For John Akouri, US President Donald Trump is a hero.
His social media accounts are replete with photo ops of him alongside some of America’s top political brass: Mr Trump’s personal lawyer and former mayor of New York City, Rudy Giuliani; Mr Trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump; and with the president himself, at a Republican party dinner in Michigan in 2013.
Mr Akouri’s family emigrated from Tripoli in northern Lebanon in 1955 but that has not stopped him taking an active role in the re-election of a president responsible for an array of laws preventing immigrants and citizens of several Middle Eastern countries from entering the US.
As the co-chair of the Trump-Pence campaign in Michigan for the 2016 presidential election, Mr Akouri, a PR consultant, played an instrumental role in getting Mr Trump over the line – by less than 11,000 votes – in the key battleground state en route to a stunning victory over Hillary Clinton.
This campaign season, Mr Akouri, 55 is back in the same role, and is keen to draw similarities between Mr Trump and the Arab-American community.
“When you think of Arab Americans, we’re very family oriented, and Donald Trump is very close to his family. Arabs believe in life and Donald Trump is very pro-life,” Mr Akouri says.
“Most of the Arab Americans I know are independent businessmen and women. Our roots are embedded in entrepreneurship, which is clearly what Donald Trump is all about.”
With Michigan – a swing state – set to again play a major role in November’s presidential election, the votes of its Middle Eastern-heritage population, numbering an estimated quarter of a million people, could have a pivotal say in who wins the race for the White House.
In almost four years in the Oval Office, Mr Trump has introduced a series of anti-immigrant laws and executive orders detrimental to Arab Americans, while voicing implicit support for racist viewpoints through his Twitter account. He has mocked the wearing of the hijab and engaged in derogatory rhetoric towards people from the Middle East.
On the 2016 campaign trail he claimed: “Islam hates us,” but perhaps his most damaging move was the 2017 travel ban that placed major immigration and visa restrictions on citizens of Syria, Libya, Yemen, Iraq and Sudan (since lifted in the latter two countries) and other Muslim-majority countries.
A Pew Research poll of US adults conducted last February found that nearly half of those surveyed felt the Trump administration has "hurt" American Muslims.
Like any immigrant community, however, Arab Americans are anything but a uniform political bloc. A 2016 survey by the Washington DC-based Arab American Institute, taken weeks before the presidential election that year, found that more than half of participants identified as Democrat and 26 per cent sided with the Republican party.
Seventy-seven per cent of those who identified as Republican said they would vote for Mr Trump in 2016.
Michigan, California and other states are home to established Iraqi and Syrian Chaldean (Assyrian) Catholics and Lebanese communities who moved to America in the late 19th and early 20th centuries to work in automotive factories and open supermarket businesses. Many lean towards social conservatism and the emergence of the current administration’s radical nationalism resonates with them.
Then there are thousands of recent arrivals such as former refugees who have fled war in Iraq, Syria, Yemen and elsewhere. For them, any hope of reunification with family members still in the Middle East has been thwarted by the Trump administration’s travel ban, so many are expected to support Democratic party challenger Joe Biden on November 3.
Athough Chaldeans in America for the most part do not identify as Arab, the community makes up a crucial bloc among Middle Eastern-origin voters. An estimated half million are concentrated largely in and around Detroit, Chicago and southern California. Of the 160,000 Chaldeans living in Michigan, more than half are registered to vote.
Tellingly, through them Mr Trump may be lining up a way to win Michigan in November. In a speech to automotive factory workers last January, the president surprised many by speaking about the need to prevent Iraqi Christians in the country illegally from being deported back to the Middle East.
“That was great to hear,” says Martin Manna, president of the Chaldean Community Foundation.
Mr Manna says the Trump administration often consults the Chaldean community about Iraqi policy. Last March he had a private audience with Vice President Mike Pence. “We have provided direct memos about concerns for minority groups there, and asked they be raised with the Iraqi government, and they were. Religious freedom [in Iraq] is a priority for this administration,” he says. “It was not for the previous administration.”
“There was some frustration under President Obama that although [the population of] Syria was 10 per cent Christian, fewer than one per cent of refugees coming from Syria at that time were Christian. That caused a lot of concern within the Chaldean community.”
Mr Biden’s "Agenda for Muslim-American Communities" and "Plan for Partnership" with the Arab American community pronouncements have left some Arabs who are not Muslims feeling left out.
