Features
Culture Shock in Iraq
Part Two PASSIONS OF A GLOBAL HOTELIER
President – Chandi J. Associates Inc. Consulting, Canada
Founder & Administrator – Global Hospitality Forum
chandij@sympatico.ca
First Impressions of Iraq
My first impressions of Iraq were positive. Upon arrival at Saddam International Airport, the opulence and modernity juxtaposed against the backdrop of a country rebuilding itself after a war. The warm reception and luxurious accommodations at Hotel Babylon Oberoi spoke volumes about the resilience and hospitality of the Iraqi people. The five-star standards of Hotel Babylon Oberoi, and facilities provided to my family at a corner suite facing Tigris River, were all positive. I was pleasantly surprised as these observations exceeded my expectations.
A tour of Baghdad for new managers of Hotel Babylon Oberoi arriving from Sri Lanka, during our second day, produced more pleasant surprises. A string of five-star hotels in Baghdad, managed by global hotel chains such as Sheraton, Le Meridien, Melia and Novotel, provided competition for Oberoi. Although wars always affect tourism negatively, wars also contribute to hotel revenues with new customers as military advisers from other countries, arm dealers, spies, mercenaries, international agencies, media representatives, reporters, journalists, etc. We were pleased to note that the best hotel in Baghdad was the 450-room Al Rasheed, and the best hotel outside Baghdad was the Nineveh Oberoi Hotel, a 262-room, five-star resort in Mosul overlooking the Tigris River. Both Al Rasheed and Nineveh Oberoi, were sister hotels of Hotel Babylon Oberoi.
The emergence of Iraq’s tourism and hospitality scene, with a plethora of international hotel chains vying for prominence, painted a picture of economic revitalization amidst the remnants of war. The three Oberoi hotels in Iraq managed a total of over 1,000 five-star rooms and Oberoi was the key player in re-building tourism in the post-war Iraq in 1989. Madan Misra, my boss, and the Oberoi Group (operator of 30 luxury hotels in six countries, with head office in New Delhi, India, founded in 1934), had good connections with the Iraqi government and the State Organization for Tourism in Iraq, which owned all hotels in the country.
Two of my Ceylon Hotel School colleagues, senior to me, worked at Al Rasheed. Nirmo Thambapillai was the Food & Beverage Manager for Banquet Operation, and Kamal Hapuwatte was the Training Manager. Another friend of mine (whom I met during an assignment at Muscat Sheraton in Oman in 1988 as the Guest Executive Chef for a Sri Lankan food festival), Priyantha Ratnasinghe, was the Assistant Financial Controller at Baghdad Sheraton. The camaraderie among colleagues from Sri Lanka added a comforting familiarity in an unfamiliar land. We met frequently during our free time.
When my wife and son joined me, they were warmly welcomed by everybody. My son, Marlon was only three years old and was the only child staying at the hotel. After he commenced going to the international school in Baghdad, every day when he returned from school, the staff inquired what he had learned. They often addressed Marlon and me as ‘Habibi’ (my dear or darling) and my wife as ‘Ainee’ (my eyes).
We soon realised that this type of loving terms are common in addressing each other in Iraq. People in Iraq are among the friendliest I have met during my travels to one hundred countries. After each welcoming handshake, most Iraqi men touched their chest expressing that the greetings came from heart. I loved that gesture so much, I practiced that from the time I settled down in Iraq, and in later years whenever I travelled to the Middle East for work and leisure.
The cultural diversity within Iraq, from the majority traditional Islamic customs to the cosmopolitan Christian communities, offered a multifaceted glimpse into the nation’s identity. Islam (approximately 55% Shia and 35% Sunni) was and still is the main religion in Iraq, and there was a Kurdish minority following the ancient religion Zoroastrianism. In 1989 most of the 1.5 million Christians (around 9% of the population) in Iraq lived in or around Baghdad.
They were far more westernized than other Iraqis. The Christian Iraqis generally provided good business to restaurants, bars, night clubs and casinos in Baghdad. The end of the war was also a period of celebration and enjoyment. It was good for the hotel and food and beverage businesses. I was surprised to see many beautiful Iraqi women dressed in western clothes and patronising the bars, night club and casino at Hotel Babylon Oberoi. Unfortunately, the Christian population in Iraq has shrunk to 1% of the current total national population of 47 million in 2024.
A get-together of Sri Lankan hoteliers in Baghdad, at my suite at Hotel Babylon Oberoi
Navigating Challenges
The transition from initial optimism to navigating cultural nuances brought forth unexpected challenges and a string of culture shocks in Iraq. From adapting to the ubiquity of firearms, to learning the rhythm of work interrupted by prayer times, each obstacle became a lesson in understanding and respect. I treated these challenges as opportunities to learn the local attitudes, aspirations, behaviour, beliefs, customs, and culture.
Violation of ‘No-Gun Policy’
A major culture shock for us was getting used to the fact that most men in Iraq openly carried firearms. During my orientation week, I was taken around Babylon Oberoi by Mohamed Abdullah, the Iraqi Human Resources Manager, and T. P. Singh (TP), Indian Assistant Food & Beverage Manager, who was my deputy. On seeing hundreds of numbered pigeon holes at the entrance to Githara Night Club, I inquired what they wee used for. “Acha! Mr. Jayawardena, those are for carefully storing surrendered guns by our patrons, until they leave the night club. As Iraqis have a habit of shooting their guns at air in celebration when happy and drunk, we have a no-gun policy at Githara,” TP explained. “We don’t want them to destroy our expensive Baccarat chandeliers imported from France,” he added with a cheeky smile.
