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allieggg

Wasta, Work and Corruption in Transnational Business | CONNECTED in CAIRO - 0 views

connectedincairo.com/...tion-in-transnational-business

middle east watsa corruption Business Egypt Family

shared by allieggg on 05 Oct 14 - No Cached
micklethwait liked it
  • Girgis worked for a company that insisted as part of their global corporate culture that there be no “corruption.” Six years after opening its office in Egypt, they continued to be plagued by behaviors they understood to be “corrupt.”
  • I explained that wasta referred to a network of informal loans and favors traded by Arab men in order to move up in the world.
  • Encouraged by my open, neutral tone, Girgis opened up further. “My father mortgaged family lands to pay for my college,” Girgis said. “I owe him everything. If he asks me to find a job for his brother’s son, how can I say no?”
  • ...6 more annotations...
  • families are economic units.
  • “You can send me anywhere else in the world and I’ll run the office by the book,” Girgis told his supervisor. “But I can’t do that here.”
  • any Egyptian man they hired to run the office would be equally suspended in webs of wasta obligations
  • “investment and return” frame I created for understanding, emphasizing the economic parallels between Arab families and running a business
  • , I’ve known several Egyptian businessmen who thought wasta was an improvement on Western models of hiring.
  • Net result: greater loyalty, less likelihood of theft, less likelihood of negotiating for new jobs behind your back and leaving you in the lurch, etc, he claimed.
  • allieggg on 05 Oct 14
     
    This article is from the point of view of an anthropologist who was brought in as a cultural consultant to mediate an issue of "watsa" for a corporation in the Middle East. The company prides itself on its lack of internal corruption, and in turn hired a man named Girgis who grew up in the Middle East but lived and received an education in the US. In Girgis's first year he hired one of his cousins, which the supervisors saw as corrupt hiring practice. The author, and hired consultant, explained to the company supervisors that watsa was an "investment and return" framework in Arab culture, and that there are economic parallels between Arab families and businesses, families existing as economic units. Girgis conveyed that anywhere else in the world he would run the office by the book, but in the Arab world he must also adhere to social norms. The result of watsa through Arab eyes leads to greater loyalty, and less likelihood for deception and theft. The article basically introduces the idea that while in the Western world this may be seen as corruption, it is an embedded part of culture in the Middle East. 
wmulnea

Oil and Terror: ISIS and Middle East Economies - 0 views

www.investopedia.com/...-and-middle-east-economies.asp

shared by wmulnea on 02 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • ISIS's economic cost is significant not just for Iraq but also other Middle Eastern countries.
  • Iraq has the fifth largest oil reserves in the world and third highest in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
  • Part of ISIS's rise in Iraq can be attributed to sectarian politics.
  • ...15 more annotations...
  • part of their dissatisfaction came from the distribution of oil revenues. 
  • The mismanagement of oil revenues is also manifest in Iraq's poor infrastructure
  • Though currently the Iraqi government has reserves and surplus funds, mounting expenditures and falling oil prices has economists to project that Iraq will run a deficit next year.
  • it is running a self-sustaining economy, making it the world's richest terror group.
  • Thankfully, 6 of 8 Iraq’s major oil fields lie in the Shia South, which is unlikely to come under ISIS control.
  • It sells crude at a steep discount, at a rate of USD $30 per barrel
  • Turkey runs a huge trade surplus with Iraq, which is likely to slow down dramatically due to lower demand from Iraq.
  • Jordan and Lebanon, which have both absorbed a large number of refugees.
  • Iran’s position seems to be the trickiest of all in that its interests align with those of the US in its fight against ISIS
  • Falling oil prices have definitely curtailed Iran’s ability to intervene without serious consequences for its economy. Iran needs oil prices well above USD $100 for it to balance its budget,
  • Any cooperation between Iran and the US over ISIS could lead to a gradual withdrawal of sanctions, which would allow Iran to sell its oil on the open market and generate revenue. The flip side is that Iran’s oil would surely depress oil prices further.
  • Saudi's allegiances have become muddled.
  • it finds its interests are aligned with those of Iran, a traditional foe, both of which are against ISIS.
  • Russia needs oil prices near USD $100 to balance its budget and Iran needs high oil prices to support its nuclear program.
  • Regionally, ISIS will disrupt and degrade the economy of several states, and that in turn may lead to further political chaos -- which is precisely ISIS's goal.
wmulnea

