…Middle East relationships
With us receiving a stream of visitors and delegations from the Middle East – the latest being the Emir of Qatar – after years of courting relations with those oil-rich sheikdoms, it seems to be paying off!! Is it because we’ve now joined their exclusive oil-rich club?? Should we think about becoming a “sheikdom”, to further deepening our ties?? Maybe that’s why Pres Ali donned that red and white Ghutra – the traditional Arab headdress – when that Saudi Arabian delegation visited?
There were some snide remarks made then about “cultural appropriation” and such like – but what do those cynics say now that the Emir arrived in full western regalia?? The man was impeccably outfitted in a clearly bespoke suit straight outta Saville Row!! Was he culturally appropriating?? See?? We still have that colonial mentality where we see the western garb as “normal” and others as “ethnic” or “native”!! Hence “appropriation”. Anyhow, now that we’ve signed a MOU for increased relations, and may even have a diplomatic presence, we might finally be on the way to becoming the new “Dubai”, as so many are hoping. Success by access??
Now, your Eyewitness remembers Pres Ali visiting that cow farm in Qatar back in May, and he hopes the Sheik was taken for a look-see at how we’ve started implementing what we learnt. We’re supposed to be fulfilling our 25by25 commitment to Caricom, no? This is what your Eyewitness had written in case you forgot: “The Qatari farm was born out of necessity – but it shows what can be done when a country has money and political will. Which Guyana luckily possesses right now under the PPP. If it were the PNC, that’d be another story! Just SIX years ago, tiny Qatar and its 2.7 million people were importing most of their food from Saudi Arabia and surrounding Arab countries, like UAE. In that year, those countries imposed sanctions on Qatar after they accused the latter of supporting Islamic terrorism against them. So, what did Qatar do?? Went elsewhere, like Türkiye. But, more importantly, started trying to feed themselves.
They launched Baladna Farms outside their capital of Doha the same year – 2017 – on 240 hectares of desert. They constructed facilities to handle 24,000 cows – starting with 4000 that were flown in from Europe and Australia etc. So how do cows – which don’t perspire well – survive at 40°+ Celsius, which is equal to our 104° Fahrenheit?? Well, how about huge enclosed barns that have artesian wells, enabling the cows to be sprayed with water periodically and cool them down?? And feed?? Hay and other feedstock are supplied automatically to the cows that are in stalls.”
Like the Middle East, we gotta prepare for a life after oil!!
…climate resilience?
Your Eyewitness knows that you, Dear Reader, might think he’s becoming a tad obsessive about the richer countries doing something about global warming and its attendant climate change. But the eight devastating floods that unfolded on four continents in the first 11 days of this month focused his mind wonderfully – and makes him unrepentant!! Before Mediterranean storm Daniel sent floodwaters surging through Eastern Libya – taking 10,000 lives and counting! – there was inundation of parts of central Greece, northwestern Turkiye, southern Brazil, central and coastal Spain, southern China, Hong Kong and the southwestern U.S.!!
The bottom line is that, as more water vapour gets evaporated into the atmosphere because of the warmer conditions caused by the increased carbon dioxide – it becomes fuel for more powerful storms to develop!! Yet G20 – the group containing most of the countries that caused global warming in the first place – and those who’s doing their darndest to match them – have failed to commit meaningfully to reversing course.
It was straight ahead, Titanic!!
