The magnificent Omanis :: Secret Dubai

Secret Dubai observes that Oman and Bahrain were not named in the same breath as other Gulf countries named in the US State Department annual report on human trafficking. SD writes:

The reason for this is quite simple: in Oman - as in Bahrain - local people are prepared to take jobs at all levels. They drive taxis. They work in restaurants and at hotels. They act as tourguides.

But is the reason some special virtue of the Omanis? No. The difference is that Oman and Bahrain have substantially less oil wealth than these countries. The effect of the welfare state is apparent in the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait - and Saudi Arabia. In addition, for the same fundamental reason (wealth), all these countries have admitted large numbers of guest workers. The wages for working in restaurants and at hotels are set by wages in poor parts of Asia. Oman, by contrast, has placed greater limits on guest workers.

I concur with Secret Dubai that the Omanis and Emiratis are different from each other in ways that can not be reduced to economics. (And they have similarities that distinguish them from other cultural groups.) But we have not seen how Oman would be if it became as wealthy as suddenly as the UAE.