The Isis economy: Meet the new boss - FT.com - 0 views

www.ft.com/...27-11e4-82c7-00144feabdc0.html

shared by wmulnea on 02 Mar 15 - No Cached
  • Iraq’s second city of Mosul looks like a model of success for its new rulers from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant
  • But in the back alleys, litter fills the streets. The lights stay on, but only because locals rigged up generators themselves. And under the blare of café televisions, old men grumble about life under Isis’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
  • “We’ve endured international sanctions, poverty, injustice. But it was never worse than it is now.”
  • ...16 more annotations...
  • Abu Ahmed at first welcomed the takeover by Isis,
  • Sunni Muslims in both countries have long felt discriminated against by regimes dominated by rival sects
  • without an economy that gives people a chance to make a living, many say Isis has little more to offer
  • “Compared to past rulers, Isis is a lot easier to deal with. Just don’t piss them off and they leave you alone,” says Mohammed, a trader from Mosul. “If they could only maintain services — then people would support them until the last second.”
  • “They’re operating like something between a mafia, an insurgency and a terror group. Maybe they thought six months ago they were going to function as a state. But they don’t have the personnel or manpower.”
  • the FT found its attempt at state-building has so far failed to win over locals.
  • volunteers handing out sacks of wheat stamped with their black and white seal. They even announced plans to issue a currency,
  • In some cases they say Isis takes credit for systems in place before it seized power. In others, locals say it is stealing the resources of the region it seeks to rule
  • Travellers must stock up on Iraqi dinars to use in Iraq, US dollars for the road and Syrian pounds once they arrive.
  • “I’m against Isis with all my heart,” Mahmoud says. “But I can’t help but admire their cleverness.”
  • Isis struggles to balance its books,
  • services continue to function because of the money Baghdad still pays to former civil servants in Mosul. Isis taxes those employees at up to 50 per cent of their salaries.
  • It is as if Isis is financing itself partly through a pyramid scheme, and this has begun to falter.”
  • Though many now question Isis’s economic management, its military prowess and organisational skills are clear.
  • Isis allows easy movement through its territories to facilitate trade. Trucks passing through are taxed about 10 per cent of the value of their cargo.
  • “I may be a Salafi, but I’m not an idiot,” he jokes.
jreyesc

This Is How ISIS Smuggles Oil - 0 views

www.buzzfeed.com/...this-is-how-isis-smuggles-oil

money Oil Smugglers ISIS ISIL Syria

shared by jreyesc on 13 Nov 14 - No Cached
  • Turkish-Syrian border
  • The militants can make more than $1 million a day selling oil from fields captured in eastern Syria.
  • In recent months, the government has vowed to crack down on illicit oil, and police have targeted smuggling routes, seizing oil drums and digging up pipelines.
  • ...12 more annotations...
  • helped make ISIS the world’s richest extremists.
  • Rebel groups targeted oil resources from the regime in battles often overshadowed by higher-profile fronts in the war — namely in the provinces of Raqqa and Deir Ezzor, where there were refineries and oil fields.
  • Strapped for cash, the rebels smuggled some of the oil to buyers in Turkey, whose government was one of the Syrian opposition’s main backers, having already opened its borders to activists, fighters, and refugees.
  • Omar would receive a call from a commander in the Free Syrian Army (FSA), the U.S.-backed rebel coalition, telling him to head to the Syrian side of the border.
  • If he took in $1,500 in a night, he would give $500 to the FSA commander and another $500 to the Turkish border guards. “You can’t really say that we are smuggling oil, because we take permission from the Turkish side and the Syrian side,” Omar said. “But since it’s under the table, we call it smuggling.”
  • it controlled Raqqa, and soon after it was battling for control of the rebel-held parts of Deir Ezzor.
  • As ISIS gained new oil fields, Omar kept smuggling. He may have worked along an FSA-run border, but he knew he was buying the oil from middlemen who had taken it from ISIS’s hands.
  • For ISIS, the profits were startup funds as it built up its self-styled caliphate, buying weapons and paying salaries.
  • U.S. airstrikes now targeting its oil infrastructure, ISIS can make over $1 million a day from the trade
  • ISIS controls 60% of the oil-producing resources in eastern Syria, he said, plus a handful of marginal oil fields in Iraq.
  • The group sells most of it within its own territory in Iraq and in Syria — which covers more than 12,000 miles, a size comparable to Belgium, and includes some 8 million people, a population approaching Switzerland’s. Desperate residents need the fuel to run their cars, generators, and bakeries.
  • It was the worst example of a wartime pillage that has stripped Syria of everything of value, from scrap metal to precious artifacts. “I just want to show the world what they are doing to my country,” he said.
  • jreyesc on 13 Nov 14
     
    ISIS has become very rich extremist group because of the oil smuggling business they are involved in.
sgriffi2

Women are the emerging pimps in Egypt - 0 views

From "The Independent" http://www.almasryalyoum.com/news/details/86094, a website for news from Egypt, wrote that women are the highest category of those being trafficked at 66%, but they are ...

