built on "bubbles", which is hardly a new thing in economic history.

street killings by troops
 

BBC, CNN showing U tube videos of killing of peaceful protestors in Bahrain.

glf