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Re: [RC] Possible strategy for dealing with sticky moral issues - John Bass*This message was scanned for all current viruses and is certified clean* Maryanne, When you say it's bullshit I hope people will take you for your word. The UAE is using the proper bait, $$$$, to reel in their fish. They have sunk the hook. The stronger fish will be able to break the line, the weaker fish are going to get gutted. John ----- Original Message ----- From: "Maryanne Stroud Gabbani" <msgabbani@xxxxxxx> To: "Ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Sunday, October 31, 2004 7:25 AM Subject: [RC] Possible strategy for dealing with sticky moral issues > *This message was scanned for all current viruses and is certified clean* > > I've been thinking a lot about this whole issue of boycott/not boycott > rather a lot. Reading all the emails on both sides. I guess that I > reached a sort of critical mass last night because this morning I found > that I could write my thoughts. That's not to say that they are utterly > clear. I think that I can really appreciate Kat's view that she would > hope that she could turn down the invitation if she got one. You can > ponder them and see if they make sense, but in the end I am an > outsider. No one has or ever will invite me to participate in the WEC. > > This may be a bit long and not the best organised so bear with me. > > I faced a lot of the same issues that you are facing when I realised > what the intentions of the UAE were for the 120 km race held in May > 2000. I had been hired by the Jockey Club of Egypt to manage the race > and I took my mandate to be the protection of horses and riders in a > possibly hazardous situation. The Jockey Club wanted the money that > Maktoum was making available for the race and the support for the flat > racing afterwards. Within 24 hours of the arrival of our technical > delegate I realised that the UAE had no intention of running an honest > race. The base camp recommendation was vetoed as being not scenic and > posh enough. The track was declared "hazardous", that is to say not > flat and not close enough to the pyramids for the grand photos of the > sheikhs riding past. We spent a week driving around the desert and > villages of the area looking for a "suitable" track while Feisal > Seddiq's bodyguards threw 10LE notes out of the car windows to watch > the children fight over them. Sweet. > > The final track was arranged by paying the Antiquities Council to allow > cars and horses to travel within 100 metres of the pyramids, water > stops were set up without regard to the fact that choices often > included spots that were too close to villages and often on the village > football pitches. The boys play soccer in the desert every Friday, the > day of the race. The flags were put out at 2 am the day of the race so > there were no maps available and no proper briefing. As Ride Manager > I had no idea where the riders were going. My numerous volunteers were > assigned to positions that would ensure they saw almost nothing and > could learn almost nothing or they weren't assigned at all. A planeload > of clueless Emiratis were flown in to ensure the "proper" reports. I > sent people out anyway even though we really had no idea where they > were going. I could go on forever about that week and the day of the > race. It was like being thrown into a tank of sharks to learn to swim. > After all, everything I knew about endurance I'd learned on Ridecamp. > I'd never seen a race, but someone had to get out there and do > something for our people. I worked harder than I've ever worked in my > life, got into serious fights with security forces who wanted to roust > the visiting horses and grooms for a bomb search at 3 am (I refused > flatly and they went away), threw a water bottle at a general who > refused to understand that I had women, children and retirees standing > out in the sun in spots chosen by the UAE and being threatened by > justly angry village youths with rocks, sticks and in some cases > knives. When I think about it now, it was crazy. But the UAE didn't > realise that I was the wife of a seriously important Egyptian who was, > in her own way, untouchable and that I DIDN'T WANT ANYTHING FROM THEM. > > There is the key. Once you want something, anything, from someone they > have power over you. Very zen but it works. I still have a good > relationship with the staff who work for Maktoum. I got a lot of > respect from them, a lot of support and encouragement and came to > understand a lot. I realise that they are in the power of their > employers and I understand duress. > > I caused a massive amount of hassle for the UAE because I didn't give a > damn about them. I didn't go home before the race, saying that they > weren't playing fair. I warned them that I was difficult, I stuck it > out, worked my job, and then very publicly criticised them on points of > fact. Absolutely drove them nuts and the races here have become > saner...if UAE endurance is ever sane, which I don't believe that it > can be. At the end of the race, I insisted that our vet students be > paid for their time and work. Feisal Seddiq paid each one USD 100, > which was a nice amount for the kids. He gave me 300 USD and while he > was still there, I gave it to some of the workers saying that I didn't > need it since I spent more than that on a pair of shoes. (A lie, by the > way. Maybe riding boots if I found the right ones. <G>) I made sure > that I didn't keep anything at all from them. That way no one could say > that I was pissed off that I didn't get anything, but everyone knew > that I gave it away. > > I think that people should go to the WEC if they want to, but on the > other hand I don't think that the issues should be allowed to die. I > think that you all should work at spreading the word to other riders > from other countries. I think that whoever goes should thank their > hosts for a good time and donate any gifts or prize money to a charity, > preferably one dealing with the camel boys. These people should be used > the same way that they have been using American, Australian, German, > and even Egyptian riders since day one. And make it clear that is what > is happening. There are riders who won't go along with the strategy, > but it is the one that will hurt the most. > > One of the things that has bothered me the most about the US > involvement in endurance in the UAE is the fact that Dubai have stage > managed the events so that everyone has come home oooing and aahing > about how generous, friendly, blah, blah, blah Maktoum is. It's > bullshit. They are giving up something that means nothing to > them...money. And they think that they are buying friendship and > respect, but are they giving that? No. US riders would be horrified to > be able to understand what is said about them behind their backs. There > is no respect coming back. You are all tools. Mohamed Maktoum is not > friendly, kind, or any of those things. He's the damn Minister of > Defense. The UAE believes that everyone but themselves can be bought, > and so far not too many people have proven them wrong. Frankly if the > UAE weren't paying the tab for this, how many riders would go to the > trouble of getting their horses all the way to Dubai? And without all > those riders how empty would a UAE victory in the WEC seem? > > When I have to deal with the UAE, and I still do show up at the big > races here often as the guide for press coverage, I treat everyone with > the utmost of civiltiy as is due any human being, but I make damn sure > that the reporters I am guiding get a clear and unbaissed look at the > race. I am treated, in return, with respect and a certain amount of > fear by those who are fiddling the results. The real people, the vets > and those I know well on the technical staff rather enjoy my presence > because it ensures that people are around to blow whistles without them > having to do it. > > I think that riders who choose to travel should be encouraged to go > with their eyes wide open and all the rose-coloured glasses left at > home. This is a fantastic opportunity to travel and see a part of the > world that they might otherwise never see. Don't work too hard to win. > It isn't worth it and doesn't really mean much. You won't likely win > anyway, for reasons that I could go into another time. But go. See the > good, the bad, and the ugly. Ask questions. Get involved in > discussions. Watch what goes on and see how it works rather than being > awed by the bells and whistles. All this electronic hooha has a lot of > of ways to fiddle it. LEARN, LEARN, LEARN. If riders choose to USE > this opportunity to learn more about the UAE, then by all means they > should USE it. > > As the Prophet said, seek knowledge even unto China. > > Maryanne Stroud Gabbani > Cairo, Egypt > http://www.alsorat.com > http://miloflamingo.blogspot.com > http://homepage.mac.com/msgabbani > > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. > Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp > Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp > > Ride Long and Ride Safe!! > > =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. 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