Arab Time vs Canadian Time

I am pathologically punctual. I hate being late.  I think habitual lateness is rude and ignorant.  It shows a lack of empathy and awareness that other people’s time is valuable.

Unfortunately, almost nothing happens on time in the Arabian Gulf.  Things get going eventually, but time is a loose concept and punctuality isn’t a particularly well-practiced skill. In seven years I was never able to adapt to their system of time-keeping.  If my photo assignment was for nine o’clock I’d be there 15 minutes early.

I tried to be late, but the best I could ever manage was being exactly on time. And then I’d sit there for ages waiting for things to get underway.

Rank and status play a large part in time keeping. The more important a person is, the later they will be.  Those with lower status wait for those with higher status.  I remember asking a PR woman when a particular event was going to start. I and the rest of the press corps had been waiting 45 minutes past when we were asked to be there.  ‘My dear, there is no start time. We start when the Sheikh gets here’. Well then.

Events would start on average 45 minutes late, but I have waited for up to 2 ½ hours. I wish I could count up the man hours lost in the Gulf because a Sheikh, VIP or Bollywood star couldn’t be bothered to get somewhere on time. I once waited 3 hours for Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty to show up at some hotel in Bur Dubai and she was only famous for being racially insulted on Britain’s Celebrity Big Brother reality TV show. 3 hours! Seriously. Get over yourself.

It would be a real treat when we dealt with American or British celebs/sports figures/politicians. I covered Tony Blair one day and his PR people went through his schedule minute by minute and then stuck to it.  Moments like this restored my faith in an organised universe.  

Only two Emiratis in the whole country were ever on time in my experience, so I have to give them a pat on the back.  Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, the head of Emirates Airlines, was strictly punctual for every public event he attended. He was late once to a press conference and apologised profusely for making us wait. It’s the only time I’ve ever seen a Sheikh apologise for anything. The other punctual sheikh is Sheikh Nahyan Bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, the minister for higher education.  He could arrive 15 minutes early, which kept us all one our toes.

There are things I really miss about life in the UAE but the culture of lateness isn’t one of them.  Give me ‘Canadian’ time over ‘Arab’ time any day.

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