#women #egypt #trafficking

started by sgriffi2 on 14 Feb 15 no follow-up yet
fcastro2

Syrian aircraft bomb area near captured Jordan crossing | Reuters - 0 views

www.reuters.com/...a-jordan-idUSKBN0MT0RY20150402

jordan crossing ISIS syria war

shared by fcastro2 on 06 Apr 15 - No Cached
  • Syrian military aircraft bombed areas close to its main crossing into Jordan on Thursday, witnesses and a group monitoring the conflict said, hours after insurgents had captured the border post
  • Insurgents fighting the government of President Bashar al-Assad said they had seized the Nasib crossing in southern Syria late on Wednesday, putting most of 370-km (230-mile) border area stretching up to Israel in the hands of the rebels
  • weaken the regime's hold in the south and to increase the areas under our control
  • ...5 more annotations...
  • he al Qaeda-linked Nusra Front also said it had captured the crossing but rival rebels denied this and accused them of looting after the crossing fell into rebel hands.
  • Jordan closed its side of the crossing on Wednesday. A Jordanian source said on Thursday the kingdom had stepped up security and redeployed some troops to the border
  • The Syrian army, which accuses the staunch U.S. ally of harboring rebels on its soil, said the kingdom had deployed its troops inside the crossing after the rebels took control. Amman denies providing training and arms for the insurgents
  • ordan has pressured rebels in the past not to overrun the Nasib crossing so the highway could stay open to trade and traffic with Damascus
  • Nasib, one of Syria's last official border crossings, is now crucial for importing goods into a country hit hard by Western sanctions
  • fcastro2 on 06 Apr 15
     
    Tensions are rising even higher as the Syrian government take actions to regain the crossing to Jordan. This crossing was lost to the rebels not long ago and has closed an important crossing. 
mportie

Is the U.S.-Iran Cyber War Over? - 0 views

www.thedailybeast.com/...e-u-s-iran-cyber-war-over.html

Politics Iran US cyber war security treaty

shared by mportie on 10 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • mportie on 10 Feb 16
     
    Nuclear negotiations between the US and Iran, involving the lightening of trade sanctions, hope to alleviate the quiet cyber war ongoing between the two nations. Many intelligence officials believe that espionage by both countries will continue to persist however they hope that flagrant cyber attacks will decline.
ccfuentez

68% of human trafficking victims in Middle East, Africa: UNODC | Cairo Post - 0 views

thecairopost.youm7.com/...ms-in-middle-east-africa-unodc

human-trafficking criminal networks Middle East victims forced labor

shared by ccfuentez on 17 Feb 16 - No Cached
  • The Middle East and Africa region hosted the highest percentage of victims of human trafficking with 68 percent
  • Human trafficking is the act of trading humans, within one country or trans-nationally, by means of kidnapping, use of force, deception or other forms of coercion for different purposes including; sexual slavery, forced labor, extraction of human organs and forced marriage.
  • ccfuentez on 17 Feb 16
     
    The amount of human trafficking victims in the Middle East is 68%. Of the amount of people who are victims, one in four of them is a child. A reason for people falling victim to human trafficking is extreme poverty, entrenched inequality, and a lack of education and opportunity.
ccfuentez

Are 30,000 children really 'trafficked' in South Africa every year? The claim exaggerat... - 0 views

africacheck.org/...-claim-exaggerates-the-problem

human trafficking children women Africa Middle East

shared by ccfuentez on 02 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • ccfuentez on 02 Mar 16
     
    Because it is nearly impossible to obtain any accurate information about the real extent of criminal activities that go undetected, there has been little research on human trafficking. There has ben reported estimates that the number of women and children that were expected to be trafficked during the 2010 Soccer World Cup ranged from 38.000 to 100,000. The author of this article believes that many of these numbers are overly exaggerated and unsubstantiated.
eyadalhasan

Iran, Saudi Arabia in War of Words After Cleric's Execution - 0 views

www.nbcnews.com/...fter-al-nimr-execution-n489616

Shiite leaders Sunni Saudi Arabia

shared by eyadalhasan on 01 Mar 16 - No Cached
  • eyadalhasan on 01 Mar 16
     
    Rising tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia were given fresh fuel Monday with both sides issuing tit-for-tat verbal volleys. Regional rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran have been trading blows in an escalating war of words since Saturday following the former's move to execute prominent Shiite opposition cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Iran's Shiite leaders blasted the Sunni kingdom verbally, while protesters in Tehran stormed the Saudi Arabian embassy.
mkulach

Palestinian PM urges ban on Israeli settlement products - 0 views

www.business-standard.com/...t-products-116040400600_1.html

Israel Palestine EU trade

shared by mkulach on 05 Apr 16 - No Cached
  • mkulach on 05 Apr 16
     
    Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Monday urged the European Union to ban Israeli settlement products from entering Europe. At a meeting with Christian Berger, director for Middle East at the European External Action Service, Hamdallah said the Israeli settlements are illegitimate under international law. UNHRC adopted a resolution to "blacklist" companies that operate in Israeli settlements in the West Bank.
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