Chapter 23Section 1 – Population Relocation

New Industries• 1100-1900 – Life only changed slightly; but discoveries of oil and gas in the region

changed everything.

• Western oil companies leased land and brought new technology; new wealth allowed for rapid urbanization; many unfilled jobs.

• Guest Workers were recruited from other nations to fill jobs in the region; typically labor type jobs.

Rapid Growth of Dubai

Problems• Cultural differences between guest workers and employers can lead to

misunderstandings with severe consequences.

• Mistreatment and isolation of GWs; some do not get their wages and are stuck with no way to go home.

• Fear that depending on guest workers prevents the native population from developing their own skills; fear of losing national identity.

The huge lump in the male side and the tiny one on the female side are guest workers from around the world.

Kurds• They are a stateless nation; didn’t receive a state after WWI; land was given to

Turkey, Iraq and Syria.

• Neighboring nations tried unsuccessfully to absorb the Kurds into their populations; Kurds resisted and thousands were forcibly moved.

• Iraq used deadly chemical weapons against the Kurds to kill them and force them to leave; many live in crowded relocation camps.

• March 16, 1988 - 5,000 Kurds died in Halabja when Saddam Hussein planes attacked the town with poison gas.

Palestinians• Arab descendants from people who lived or still live in Palestine, which is

know Israel; live in relocation camps; stateless nation.

• West Bank is a strip of land on the west side of the Jordan River; originally controlled by Jordan; they lost it to Israel in the war of 1967.

• Gaza Strip is a territory along the Mediterranean Sea just NE of the Sinai Peninsula; Israel occupied it during the 1967 war.

The “Right of Return”• The right of Palestinians to return to the land they once lived on in

Jerusalem and Israel. Millions of people cannot return to their homeland.

Chapter 23Section 2 – Today’s Issues

Global Demand• Oil is vital to the world’s industries and transportation.

• Strategic commodity is a resource so important that nations will go to war to ensure its steady supply.

• Unpredictable oil prices make it difficult for SW Asian countries to have steady economic growth, forcing them to diversify.

Modernizing Infrastructure

•Oil money can be used to build new roads, irrigation networks, and facilities to store agricultural products, desalinization plants, port facilities, airports, information technology systems and businesses.

Developing Natural Resources•Oil money can be used to develop other parts of the

economy, such as agriculture and mineral resources.

•Economic improvements can help a country become more independent and reduce their need for imports.

Developing Human Resources• Oil money can be used to develop the skills and talents of the people

through education and technology training.

• Providing education and technology training is critical. • Kuwait offers free education to the university level.

• Opportunities are expanding for women despite strict cultural roles.