First WOMAD in Al Ain

Finally I've found some time to sit down and write something. It's been a mad whirl of work, body pump, yoga, mah jong, work, choir, bollywood movies and planning a trip to Australia. Good though. It's been a year of excellent concerts and another one was added to the list on 24th April. The Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage organised the first ever WOMAD concert in Abu Dhabi, with one concert at the atmospheric Al Jahili Fort just up the road from where I live. In fact, reading the blurb, it was the first ever WOMAD held in the Middle East. Wow. WOMAD is something that I've wanted to attend for years. It's an opportunity to hear artists from all over the world, with the objective of promoting awareness of other cultures and a bit of world understanding, if that's possible. It was co-founded by Peter Gabriel. There's always a three day concert held somewhere near Cambridge, but it's just that too expensive and difficult to get to, and I've not yet found someone to go with me. This time there were plenty of people who were happy to go with me and the concert was literally 10 minutes drive away. Best of all it was free. Thank you to the Abu Dhabi government.

My friends and I arrived early to make sure of a good seat. I was half expecting to need something to sit on and a few picnic things, as I'm now a veteran of the V Festival and Latitude. Of course it wasn't like that. There was proper seating in front of the stage and a refreshment area serviced by the local Rotana hotel, so it wasn't quite as relaxed as it would be in Cambridge. No exotic aromas and a distinct lack of aging hippies (apart from myself and a few other Western expats). What was wonderful was that, because the concert was free, it was possible for everyone to come. When I say everyone, I mean the great assortment of people from across the world who live and work in Al Ain. My own party consisted of two Australians, a New Zealander, an American and me. Sitting in the same row were a few Koreans who were excitedly waving the Korean flag during the first act. As the seating filled up I noticed a large number of Pakistani and Afghani labourers walking hesitantly down the main aisle. There is this wonderful melting pot of nationalities living in Al Ain (and in the rest of the UAE). Indians are the majority, but we also have Sri Lankans, Filipinos, Indonesians, Bangladeshis, Somalians, Sudanese, Afghans, Pakistanis, Syrians, Egyptians, Jordanians, Palestinians and Nepalese to name but a few. We all live together in relative peace and tolerance, each nationality, to a large extent, taking on specific jobs. The Nepalese are usually male and work in the petrol stations. The Indonesians are usually female and work as maids. Most of the migrant workers from poorer countries are male and unskilled. The labourers and taxi drivers are usually Pakistani and Afghani and can be distinguished by their traditional dress of shalwar khameez and head attire.  My journey to work takes me through the industiral area, known as Sanaiya in every Arab city, where the roadside is busy with squatting men hoping for a job for the day. It demonstrates how much poverty there is in their own countries that they will come here to work, often leaving wives and children, to live in cramped and poor accommodation with little money to spend on themselves, since most of what they earn will be remitted back to their homes. It wasn't until WOMAD that I realised how much we live separately - I know they're just across the road from me, they know that I'm just across the road from them. I live alone in a fabulous house with central air conditioning, three bedrooms, four toilets and all the comforts. They share a concrete box with at least 4 or 5 others and cherish every comfort that comes their way. We don't mix. Until that night. I observed a small group of slim Pakistani men standing in the aisle between rows of empty seats. I could see that they weren't sure what they were allowed to do. Could they sit in the same area as the pampered, well-fed Westerners? For some reason I held my breath as I watched their uncertainty as they looked around. At last one of them moved towards a vacant row and they all settled down. I could see that they were braced for some official to come along to kick them out. It didn't happen and it was such a pleasure to share the concert with everyone. I realised that if the concert had not been free, the labourers couldn't have come - they simply wouldn't have the spare cash. It occurred to me that the fact that we were all sitting together sharing the music and the experience was exactly why WOMAD had been set up in the first place.

The best part of the evening was during the Rizwan-Muazzam Wawwali performance. Apparently they are all 'nephews of the great Nusreh Fateh Ali Khan' and their music is intended to bring about religious enlightenment. It wasn't easy listening, but once I'd got used to it I could understand how it could induce a trance-like state. What I really enjoyed was the sheer pleasure of the Pakistanis who must have come particularly for this music. A row of gentlemen, just in front of me, would occasionally rise up in passion and excitement as the main vocalist sang something significant about Islam (I'm afraid I couldn't understand any of the words). They shouted and raised their hands, and then just as quickly as they'd risen up, they sat down apologetically. They were lovely. Then another man came dancing and twirling down the aisle, his arms stretched out, as he was caught up in the meaning of the music. The rest of us clapped and cheered. Sheer pleasure. Then one of the Emirati officials told a security guard to stop him. After the fourth rising up and cheering from the men in front of me, the same security guard came and stopped them too. They were not doing any harm at all, but I suppose the concert officials were worried about over-excitement, rioting and some of us Westerners grumbling. But we were loving it. It was a most memorable night and I'm glad that I know a little bit more about the people living across the road from me. Can we have the same again next year please?