Thursday, August 20, 2020

Neom: The Futuristic town coming up in the Arabian desert

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Charvi Trivedi

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Neom: The Futuristic town coming up in the Arabian desert

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Global Views 360

Publication Date

August 20, 2020

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Representative image for a futuristic city

Representative image for a futuristic city | Source: vectorpocket via Freepik

Ever since Mohammed bin Salman, popularly known as MBS, became the crown prince of Saudi Arabia in 2017 at a young age of 32 year, he has been working on twin objectives of liberalising the conservative laws of the country and diversifying its oil based economy.

In the last 2 to 3 years Saudi Arabia has done away with religious enforcers, allowed women to drive, loosened the strict clothing norms for women, reopened the cinema and other entertainment events by scaling down many of its ultra conservative rules and regulation.

File:Mohammad bin Salman (2018-06-14) 01.jpg
Mohammad Bin Salman | Source: Russian Presidential Executive Office via Wikimedia

On the economy front, MBS has started many projects to lessen the dependence on oil, of which Neom is the centerpiece. NEOM is a technologically advanced mega-city being built from scratch in the sands at the coast of the Red Sea and is considered to be the dream project of MBS. This magnificent city, will take about $500 billion to complete and be thirty three times the size of New York City. This project will make the country a technology hub, attract international tourists, and will reduce Saudi Arabian economy’s over-dependence on oil.

Neom will boost some of the features which are today seen only in some sci-fi movies. It will employ cloud seeding technology to bring rain in the desert town, display an artificial moon, and use flying taxis for intra city travel. The town will have some functional autonomy which include relaxed laws for women and tourists.

Three of the biggest consultancy firms of the world, Boston Consulting, Oliver Wyman and McKinsey & Co, were roped in by MBS in 2017, to bring his vision of Neom to life. “This is a challenge. The dream is easy but making it come true is very difficult” MBS said.

While the entire project is slated to be completed in 2025, the international airport is already constructed at Neom. Phase-1 of the project was supposed to be completed in 2020, however it was delayed due to the oil price crash and COVID-19 pandemic. “All of these projects will be delayed. It's not paused; it's continuing more slowly” said Ali Shihabi, a Washington-based analyst on the Neom advisory board.

Abdul-Rahim Al-Huwaiti, protestor who was shot dead | Source: MENA Rights

Saudi Arabia has done a wonderful job of letting the imaginations run wild to come up with an idea and start implementation, there are few downsides as well. The area where Neom is being built is home to the Huwaitat tribe who have to relocate elsewhere for the construction to take place. While most of the tribe members agreed to move on, few were not willing to do so. Abdul-Rahim Al-Huwaiti was one such member who actively resisted and criticized the government in videos posted on youtube. He was unfortunately shot dead by the government forces during an operation to clear his house in April, 2020 giving a blot to this wonderful project.

There are still some obstacles in the ‘perfect’ project of modernising Saudi Arabia. “The main project risk probably is the potential lack of large private investors. The local and international private sector will want to hear a lot more detail than what has been published to date” said Steffen Hertog, a leading scholar on Saudi Arabia, pointing out that a lot of clarifications and work is still required.

There is still time before this magnificent town rises to its full glory on the coast of the red sea in Arabian desert. We are eagerly waiting to see the flawless execution of a grand vision of Saudi Arabian crown prince Mohannad bin Salman in the form of the modern marvel, Neom.

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February 4, 2021 4:54 PM

The story of reconciliation and development in the genocide hit Rwanda

The genocide and civil war had rendered hundreds of thousand of people homeless and in utter misery. If the Tutsi’s were the primary victims of genocide, the Hutu’s too suffer in the ensuing civil war when Paul Kagame led Rwandan Patriotic Front defeated the government forces and took over Rwanda.

When the genocide stopped by August 1994, the the suspected perpetrators of crime were hounded by the new government forces. Thousands of Hutus left the country and sought refuge in the neighbouring countries. The legal system of Rwanda was in shambles and the vengeance was taking precedence over the quest of justice. Over a hundred thousand suspected genocidaires were put in prison but could not be properly tried due to a strained judicial system.  

Things however started to change from the year 2000, when Paul Kagame became Rwanda’s President. The biggest challenge for him was to rebuild a society that is economically and socially stable. The socio-economic transformation of Rwanda under Kagame is an inspiring story of reconciliation based on acceptance, repentance and forgiveness, the very foundation on which the edifice of Rwanda's reconciliation is standing firmly today.

The first step towards reconciliation started in 2002 when Rwanda introduced the community-based dispute resolution mechanism, Gacaca to try the genocide related crimes. Gacaca was traditionally used in Rwanda to resolve minor disputes. In its new incarnation, the objectives included not only delivering justice, but also strengthening reconciliation, and revealing the truth about the genocide.  

In the Gacaca court the local community elected the judges who then tried the defendants  in front of members of the local community. These community members  were asked to share whatever they knewabout the the role of defendant during the genocide. Gacaca courts functioned extensively during 2005 to 2012 and processed almost two million cases in this duration.

Though Gacaca courts were criticised by many human right organisations for putting speed over fairness in trial, it undoubtedly resulted in giving the opportunity for some genocide survivors to learn what had happened to their relatives. It helped many families of survivors and perpetrators living side by side with peace and contentment in many reconciliation villages, after the ‘perpetrators’ confessed their crimes and expressed repentance.

Taking inspiration from The Truth and Reconciliation Commission” of South Africa, Rwanda established a “National Unity and Reconciliation Commission” in 1999 with an objective to reconcile and unite the Rwandan citizens. This process used four specific tools. (1) Ingandos - to bring normal activities to a standstill in order to reflect on, and find solutions to national challenges, (2) Organising reconciliation summits, (3) Creation of a leadership academy for developing a new set of grassroot leaders, and (4) Frequent exchanges and consultations at inter-community level.

All these efforts along with that of many non-governmental organisations helped to greatly heal the deep wound of sectarian violence in Rwanda. According to the report published by the National Unity and Reconciliation Commission of Rwanda in 2016, over 92% of Rwandans feel that reconciliation is happening.  

Alongside the reconciliation process, the government of Rwanda started spending on health, education and other civic infrastructure which has paid a good dividend in last two decades.

Government expenditure on healthcare facilities per person has gone up sixfold from just $21 in 1995 to $125 in 2014) which contributed to the increase in Life expectancy at birth by 32 years between 1990 and 2016 while  reducing the infant mortality by half since 2000.

The focus on the education sector resulted in almost three quarters of girls and two-thirds of boys now completing primary schooling while literacy rates of adult males and females increased to 75% and 68% respectively.

Rwanda now ranks 6th out 149 countries in the global gender gap index and a high proportion of front-line political positions, including 61% of the parliamentary seats are occupied by women. Rwandan women possess the right to inherit property and can also pass citizenship to their children.

The newfound peace, stability and reconciliation in Rwanda gave a boost to the country’s economy which saw per capita GDP growth from $200 to almost $800 between 1994 and 2017. In 2018 the GDP grew at  8.6% and the county rated the second-best place to do business in Africa.

Rwanda today is a shining example that a country with a long and painful history of violent sectarianism, can achieve great success, if it takes every section of the population along on a path of peace, unity and reconciliation.

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