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Easy hatred on the road to Damascus

The road to Damascus is getting harder. Waiting for my Syrian visa in Sofia is fun though, I have found a great place called The Art Hostel with a cool cave-like underground bar, a place for artists and the like to meet and drink. The other night I met an Aussie whose brother had defended a gypsy he’d seen being attacked by a 21 year old skinhead. In the fight the Aussie ended up killing the skinhead and now he’s in jail waiting trial for murder.

The skinhead was apparently from a good family and studying law. His right-wing beliefs were well known and fully acceptable here, such is the animosity towards Bulgaria’s 2 million gypsies. I shook the man’s hand and passed on my best wishes to his brother in jail.

Defending gypsies here isn’t cool. I’d called a student I’d met the night before a racist for his constant negative talk about them and he was insulted. It is different here he said. He told me that as an outsider I wouldn’t understand how they rob and mug people to make a living, but I said if you are a country of only 5 million with 2 million gypsies doing nothing, excluded, are they not a drain on the economy… would it not be better to try and include them more in your society?

The young Bulgarian student was angry, he didn’t care, he just wanted rid of them. I said OK why don’t you kill them all like Hitler did with Jews. Problem solved. No no he protested I’m not a racist. Later my Syrian friend Nizam shows me a flashing swastika key ring he bought from a nearby tourist shop, sadly it seems that here in Bulgaria the rise of right is more far-reaching than a joke novelty keyring.

Looking for a film – Dubai

Coming back to Dubai was a big thing for me. I was last here in September 2008 looking a film for the BBC. Then this place was still booming, now it feels like it is on the brink of going bust. My cab driver from the airport was moaning that he had only had 3 jobs in 4 hours. Crazy on a Friday night. He’s thinking of leaving and going back to his family in Egypt. After 14 years in Dubai he says he’s never seen it so bad, as I get out of the cab he whispers “Dubai is finished”.

Maybe that’s my story.

I check into my cheap dilapidated Indian-run hotel near the creek in old Dubai. Yes there still is an old dirty run down area in bright shiny new Dubai. I feel at home here. The hotel reminds me of the one I had in Baghdad 2004… but without the danger. Well, without any obvious danger.

The hotel manager shows me 7 hidden cameras in the run-down foyer, they are there for my safety he insists. “But this is the safest place in the Middle East” I tell him, “Yes” he replies, “It is safe BECAUSE I have my cameras”. He also makes it very clear that I cannot have ‘guests’ in my room. In other words the female hookers who work hard at pleasing the ex-pats and tourists that litter Dubai by night.

The manager tells me that some hotels here are down to 20% occupancy. Tourism is down and much of the major construction has stopped or been put on hold. Later I meet Ray and Sarah in a sports bar, they tell me the credit-crunch has hit Dubai big style. Many ex-pats they know have lost their jobs in the last 2 weeks, some have huge financial commitments having paid 12 months rent up-front whilst others are panicking because they have expenses such as their kids schooling fees to find. They said each week hordes of ex-pats are leaving, often to escape the massive debts they have run-up. Easy-credit means many people have been living far beyond their means.

And for the non-western labourers housed in the dense labour camps on the outskirts of Dubai life is even tougher on wages of £4 a day, from which they still manage to send money home. At least their squalid accommodation packed 10 to a room for 11 months a year is free!

This reality is far from the Dubai dream Piers Morgan created in his fantasy ITV documentary last week. The guys in the bar were fuming when they saw it. They were pushing me to make my film here, to show the world what it was really like. If truth be told this place and everything it represents is ugly. But I don’t want to simply confirm that in a film, there has to be more to my documentary if I am to make one here, and, as always, I need to find the right person.

This morning I woke to the call for prayer, I opened my door and stepped onto my balcony, down below was the noise from the bustling street, textile shops everywhere, a very Indian scene, I felt happy to be here, an oasis, my refuge from the huge shiny buildings that are the new Dubai. I leave my hotel and stroll through what could have been Delhi to my favourite humus restaurant on the creek, which is where I write this now, in between watching the water-taxis pass by.

Today I hope to meet Roberto or Marina or Ray who will hopefully lead me to the guy I am looking for… But, if I am honest, he still feels a long long way away.

News in Brief

Latest news in brief – Samir was over in Europe taking part in a piano festival in Paris. After this he came to stay at my house in Brixton for a month, during which time ‘Liberace of Baghdad’ won Special Jury Prize at the It’s All True Film Fest in Brazil and a Special Jury Prize at the Chicago doc fest. I choose to attend DocAviv Film Fest in Tel Aviv where the film was in competition – one of 10 films selected out of 300. I did a masterclass on my approach to doc film making, and met up with some old ‘war mates’ – journos from Baghdad. Samir was too afraid to attend though, he is worried about going back to Baghdad after being in the West for over 4 months, if news got out that he’d been to Israel he could become a target.

Back in the UK Samir played a small concert in the bar at my local cinema.. The Ritzy in Brixton, London. My agents PFD had kindly donated money for the hire of a Baby grand. The evening was sold-out and a great success. The next day we headed up north to my hometown, Hull, where the film was playing in a small art house. We were met by local TV camera’s filming our visit, we travelled on Hull Trains who had kindly sponsored my trip home. First stop was fish and chips for the t.v cameras, though Samir could not understand how fried potatoes could be eaten with fish!! We did a question and answer session with a keen audience after the film and watched ourselves on local telly. Although going for a pint in The Minerva Pub with my dad proved difficult and embarrassing – we suddenly appeared on the telly to the amusement of the whole pub. They all cheered “See ya later Liberace!” as we left.

It was back to London and the big goodbyes again. The goodbyes, that are normal for Samir’s family, split between Iraq and America, have become the same for us now. Each time he leaves it is from the same terminal at Heathrow, he cries worried we will never meet again. I know we always will. Then I go to Dublin with the film, and then onto Prague’s Oneworld festival where a I discover the young woman programmer with strange PC tastes almost barred Liberace of Baghdad from the fest because they saw Samir as a chauvinist! new forms of censorship rise from former communist states it seems! What misjudgments, someone who has really missed what Samir was showing them. Instead of being offended this woman should have felt privileged to have an insight to this man’s world, bearing himself honest and open with all his human imperfections.

Well at least the beer is always good in Prague, even if the beautiful city has been destroyed by British/Irish groups over there on sex/beer trips. Reminds me why I find the Middle East so attractive and what I hate about my homeland.

I am now in and out of meetings with ‘Working Titles’ Eric Fellner (Europe’s biggest producer), and Jana Bennet Director of Programmes at BBC along with various people at the Film Council about my next ventures. I’m looking at raising money for a film in Japan and /or Ethiopia as well as plodding along endlessly with my drama project that has been on the go for 3 years with BBC Films. Watch this space!