Working in the Middle East/Africa. What should I know.

bigpanda

So I've been talking with some people and am starting to look at some opportunities for working in the Middle East and Africa. All of the locations would be Muslim countries and cities like Cairo, Dubai, Beirut, etc.

Anyone worked over there before? I'd probably be there for a year or two at the most and would probably move back stateside afterwards.

japan

The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office has good, constantly updated, general advice by country:

http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travelling-and-living-overseas/travel-advice-by-country/

General advice usually given to people working in the Middle East is to have two passports (you can usually apply for a duplicate), keep one in a safe place you know you can get to, with enough ready cash (as in physical money, not bank accounts or whatever) to get you out of the country. You shouldn't ever need it, but if it ever comes down to it you'll be glad it's there.

Awk

sew a canadian flag to your backpack/luggage to repel attention

gneGne

It's about the same as you have to know in every other big city!

ronya

except, y'know, more cautious

in most places "big cities" means "here, the embassy can help me out quickly if I need their help". Saudi Arabia, not so much.

vonPoonBurGer

I haven't done it personally, but there are several guys I know who have worked in the Middle East and predominantly Muslim North African countries. What your experience would be like will depend a lot on which country you end up working in. Somewhere like Dubai has been pretty safe for westerners and most of the inflated wages you find there are due to the inflated cost of living in that city. Somewhere like Saudi Arabia carries a larger element of risk, but it's fairly safe if you're mainly spending your time in the American compound and your place of work. Somewhere like Egypt or Algeria would be riskier still. For example, one of our field techs was scheduled to go to an Algerian customer site, and a car bomb went off in front the building he was heading for about 15 minutes before he got there. We pay people a lot to go to Algeria, and it is quite literally danger pay. Note that while terrorism is more likely in, say, Egypt or Algeria, it's a very real possibility in practically any of these countries. Be sure you're willing to accept that risk before you agree to anything.

Definitely take japan's advice and check for information on the individual countries. The UK Foreign Office has this to say about Algeria, for example:
"The high threat from terrorism in Algeria remains. You should exercise extreme caution at all times as terrorist attacks could be indiscriminate, targeting places frequented by expatriates and foreign travellers such as restaurants, hotels and shopping centres."

So yeah, that seems to be pretty accurate advice based on what I know of Algeria.

Awk wrote:

sew a canadian flag to your backpack/luggage to repel attention

A Canadian flag could earn you some goodwill with moderate or progressive Muslims, but the hardliners don't necessarily view it as a positive emblem.

revcom

vonPoonBurGer wrote: »

. Note that while terrorism is more likely in, say, Egypt or Algeria, it's a very real possibility in practically any of these countries.

Awk wrote:

sew a canadian flag to your backpack/luggage to repel attention

thousands upon thousands of tourists go to egypt every month, its a big source of their income. the government definetly does not want any interruption in that. If you are going to a tourist/expat heavy country like egypt you will be fine. You're more likely to have to deal with petty crime than anything else.

vonPoonBurGer

revcom wrote: »

thousands upon thousands of tourists go to egypt every month, its a big source of their income. the government definetly does not want any interruption in that. If you are going to a tourist/expat heavy country like egypt you will be fine. You're more likely to have to deal with petty crime than anything else.

It depends on where you go in Egypt. In the tourist areas, yes, security is extremely tight. That doesn't mean something can't happen there, but if OP were to end up working in those high-security areas then yes, it's quite likely he'd be entirely safe. However, he's not going on vacation and the jobs may be in riskier parts of the country. In particular, the border regions of Egypt are very risky because while security is tight in the tourism areas, the borders have comparatively little security.

Enc

These are pretty universal, but are often ignored by travelers:

-Be sure to be up to date on all of your vaccination shots.

-Take the proper electrical socket adapters (buy the universal pack at your local radio shack, you never know when some area is going to try to be more progressive than another and update their power grid). Most places do not use the same power outlets or socket wattage we have in the states.

-Brush up on the essential rudimentary phrases of all languages spoken in the area (not just a translation book. If you lose it you're toast). I.E. My Hovercraft is Full Of Eels. fiasco.

-Investigate food prices, vendor practices, and restaurant expectations before leaving. Lacking table service at a restaurant, being expected to barter at a store, or not knowing how much a citron is actually worth can be pretty annoying things. Occasionally they can be devastating, especially if you are unaware of the prices in a tourist-trap area.

-Bring your luggage and all, but always be prepared with a backpack that you can grab and leave with. This is critical for any high-risk traveling. Depending where you are in the Middle East, it is a good idea.

Al_wat

You might get the shits from the food for a while.

