THE FLAWED ABU DHABI DIAMOND AND PEDIATRICIAN CYRIL KARABUS

  ABU DHABI OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

Abu Dhabi has been hailed as THE number one wonder of the world of the twenty–first century. This is the new Middle Eastern paradise – dare Jay H. Ell say – Garden of Eden or more probably  - An Arabian Nights Fantasy. Everything is bigger and better than everywhere else. The unabashed objective is to make Dubai the number one tourist destination as well as the cultural, shopping and business center of the world.

Their succession of feats is endless. The Arabian rich archeological heritage has been made into a treasure trove of history and is juxtasupposed with the most modern avant-garde architectural structures, including the tallest building in the world. The Sheik Grand Mosque and the Emirates Palace are the showpieces of Emiratian Culture. The Yas Viceroy Hotel is built half on water and half on land and is covered by a grid shell with curvilinear glass and steel that drapes the two hotels. The most modern Formula One racetrack surrounds the hotel. It also has the world’s largest theme park and the fastest roller coaster. The Yas water world is the most futuristic in design and in its rides the most imaginative and exiting. There is the first hydro – magnetic six-person tornado power slide and also the largest area for surfing in the world. Man made islands. The list is endless.

In addition the top players in the world attend their tennis and golf opens. These are the only sporting events where, it is rumored that, some players’ appearance money approximates the overall winning purse. There are art exhibitions, currently a Picasso event and cultural activities that rival any major city in the world. To maintain their cultural connections they have donated millions to the Guggenheim, Louvre and New York University. Such is the desire to appear number one to every “value” the West holds dear. Even alcohol is freely available and presumably with everything else that accompanies it.

And on and on and on. ……

WHO and HOW.

Obviously all this has taken endless money and endless labor at both ends of the employment spectrum.  There has been cheap labor from the East and highly skilled professionals from wherever they can get them, mainly the West. Human Rights Watch has focused on the worsening situation of the unskilled laborers and arbitrary detentions of civil right activists. These have been followed by show trials.

On the recruitment of professionals many architects, businessmen, lawyers, doctors and bankers have been lured by lucrative contracts to spend various amounts of time there. This is where Jay H. Ell’s story begins of one, the seventy - eight year old Professor Cyril Karabus. (Karabus is not the only individual to find himself in the type of plight Jay H. Ell is about to detail. There have been numerous others)

CYRIL KARABUS

Dr, Karabus is a pediatric oncologist. He worked all his life at the famed Red Cross Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa. The latter serves as a referral center for virtually all of Africa below the Equator. He is highly regarded, soft spoken and dedicated. All his life as a University employee in Cape Town he never received fees for the management of patients just his salary. With the advent of the “new” South Africa all government personnel were forced to retire at sixty – five years of age. Karabus would thus be left with a Government pension to live on so one can easily see why he was tempted to a do a six-week stint in Abu Dhabi in 2002.

On his way back to Cape Town in August 2012, flying Air Emirates, the plane stopped in Dubai. He was promptly arrested, having already been tried, unbeknown to him, in absentia and sentenced to three years in prison for having murdered a patient he treated in 2002. The patient, a three year old, had suffered from the devastating affliction of acute leukemia and died of a brain hemorrhage. He languished in jail for a month and after finally obtaining bail has been languishing in Abu Dhabi ever since. The Judge finally dismissed the case after being presented with the expert witness of several doctors but for reasons “unknown” Karabus is back in court on April 23, 2103.

WORLD MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (WMA) EXAMPLE

The WMA are not known for their radical stands on principal. In fact it is extremely difficult to prod them to do anything. However Karabus’s plight moved them to condemn his situation and called on the United Arab Emirates, (UAE), to guarantee a “fair trial”, -according to “international” standards. They have since gone further advising doctors thinking of working in the United Arab Emirates to note the working conditions and the legal risks of employment there.

If Abu Dhabi, in particular, and the UAE, in general, are serious about joining the twenty - first Century they should get all their ducks in a row. It is not enough, in this day and age to put on the greatest futuristic show on earth and simultaneously wallow in medieval legal norms. In one-way or another they should be made aware of this and WMA has made a great start. What about other professional bodies? What about pressure being put on recruiting agencies at both ends of the economic scale? What about going to Disney World and Epcot instead? What about letting your local UAE Embassy know how you feel?

Cyril Karabus has unwittingly become the focus of a major human rights issue. He, who has so unstintingly and caringly served others, does not deserve to be the victim of such injustice. Those like Jay H. Ell who witnessed his caring attitude, humility and commitment have an added responsibility to plead his cause.