The question of discrimination in Dubai based on ethnicity comes up all the time, which came to mind as I walked around Satwa the other day.

The unpalatable fact that many refuse to accept is that it’s largely imported by expatriates who bring their prejudices with them.

What I find ironic is that the group which in my experience complains longest and loudest is itself one of the most guilty of practicing discrimination.

For example, I came across many signs in Satwa demonstrating discrimination based on not only nationality but also by which area of a country people come from, and by religion.

You’ll find the same thing in the Domestic Employment ads in Gulf News, where the majority exclude most job-seekers by specifying nationality and/or area and/or religion. For example:

“Housemaid, South Indian, preferably Keralite, required for a family residing in Sharjah.

Housemaid, Indian / Filipino, required for an Indian family residing Deira.

Think I’m exagerating when I say ‘the majority’ of ads? Check them out for yourself here.

Yes folks, discrimination is alive and well in Dubai.

By Ashraf Helmi, Video Editor
Published: 23:35 January 10, 2009

Video

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Handwritten advertisements cover a phonebooth in Satwa.
Image Credit: Francois Nel/Gulf News

On the flipside, many residents say these advertisements are an eyesore and affect the aesthetics of the city.
Image Credit: Francois Nel/Gulf News

Many residents say the scraps of paper pasted on roadsides advertising products or services work better than newspapers or online advertisements

Dubai: Javed Khan is searching for a bed space for his brother. All he needs to do is hit the streets of Satwa where he lives.

The streetside bills or informal, handwritten advertisements pasted on walls, construction barriers and public telephone booths all offer Khan plenty of options.

“This is very easy. You get a number of contacts from the same locality within a minute without spending a penny,” he said.

Street corners are very much the poor man’s classifieds where he finds anything from bed spaces to part time jobs and tuition classes to electronic repair shops.

People like Khan find these a cheaper source than newspaper classifieds and online portals.

Javed’s brother presently lives in Sharjah and travels daily to his workplace in Dubai.

He wants to move closer to his workplace.

“I am checking out these ads as they are easy and quick to find,” said Khan.

When asked whether he has tried newspaper classifieds, which carry similar adverts daily, Javed said, “I guess they are more expensive. Besides, by the time we get a copy and call the number, the deal is already gone.”

Rooms on rent

Baiju Bhaskaran, who works for a supermarket in Satwa, said he has begun checking the advertisements in the streets because he must soon vacate the villa he is sharing.

“The advantage of these ads is that most of the advertised rooms are in the same locality because people who have rooms to let use the same medium to find interested parties,” he said.

According to Bhaskaran, these streetside classifieds are reliable as he knows of people who have found rooms and jobs through them.

“Some people might have been conned. But I do not know of any such incidents,” said Baiju.

Raja Reddy, a construction worker in Sharjah, said he bought a second-hand mobile phone through an advertisement pasted near Rola Square.

“It all happened within half an hour. Last Thursday around seven in the evening, I called the number given and the seller was in the vicinity.

“We met in front of a cafeteria in the same place. I checked the mobile phone and bought it. It was that simple,” said Reddy.

Effective

Those who paste advertisements offering products or services also have a similar story.

“When you are targeting people from the same locality, it is a good idea to put up an advertisement near the street corner.

You will get calls the same day, and you can fix the deal,” said Rigotto Francis, who put up an advertisement renting out a room in his apartment in Deira.

On the flipside, many residents say these advertisements are an eyesore and affect the aesthetics of the city.

“I think the practice should be banned. It is sick to see these advertisements pasted randomly on walls, telephone booths and bus shelters. It does not go well with the image of a clean city, that Dubai is,” maintained Alam Khan, who resides in Bur Dubai.

The Dubai Municipality has taken serious note of the issue. Advertisements pasted on the roadside are being removed. Those who repeat the offence risk being fined.

2001, chalk board paint, chalk

Creative Time’s Cell Lounge at The Meat Market Art Fair, New York, NY

Lo-Fi MB was a temporary site specific installation. MTAA provided Meat Market Art Fair-goers with a lo-fi method to leave messages for one another, to rate the galleries (very popular), access important phone numbers (pizza delivery, car services, etc), and a casual cell phone friendly hang out.

Installation shots from The Cell Lounge, click the thumbnail to open a larger image in a new browser window:

[Main Street message board. Spooner, WI.]

[Message board of sorts. Central & Hennepin Avenues, NE Minneapolis.]

[Wedge Co-op message board by day. Lyndale Avenue, S Minneapolis.]

