I grew up in the Middle East, in Bahrain. My dad was Army Loan Service, so that meant he was in the British Army, but serving in the Bahraini Defence Force, in their uniform, taking their rank (Captain), and having one of the Al Khalifas as his CO. This was long before the British military presence was officially reintroduced. I had perceptions formed as a teenager in the early 80s. We existed in a unique expat community, different from the rest. We knew people in the further British community. They were in the local oil company; welders, accountants, engineers, living in basically a 1950s American style town called Awali and those involved in the financial services, who lived in rather luxurious private compounds in Budaiyah, in jobs that came with a chauffeur driven S-Class. They didn't really know how Bahrain was run, and I doubt they really cared. When you talk about "Law and Order", in those countries, it depends on what you call Law and what you call Order. Nepotism is the name of the game, and I heard the Khalifas described as a "Benign Dictatorship". You see institutionalised corruption everywhere. On a trivial level, numberplates. The Amir didn't have a licence plate. If you saw his convoy, you get off the road pronto. And you do the same for an Al Khalifa. 2 digit signified members of the government senior Sheikh. 3 digits meant minor Al Khalifas. Dad got a Range Rover (it wasn't a nice one) off one of these minor Royals, and for about a month, enjoyed the 3 digit plate, and everyone peeling off into the kerbs to make way. Even at that age, I knew about a "Major Henderson", and basically the small British Army contingent in the BDF at the time (a Colonel, two Captains, a Major and a REME WO1) wanted nothing to do with him, apparently coming from the Embassy. All I knew about Henderson at the time was he was some sort of advisor to Sheikh Isa. Later on I found out he was Ian Henderson, a former British policeman from Kenya, and he headed the Bahraini Special Branch, an earnt himself the nickname "the Butcher of Bahrain". Not a nice bloke. Wrong 'un because he used a made up rank. One of my Dad's Bahraini Sergeants was a bloke called Said. I knew his family well, we used to visit. Said was good at his trade, and dad wanted to send him on a course in the UK, because it would it would also help him make Warrant Officer. Said wanted to go on the course, but he didn't want the promotion, because that would make him outrank his mate Ibrahim. Said was Shia, Ibrahim was Sunni, and Said said it wasn't allowed for Shia to outrank Sunni. So, not exactly an equal society. And Said divulged he had a brother, but he hadn't seen him in 10 years. He said his brother voted for the wrong party, and so the police came for him, and took him away. I think he considered him dead, and "Inshallah". Sheikh Isa; jovial looking chap, a great friend of out Queen. He had a summer palace with a beach. Opened it up to expatriates. As long as you were white. Bahrainis, Arabs, Indians and African-Americans were literally banned. As a kid, I thought the beach was great, free cokes and snacks. Often the Sheikh would be seen, in all his finery, on an outside swing set, couple of white women either side of him, in their bikinis. No Islamic piety there. Plenty of machine gun toting cops there, to keep anyone unwelcome out. No photography allowed. Bribery, common institutionalised. My dad ran a military facility that made local purchases through the local agents. I recall one of these agents turning up with a nice Christmas present; a cut glass Scottish decanter set; Dad, from the East End, was pretty chuffed with this, but maybe a bit naive. The next year, the same agent came up with a Wedgewood dinner set. We never used it. Then the third Christmas, and it was cash, several 1000 pounds. Then the penny dropped. These were bribes. The Agent thought the only reason Dad placed orders with him was because of bribery. The cash went under a pillow, and spent. Mum and Dad were crapping themselves. After that, all presents were declined. Another example of corruption. A couple of guys came out from the UK; Cpl Brown, and Cpl Smith, RA, or so they said. Dad had a suspicion, tried to pull rank on them, but they remained tight lipped. They were Royal Artillery, out to train Bahrainis in local uniform. Bahrain didn't have any artillery. So they all went out for a lads night; a British Army Colonel, a Major, my dad, and these two jokers. Beer was drunk and someone was driving. On a roundabout, a fender bender with a car load of pissed as newts Arab coppers. A full on argument broke out, with the Arabs swearing away in English, and Smith&Jones using their best Arabic insults. Dad was worried at this point, diplomatic incident etc.. The local fuzz turned up, they were obviously mates of the Arabs, and all of them were carted off to the police station. Smith and Jones made the call, to "our man" in the Embassy. Released, nothing more said. One of my schoolmates was one of Sheikh Isa's grandkids. He had a lot of them, and we all attended the same school. The Al Khalifa kids used to rock up in pimped out Mercs and Range Rovers. I'd come on a Tata bus. I kept in touch for a few years. He went on to college in the US, and he became Defence Minister and now is Crown Prince. What he did during the Bahrain roundabout protests saddened me. There was no hint of a tolerance. He did the same as what his Uncle, who had been PM and was old school, did in 1975. Nothing had changed. Superficially, they are smiling, appearing pro-Western. That was Bahrain, and I don't think Bahrain has changed much. Its a rotten government overseeing a corrupt society where if you keep your nose clean, don't upset the wrong people, you will get by. I don't think any of the other Gulf states are really any different. And like the expats in Bahrain on their tax free salaries, in their walled off compounds, expats in the other countries will be similarly oblivious to the true workings of these countries, which have a veneer of modernity, but underneath, are run by centuries old custom, which is really tribalism; greasing palms where necessary, kissing the ring to get that contract, to get that promotion. Yes, you can be an expat, and you might have dealings with Emiratis, who will tell you largely what you want to hear. I wouldn't characterise them having more Law and Order than the UK. They might have Order, but that's not through Law. Some people are ok with that.
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