From the April 1977 issue of the Socialist Standard
A little snapshot can show more than a whole picture. In December London had its coldest day for quite a few years. Snow, sleet, a biting wind, all most unpleasant even to a well-wrapped-up northerner. In a shop doorway, huddling out of the snow and looking very miserable, was one of the numerous Arabs now seen in London. He was dressed suitably for the desert sands — thin cotton galabieh, ditto keffiah on his head, and almost bare brown feet in open sandals. That same day an article by Anthony McDermott (one of the Guardian Middle East experts) said that Abu Dhabi has the highest per capita income in the world yet most of its families are miserably poor. The poor creep was puzzled. Simple answer: A few Arab brothers own the oil. The bulk of the Arab brothers own the sand (perhaps not even that). No prizes which lot the poor devil in Baker St. belonged to. His chief was doubtless in a warm bed in the Dorchester (which belongs to Arabs). Could there be a lesson here for the Scottish working-class fools who are voting Scots Nats to secure “our oil”?
L. E. Weidberg
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