Last year, we spent Ramadan in Oman for the first time in a decade. I'll be honest enough to admit that initially, I was less than enthusiastic at the prospect. Combining end of year farewells, busy preparations for summer leave and a hectic schedule with 40 degrees, altered opening hours and no food or drink in public seemed exhausting.
We are hardwired to think our own normal is, well, normal. This includes what we see as polite.
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Statistics Norway defines 'innvandrer' (literally translated as 'someone who has wandered/traveled in') as 'someone who was born outside of Norway by non-Norwegian parents'. This is a large category, glossing over differences, life stories and self-ascribed identities. Statements like 'innvandrere strever på arbeidsmarkedet' (immigrants struggle in...
I can't help but wonder what it must have been like in an inland Omani village, before tourists and resident expats arrived on weekend day trips, before all the comforts and amenities of modern society were available.
Perhaps one of the most important tasks facing Oman in the coming years is building a more diverse economy.
Spending an afternoon in Al Khuwair, a busy commercial and residential area of Muscat, I can't help but marvel at how diverse it is. The smiling Syrian restaurant owner greets me and my weekly order of dips and falafel at his popular corner shop. Omani men appear from the golden domed mosque nearby. A crew of South East Asian men...
"Some 250 million people are international migrants - people who leave their home countries for opportunity or safety," states a recently published report from United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), discussing why migration is a feminist issue. It goes on to point out that nearly half of these migrants are female, and that a large part of...