Michael
07-26-04, 08:41 PM
Could what has happened in Nauru happen to the ME? Nauru sat on top of a fantastic natural resource, the tiny island made Billions of dollars and the people were some the richest in the World. One day the last of their resource was mined and not that long afterwards their wealth evaporated and their economy collapsed - now they’re one of the poorest people in the world.
Anyone who thinks of Nauru couldn’t but help think of the ME. Especially those countries whose governments are completely dependant on the sale of oil - Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and of course Saudi Arabia. I’d like to say things will be different for the ME but I’m just not that confident it will be. If you don’t learn from the past you’re doomed to repeat it. I feel that the best way to manage a countries wealth is via a transparent democratic system, which for some reason seems to run diametrically opposed to the ME culture. And so I think that in 50-80 years time the people of the ME will end up exactly as the people Nauru – penniless.
It’s really a shame.
Here’s a brief on Nauru:
During the 1970s and 1980s, Nauru's 10,000 inhabitants enjoyed the world's highest standard of living, thanks to exploitation of rich deposits of phosphates. But the phosphates eventually ran out, and the billions of dollars of proceeds were invested unwisely. Nauru, once one of the richest places on the planet, has already lost control of most of its assets.
Australia takes control in Nauru (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3926497.stm)
Anyone who thinks of Nauru couldn’t but help think of the ME. Especially those countries whose governments are completely dependant on the sale of oil - Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, and of course Saudi Arabia. I’d like to say things will be different for the ME but I’m just not that confident it will be. If you don’t learn from the past you’re doomed to repeat it. I feel that the best way to manage a countries wealth is via a transparent democratic system, which for some reason seems to run diametrically opposed to the ME culture. And so I think that in 50-80 years time the people of the ME will end up exactly as the people Nauru – penniless.
It’s really a shame.
Here’s a brief on Nauru:
During the 1970s and 1980s, Nauru's 10,000 inhabitants enjoyed the world's highest standard of living, thanks to exploitation of rich deposits of phosphates. But the phosphates eventually ran out, and the billions of dollars of proceeds were invested unwisely. Nauru, once one of the richest places on the planet, has already lost control of most of its assets.
Australia takes control in Nauru (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3926497.stm)