[Wedge Co-op Message Board by night. Lyndale Avenue, S Minneapolis.]

[Fallen message board. University of Minnesota Campus, Minneapolis.]

[Transit stop message board. Brookline, MA.]

[Lightpole message board. ??? Somewhere in the Twin Cities???]

Filed under: Uncategorized ]]> http://aliaalrahuomicampaign.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/colourfull/feed/ 0 alia alrahuomi 3D Illustration Illustration http://aliaalrahuomicampaign.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/walls-note%c2%adbook/ http://aliaalrahuomicampaign.wordpress.com/2010/04/05/walls-note%c2%adbook/#comments Mon, 05 Apr 2010 09:20:14 +0000 Alia Al-Rahuomi http://aliaalrahuomicampaign.wordpress.com/?p=234 ]]> Walls Note­book is a note­book/sketch­book with 80 “clean” New York City walls as your blank slate. Write, draw, paste, or doo­dle on these in­spi­ra­tional back­drops. You’ll be one step clos­er to being the graf­fi­ti artist you’ve al­ways want­ed to be … minus the jail time.

Unbelievable !!!

May … Latifa ^_^

WALL / FLOOR / TABLES  …. OMG!

CLOSE TO OUR IDEA ^_^

Panta Rhei school interior by i29

June 12th, 2009

Dutch interior architects i29 have completed the interior of a public school in Amstelveen in the Netherlands that uses poetry as a design device.

i29 commissioned poems from Dutch poet Erikjan Harmens for the interior of the Panta Rhei school, and used the words to create “carpets of text” on floors and walls.

Harmens worked with students to identify themes for the poems that reflected school life, such as insecurity and friendship.

The school building was designed by Snelder Architecten. Photographs are by Jeroen Musch.

Here are some words from i29:

–

‘Gossip about me, but don’t tell them the truth
Make them believe something bigger’

Architecture and interior

In the design for the new accommodations of public school Panta Rhei in Amstelveen (NL) there is a lot of attention on the balance between freedom and a sense of security. Snelder Architecten realised a building with many open multifunctional spaces where students can make themselves familiar with the teaching material.

The interior design by i29 links up with that perfectly and gives the spaces an identity that connects with the students’ environment and addresses them directly and personally. i29 let itself be inspired by the name of the school. Panta Rhei, meaning ‘everything flows’, ‘everything is in motion’. This led to a design that leaves space for the imagination of the users, offering elements that can be used flexibly, which also propagates the school’s identity.

Poems

Throughout the entire school poems have been applied to the linoleum floors and the furniture. The thought behind this is that there are moments outside of the classroom when you can learn and gain insights: often a casual setting is very inspiring. Maybe these poems provide a different perspective in an unguarded moment. i29 commissioned the poet Erikjan Harmens for this. He worked out themes like insecurity and friendship together with the students. The open texts leave room for their own interpretation. i29 modelled the poems in ‘carpets of text’ in which the letters stick together and seem to flow from each other. From a distance the texts form intriguing graphic patterns.

This imagery has been implemented by i29 in the new school logo, the facade and the signposting throughout the school. The furniture, which was made to measure, is informal and dynamic. Because work takes place both in groups and individually, i29 itself designed tables in asymmetrical, angular shapes. These shapes allow the furniture to be linked together in all kinds of ways and different configurations can be made, such as square, circular or star-shaped set-up. This means the pieces can be used in the general spaces as well as in the classrooms and staff rooms.

Structures

i29: ‘We think in structures and rhythms and not in taste or style. You can look at it as music which deals with harmony and contrast. One tone is not unconnected to the next and silence is essential.’ i29 has realised a spatial composition which has been carried out without compromise. Over the neutral basis of tables and benches there is a fine fabric of black elements; consisting of the poems, the hassocks and the Magis One-chairs. The furniture is strong and robust, but does not look bulky, rather refined. Remarkable in this context is the choice of the Grcic chair. It matches well here because of its technical aura and it urges you to think about the design and production process. It is a vocational school after all. Just because this is not a university, does not mean you do not have to challenge the students.

Field of tension

There is a field of tension between the free, blank character of the open spaces and the personal, almost emotional nature of the poems. Both have been carried to great lengths; in the sense that the spaces are very aloof and quiet, but the text carpets speak to the children in a direct and personal way.

Client: Panta Rhei, Amstelveen
Interior design: i29 l interior architects
Floor area: 4000m2

Poems: ErikJan Harmens
Architect: Snelder Architects
Constructor: Wouters Bouw
Interior builder: Zwartwoud