Every three years, along with hundreds of thousands of other expats, I must renew my UAE residency visa — a process that’s as convoluted as it is archaic. Despite the fact that most of the bureaucratic grunt-work is done by somebody else, my family and I are still required to subject ourselves to blood tests […]

A few years back while working in Ghana, I came across a number of people who were spending their gap year volunteering in Africa. I remember being quite impressed by the fact that these young high school graduates had put their academic lives on hold in favour of altruistic pursuits. I was curious and wanted […]

After almost two decades in and around regions endemic with the parasitic disease, I finally contracted malaria. Had it only been malaria it probably wouldn’t have been such a big deal, but tests revealed that I was carrying two additional parasites: Schistosomiasis and Giardia lamblia. All three combined, had systematically compromised my immune system and […]

As a side benefit of being laid up in bed for the last few days, I’ve managed to catch up on the arguments being put forward to the U.S. Congress regarding military intervention in Syria. There were a number of well-polished speeches, feisty comments and even attacks on Obama. Nevertheless, I felt that that the […]

Turkey hints at ‘evidence’ that Israel is destabilizing the Brotherhood, the U.S. fleet is planning a fishing trip to the Med, NSA agents are misusing company resources to spy on their ‘love interests’ and the WikiLeaks Party is about to oust its leader, Julian Assange, if he continues to hide in Ecuador’s London embassy instead […]

Just about every person you’re likely to meet exhibits some idiosyncrasies, or quirks. These may be noticeable during normal day-to-day interaction or could only surface under times of stress or discomfort. I’m particularly interested in the latter because it can shed light onto someone’s receptiveness and the true nature of their responses during discussions and […]

The Middle East is changing, without a doubt, and Dubai is certainly one city that can attest to dramatic changes. Whether the changes are for good or bad, I’m going to reserve judgement for now. However, I would like to say that an infusion of new blood into any community adds a cosmopolitan feel to […]

With my birthday just around the corner I find myself looking back at my accomplishments, my memories and thousands of pictures. My life laid out on the table in front of me as if it all just happened yesterday. I wanted to achieve a great many things, a handful have materialised, others are still works […]

It’s been almost three years since my last big African project south of the equator. This morning I once again saw Lusaka’s green lawns bask in the warm, morning sun while birds played in the lush Acacia trees lining the streets. Not much has changed. The people are still friendly, kind and with a genuine […]

Before going on leave some weeks back, I managed to finish up a number of projects and hand them over to those who would act as custodians in my absence. I try to make the process as painless and informative as possible for those staying behind to man the walls. But in spite of my […]