Mr Akouri, who also hosts a Detroit-based radio talk show and was rumoured in 2017 to be a candidate for the post of US ambassador to Lebanon, believes Mr Trump has done more for world peace and order than any other recent president, the Abraham Accord peace agreements being the latest example
“I applaud the president, [son-in-law and adviser to President Trump] Jared Kushner, and the leaders of Bahrain and the UAE,” he says. “They’ve made the decision; it’s in their national interest. I hope other [countries] join.”
For others, the pandemic and its effects on struggling businesses may still be the key issue come election day.
“Obviously Covid is playing into the election; many are frustrated with the current policies, whether it’s health or business,” says Mr Manna. “A huge number of businesses – cell phone stores, hotels and supermarkets – are owned by Chaldeans. Like so many other Americans, the economy is so very important to them.”
Mr Manna believes the result of the election will be close, but he expects Mr Trump to win.
Mr Akouri is hopeful of the same outcome.
“I can’t say what’s going to happen [but] we have a euphoric feeling. We’re working hard,” he says. “I’d love nothing more than to give Donald Trump Michigan again.”
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
West Indies v India - Third ODI
India 251-4 (50 overs)
Dhoni (78*), Rahane (72), Jadhav (40)
Cummins (2-56), Bishoo (1-38)
West Indies 158 (38.1 overs)
Mohammed (40), Powell (30), Hope (24)
Ashwin (3-28), Yadav (3-41), Pandya (2-32)
India won by 93 runs
Company profile
Name: The Concept
Founders: Yadhushan Mahendran, Maria Sobh and Muhammad Rijal
Based: Abu Dhabi
Founded: 2017
Number of employees: 7
Sector: Aviation and space industry
Funding: $250,000
Future plans: Looking to raise $1 million investment to boost expansion and develop new products
SPECS
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%201.5-litre%204-cylinder%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20101hp%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20135Nm%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Six-speed%20auto%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20From%20Dh79%2C900%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
QUALIFYING RESULTS
1. Max Verstappen, Netherlands, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1 minute, 35.246 seconds.
2. Valtteri Bottas, Finland, Mercedes, 1:35.271.
3. Lewis Hamilton, Great Britain, Mercedes, 1:35.332.
4. Lando Norris, Great Britain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.497.
5. Alexander Albon, Thailand, Red Bull Racing Honda, 1:35.571.
6. Carlos Sainz Jr, Spain, McLaren Renault, 1:35.815.
7. Daniil Kvyat, Russia, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:35.963.
8. Lance Stroll, Canada, Racing Point BWT Mercedes, 1:36.046.
9. Charles Leclerc, Monaco, Ferrari, 1:36.065.
10. Pierre Gasly, France, Scuderia Toro Rosso Honda, 1:36.242.
Eliminated after second session
11. Esteban Ocon, France, Renault, 1:36.359.
12. Daniel Ricciardo, Australia, Renault, 1:36.406.
13. Sebastian Vettel, Germany, Ferrari, 1:36.631.
14. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:38.248.
Eliminated after first session
15. Antonio Giovinazzi, Italy, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.075.
16. Kimi Raikkonen, Finland, Alfa Romeo Racing Ferrari, 1:37.555.
17. Kevin Magnussen, Denmark, Haas Ferrari, 1:37.863.
18. George Russell, Great Britain, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.045.
19. Pietro Fittipaldi, Brazil, Haas Ferrari, 1:38.173.
20. Nicholas Latifi, Canada, Williams Mercedes, 1:38.443.
The five stages of early child’s play
From Dubai-based clinical psychologist Daniella Salazar:
1. Solitary Play: This is where Infants and toddlers start to play on their own without seeming to notice the people around them. This is the beginning of play.
2. Onlooker play: This occurs where the toddler enjoys watching other people play. There doesn’t necessarily need to be any effort to begin play. They are learning how to imitate behaviours from others. This type of play may also appear in children who are more shy and introverted.
3. Parallel Play: This generally starts when children begin playing side-by-side without any interaction. Even though they aren’t physically interacting they are paying attention to each other. This is the beginning of the desire to be with other children.
4. Associative Play: At around age four or five, children become more interested in each other than in toys and begin to interact more. In this stage children start asking questions and talking about the different activities they are engaging in. They realise they have similar goals in play such as building a tower or playing with cars.
5. Social Play: In this stage children are starting to socialise more. They begin to share ideas and follow certain rules in a game. They slowly learn the definition of teamwork. They get to engage in basic social skills and interests begin to lead social interactions.
NEW%20UTILITY%20POLICY%3A%20WHAT%20DOES%20IT%20REGULATE%3F
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