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These are recent stories - the rest are in my latest book,"Walking Through Adversity."

Stories about Middle East Trips (2)

Rob bryant
2006-01-09 11:39:38

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drive anyway! Bahrain is an Island State and grows larger every year by hauling in dirt from the mainland. Every day huge dump trucks and earthmovers are busy hauling and spreading sand and within months new buildings and villas are built. The dirt hauled in is worthless desert sand, but soon, it is priceless Bahrain land that is bought and sold by the square foot. Only twenty-five % of the people here are natives and few of them work. Ever since "black gold" was discovered beneath the sand, the natives are filthy rich. They pay Africans and Asians practically slave labor wages since it is more than they make in their native countries. There are also bond-servants that have to buy their freedom by paying off the expenses of being brought here. It takes many of them over ten years to pay off rediculously high costs and import fees. We have to remember that the word service is a derivitive of the word servant. The reason that the service is so wonderful here is this area of the world is servant oriented. However, they also pay Americans very good wages, tax free, to come here and help them with their technology and military. However, we have to pay for expensive visas, work-permits, and sponsor fees, so we are in a way, held hostage as well. Each morning hundreds of small wood fishing vessels leave the shores of Bahrain and head into the Gulf to catch fish with small nets and each evening, they return with their underwater treasure in exchange for Dinari. It only rains a few months per year during the winter months and they call it the 'rainy season." The water runs along the hard earth and it quickly floods. Many people are drowned in deep water, or swept out to sea each year. Many people also try to drive through deep water and are swept away. So, when it Bahrains - it pours!

My home away from home - I was taken to a fully furnished two bedroom villa reserved for DynCorp employees. There were security cameras that ...