January 30th, 2024

The Financial Controller of Basra Gas Corporation-Let us call him Ahmed Hafiz, not least because that was what he was called anyway. ( Maybe there is a reason to use false names, but I have now moved on from this company and couldn’t care less!).  An unusual character- moody. Quiet disposition but prone to being feisty especially on emails. Also kept dropping the MD's name for every little thing. Last time he didn’t have his way he threatened to escalate to my boss mark. Also Andrew, his boss ..and then simon, the MD. What ran in his mind, I often wondered.

I have never escalated anything in Shell since my first run in with Maurice Liew in Shell Singapore. The lesson I had learnt is that no good ever comes from an escalation . It states that 2 individuals cannot agree on a decision and therefore someone else must decide for them. Frankly, the decision is what both the individuals are paid to do. Others can do it but then they would not need you. Maurice and I had a war of words between us but we managed to bury the hatchett. We never became friends but we could exchange a pleasantry and a half if someone put a gun to our head. Our professional paths rarely crossed after that. 

Hafiz was another animal. Incredibly stubborn and did not give an inch even when it really was the right thing to do. The moment you challenged him, he’d start behaving like someone was trying to chop off his testicles with a machete or something- immediately invoking a nuclear response. I took a few bullets early on and took some of his guilt on me- I had read somewhere that this could be a good investment. Brownie points,  a change of heart and so on- all part of the Emotional Intelligence playbook.  But Hafiz was still relentless in his lack of flexibility, especially when it came to me.  I did wonder why he would single me out. A little introspection later, I came to the conclusion that he was actually enraged at Mark, my English boss, because he let Ahmed Abdel Razak go.  Ahmed Abdel Razak was the Procurement Manager reporting to Mark. The two did not get on(although when I started I was told Razak somehow had the boss’s ear) . At the first opportunity to cut staff, off he went. The reason Hafiz cared about this is that Razak was a fellow Egyptian and so Hafiz took it as a personal affront. Of all the mafias I have contended with in my long international experience, the Egyptian mafia has got to be the most cohesive. These guys all got together and talked, and it was one for all and all for one.  Infact, this is borne out in my current company as well- a point for another time. 

So Hafiz was venting his rage at Mark through me with whom he has a legitimate work related interface. This would become a pattern as I spent more time in Iraq- more on this too in another post.

Finally, an account of this enigmatic Egyptian would not be complete without a mention of his altercation with a colleague from supply chain at dubai airport one Thursday evening in 2015.

My boss was English and so was one of his direct reports- a most odious chap whom I shall refer to as Lionel ( who’s real name I might add is Lesle Welsh). I will have an entire rant dedicated to him later. For now, it is be noted that Lionel’s direct reports were almost all exclusively his drinking buddies- they were contractors rather than regular Company employees. And he had essentially moved from job to job in the company as a serial expatriate, carrying along his drinking buddies- all either from Scotland like himself or from the North of England- in the general area between New Castle and Birmingham. Prior to arriving in the middle east, if you had asked me what came to mind when I thought of the English, I would have mentioned Wodehouse, British progressive rock, Conan Doyle, “yes minister”, and cricket. And would I be starry-eyed mentioning all of this or what? 

But now, the only defining characteristic for me was that they were a bunch of utterly parochial, self indulgent drunks. Their dependency of alcohol was legendary. During the week in Basra there was no alcohol intake as our camp was dry ( and that was a GREAT idea) . As a result, the flight on Thursday from Basra to Dubai would be contain (barely I might add) English passengers, noticeable in their wanton consumption of alcoholic beverages on a 1 hr 15 minute flight. Often, therefore, several of them would be inebriated upon landing.  

Back in 2015, the Company provided a shared luxury taxi service to ferry personnel from the airport to their residence in Dubai- and there had been pre-defined groups of two or three to a taxi- based on where everyone lived. As people exited the airport and headed to their car, obviously they had to wait for the other passengers to arrive before the driver could depart. 

On this particular Thursday, Simon ( one of Lionel’s lackeys) had kept his co- passenger ( Ahmed Hafiz ) waiting for some time- presumably because he had spend too much time in duty free buying the weekend rations. When he finally arrived, half-steady, he received a telling-off by Hafiz. This he didnt take kindly to. One, he was drunk and two this also carved out his prejudices in relief. And so, he had thought, what if this guy is 2 levels my senior, no brown man had the right to talk to me like that. And let off a flurry of abuse, in public, for everyone to see and hear.  Ahmed Hafiz, who didn’t need much prodding in the best of days to escalate issues, went straight to the MD and complained and said if disciplinary action was not taken against this guy he would escalate via the helpline to the CEO of Royal Dutch Shell.  The long and short is that poor Simon was soon sacked- it didn’t help that he was contract staff and so could be sacked without question and in a day.  Hafiz had seemingly won this round. But as would see eventually, once Hafiz left the company following his tenure being over, Lionel managed to bring Simon back much to my astonishment. While I didn’t care for Lionel, this did leave me grudgingly impressed. The man, or rather the fiend, had a remarkable way of getting his way.