Kalkino

Any particular countries?

SammyF

Beirut is not Baghdad. Most everyone I know with experience traveling or working in the Muslim world confirms my own impressions: you're way more likely to get a horrible, gut wrenching disease than you are to be a victim of crime or end up on a tape on Al Jazeera. Get your shots. Malaria sucks ass.

I do have a bunch of security tips for traveling on extended periods in unfamiliar and potentially insecure places, though; as far as good security tips to hedge your bets on being a crime victim: do not avoid the locals. You want to make friends with the locals that you work with quickly. It is much easier to avoid problems if you're traveling in the company of friendly locals; people see you as less of an outsider, and locals are usually the first to know when something is about to go wrong. On a less-cheerful note, it's also much easier for the State Department to track you down if you go missing when your family can tell them who your local acquaintances are. Constantly send email to a friend or family member back in the states and let them know what you're doing, daily if possible. You can also use a blog for this purpose, but it's honestly easier to do this by email since you're not worried about who might be reading it. I do not mean to say that Al Qaeda's going to read your blog; more like it might be awkward if a friend from work sees you publishing a bunch of his vital statistics in your daily diary on LiveJournal.

All of this boils down to the following principle: disconnectedness equals danger. If you don't know anyone around you, make a friend so you're not alone. If you're not in regular contact with friends and family back home, it's going to be hard for someone to find you and help you in the event of a problem (not just security related, but a bureaucratic snafu, or a medical emergency).

Culturally: be sensitive and avoid causing problems. You should constantly be learning about the culture from those aforementioned Muslim friends you've made. Genuine curiousity about another culture isn't unwelcome, as long as you avoid giving the impression that you find something hokey or silly or (worst of all) unAmerican about the other culture. Ask questions, strive to understand the differences, and as you learn more about the differences, celebrate them.

Re: the Canadian Flag thing -- personally, I never hide the fact that I'm an American overseas -- I don't advertise it the way some folks do, I remember flying on a plane once next to a woman wearing a shirt with an American flag on it, and in the foreground there was a large bald eagle flying, talons outstretched, and in one talon there was another, smaller American flag, and in the other talon there was also an additional American flag, and beneath the eagle it said something like "I love America because I'm an American and I'm from there." Here's the thing, though: if I pretended I wasn't an American while traveling overseas, the only impression anyone else ever gets of an American is from that asshat with the American flag t-shirt, the "I (heart) NY" ballcap and the penchant for thinking that speaking English louder is an acceptable substitute for learning the local dialect.

Meanwhile, being an American has almost never been a liability. The only place I've ever been physically attacked because I'm an American? The county Yorkshire in the United Kingdom.

Duffel

Pretending to be Canadian when you aren't actually Canadian is a bad idea, because the locals are going to know you're lying and actual Canadians are just going to think you're a douche.

You don't have to advertise your nationality, but you don't have to pretend to be something else either.

EDIT: Also, get used to the prospect of squat toilets, if you aren't already.

LafayetteLeopards11

re: the canadian flag thing, i totally agree with others who have posted that this is a bad idea.

as an american living abroad (bangkok) these sorts of people are the most ridiculed of all. generally speaking, they can be spotted from a mile away and tend to be enormous assholes. You don't need to apologize for being American. Just don't be an idiot about it. Be respectful of the locals and their culture.

To be fair, I realize that Bangkok is not the same as the Middle East. But still, the world is a lot safer than we are led to believe. Your greatest threats are going to be illness and pickpockets.

Sir Headless VII

Like others have said it is going to vary quite a bit from one field location to another. I am working in Saudi Arabia right now and have working in several other middle east and northern African countries. Other people have covered most of the basics (although no one has mentioned the old travelers trick of keeping a second wallet with a little bit of cash and unimportant card in it in case you get mugged. I don't do that though) so if you have any specific questions I would be happy to try and answer them. Northern tourist trap Morocco is pretty different than the boonies of Iran.

EskimoDave

Prepare for the heat during summers.
Learn basic arabic.
Learn about Islam and local laws so you don't offend.
Have fun.

darkmayo

bigpanda wrote: »

So I've been talking with some people and am starting to look at some opportunities for working in the Middle East and Africa. All of the locations would be Muslim countries and cities like Cairo, Dubai, Beirut, etc.

Anyone worked over there before? I'd probably be there for a year or two at the most and would probably move back stateside afterwards.

I have had friends in the oil and gas industry as well as my father who have made travels to various middle eastern countries. The experience varies, for my friend who ended up doing some IT stuff in northern Iraq he received weapons training and had armed escort all the time. For my father who was in Libya they had escorts but it was pretty cool.