Pervez Musharraf’s breakfast with a select group of people here was quite a lukewarm affair. There were many reasons why many people in attendance were disappointed. Foremost among them was Musharraf’s monologue. They were there to interact with him — not listen to him sermonize. A lot of jaws dropped when the former army general said Pakistan’s economy is in good health and that the Karachi Stock Exchange was the best performing market in the world. He dished out some figures to substantiate his claim. He then upset many others by being fairly offensive to Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth. Poor Roth; he simply asked the president how, in the event of electoral fraud, opposition parties would be able to get justice since the Supreme Court is now packed with Musharraf’s cohorts. “Don’t teach us human rights,” was the president’s admonition, followed by “Our judiciary is independent.” The president went on and on, antagonizing everyone in the process. Come to think of it, he was here at Davos to improve his and Pakistan’s image. Anyone who read his comments yesterday would have to conclude he has lost touch with reality.
Those in the audience were not the only ones to be disappointed by Musharraf. There was a VIIP (very important impatient person) huffing and puffing in the helicopter hovering above Davos. That person was none other than British Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Because of his marathon speech at the breakfast at Belvedere, Davos’ most expensive hotel, Musharraf arrived very late at the helipad in Davos where a helicopter was waiting to take him to Zurich. There is only one helipad at Davos, and there is room for just one chopper at a time. The helicopter for Musharraf was parked on terra firma, and so Brown’s chopper could not land. Brown had an appointment with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. Brown couldn’t make it and had to circle the helipad for more than 45 minutes by which time the long-winded Musharraf had arrived and departed.
What ails the world’s richest? Diabetes. No two opinions about that. The World Economic Forum organizers have arranged a kind of clinic near the Congress Center to help those in need of any kind of medical aid. Yesterday there was a steady stream of people coming in to check their blood pressure. This diarist asked one of the attending doctors what most of the businessmen were suffering from? His answer was diabetes. So they just pop in here before food and after food to check the state of their health. I could see many people puncturing their fingers to test the level of sugar in their blood. Most people in the Third World believe people in the First World have nothing to worry about since they are very rich. Third World-ers think all their ills are associated with lack of money. The richest of the rich are here at Davos, and they have problems, too.
Talking about diabetes, there was an entire session at the forum on how to prevent the spread of chronic disease. It was revealed during this session that chronic diseases, especially diabetes, cardiovascular disease and mental illness, lead the list of health problems in developed countries. Diabetes, it seems, has become a worldwide epidemic, absorbing 32 percent of Medicare resources in the US and ranking as one of the biggest problems in the European Union. India has 41 million people with diabetes. Obesity was ranked as the most serious health problem in the EU where 22 million children are considered obese — a number increasing by 400,000 each year. The main cause is inactivity. Somebody at the session noted workplaces that offer clinics, fitness centers and cafeterias with healthy food often find health-care costs for employees are low. The easiest thing to sway your bosses into creating fitness centers in your offices is to simply produce this diary item to them. They would get the hint, wouldn’t they?
A lot of readers have wondered where those autorickshaws pictured yesterday in this space came from. A little investigation by this diarist has revealed that late last year, a Bollywood team came to Davos to shoot a particular scene involving the two mini-transports. Davosians, it seems, were fascinated by the little machines, and so they requested that the director (whose name and film are now lost in the mysteries of history) sell the conveyances to them. Instead, the director decided to give them to a hotel owner who in turn parked them outside his hotel as an attraction. That might be a hard sell in Mumbai.
This diarist was shocked to learn that the actual population of Davos is a little over 10,000. Yes, 10,000, that is correct. Davos is situated in a valley surrounded by the imposing Alps. It is such a nice feeling to see snowcapped mountains glistening in sunlight. The mountains and the valley are dotted with wooden houses and apartments in addition to a large number of hotels. So who lives in these houses and apartments? The receptionist at the hotel where this diarist is lodged said the apartments belong to the world’s well-to-do who enjoy quiet holidays here. They come here maybe just two times in a year. Lucky them.
What happens when the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting is over? Davos then must become a very quiet place without a soul in sight. No way, said the receptionist. “Immediately after you people are gone, we will be flooded with tourists from the around the world,” she said. “Actually the last week of January is when business used to be very dull. So, Klaus Schwab decided to organize the WEF during these days.” And this has been a regular feature for the last three decades. No wonder, Davosians love Schwab — the intelligent businessman.
Now it is time to pack the bags and close the Davos Diary. Let us hope that the lofty ideas expressed by leaders here in this Alpine community waft down to sea level and help make this world a better place. Inshallah. Masalama from Davos.