When I asked him, “Do all our customers adhere to hotel’s no-gun policy at the night club?” he was honest in his answer: “All but one group – President Saddam Hussein’s eldest son Uday and his gang of murderous bodyguards, who come to Githara every Thursday night!” That warning reminded me that I was assigned the role of the duty manager every Thursday night till Githara closed around 4:00 am or until Uday Hussein was ready to leave.
Over-boiling in Kitchens
During my orientation in the kitchens, I was somewhat taken back to notice some kitchen staff not bothering to reduce flames in the hot kitchen during the prayer times. More religious employees simply stop work, irrespective of the stage of their cooking tasks, when the bells rang in the nearby mosques. It was an unwritten law that no one should give work directions to employees praying for 10 to 15 minutes at a time. Non-Islamic members of the kitchen brigade, diplomatically reduced fires gently to ensure there was no over-boiling and over-cooking during the prayer times. I quickly got used to that custom. It is essential that expatriates understand, accept, and respect local customs and culture, particularly relating to religion. They must also quickly learn to ensure that there are no interruptions to the flow of work and quality of products and services.
Being Kissed by Men
During my orientation, there was an important wedding at the hotel’s ballroom. The bride’s father was a minister in President Saddam Hussein’s cabinet, and we wanted to ensure that everything was handled exactly as requested by the minister. I showed up a few times at the banquet hall during thereception. Out of 500 invitees, about half were beautifully dressed women who all sat on one half of the hall. When they made a frequent loud and long, wavering, high-pitched vocal sound, I was baffled. Our Egyptian Banquet Manager, Altaf, realizing that it was a new experience for me, said: “Boss, that’s zaghārīt, an ululation to honour the new couple.”
The other half of the hall was occupied by males, most of whom smoked, and held a Misbaha (a string of 99 beads traditionally used during prayer). When the minister saw me he was in a happy mood. He hugged me and gave four kisses on my cheeks. I nearly pushed him away, but when Altaf quickly gestured me to reciprocate, I hugged the minister in return. After learning that men hugging each other is common in Iraq, I too became an expert at it. Understanding the importance of cultural sensitivity and adaptation is a key for success in a global career.
ithara Night Club at Hotel Babylon Oberoi
Removal of Saddam’s Twin Photograph
I was given a large office. My secretary was Fatima, a very polite young Iraqi lady with an office next to mine. My first impression of my office was that everything except my desk and chair were green, and there were two large, identical, black and white framed photographs of Saddam Hussein hung on two walls. I politely suggested: “Fatima, do you mind transferring one of these photos of His Excellency to another executive office?”
The rest of the day, I could not locate Fatima. She eventually returned after several hours later looking nervous and pale, and was speechless. When I inquired what happened to her, she signalled me to come out of the office, and whispered to me, “Mr. Jay, removal of a photograph of the President will be reported to the Baath party head office as a major insult and there will be serious repercussions to both you and me.” I immediately changed my mind and requested Fatima to forget about my suggestion and not to mention it to anyone. During my turn in Baghdad, every day I looked at those two large photographs. I got used to it and realised that Sadam Hussein was a handsome man.
Wire Tapped Offices
There were rumours among other expatriate managers that all our offices were wire tapped. On hearing that any discussion in any executive office of a hotel can be heard at the Baath party head office, I laughed saying that it can’t be true. However, I decided to be extra careful in the future. The undercurrent of surveillance and espionage added an element of intrigue to daily life, with the realization that conversations held within the confines of our offices might not be as private as initially assumed.
Al Rasheed Hotel in Baghdad
Spies at Apartments
When I asked TP about various plainclothed men keeping a close eye on hotel activities, but not acting as customers, I was surprised of his answer. “Acha! Mr. Jayawardena, those are secret police and at times, spies,” TP said in a relaxed tone. He had been in Iraq for a few years and knew the ropes. When I asked him whom they spy on, he said, “Us, the foreign managers.” Then he became a bit jovial, tapped on my shoulder in a friendly gesture, and said: “welcome to Baghdad, Mr. Jayawardena!” Soon I realised that there were spies everywhere. No one knew who was spying on whom. This was common in most countries led by iron-fisted dictators. The subtle yet persistent presence of secret police underscored the complexities of operating in a society under scrutiny.
Every week, Friday was my off day. Usually on Fridays my family went on full day outings or visited the Hapuwatte family living at the executive quarters of Al Rasheed Hotel. At their apartment we played cards, had a couple of drinks, had a home-cooked Sri Lankan meal, and spoke about our memorable Ceylon Hotel School years. On the first Friday we went out, when we returned, my wife said “Someone has been in our suite.
The books and magazines we left on the coffee table have been re-arranged! Can’t be housekeeping staff, as I have told them not to do cleaning work on Fridays.” On checking with the General Manager’s wife, we found out that it was the normal practice for Iraqi secret police to visit expatriate manager’s apartments when they are away and leave some clues to show us that they have visited! When my wife was upset about it, I told her: “Shani, don’t worry, unless we lost any of our belongings. When in Rome, do as the Romans do.”
Initial Optimism and Challenge in Iraq
Despite these challenges, I commenced my work optimistically. My senior team leaders in the food & beverage division agreed with me to organize regular food festivals, open new restaurants with exciting new menus, and do lots of training. I was able to motivate the team and win the support of our regular customers.
The collaborative spirit and innovative mindset fostered a sense of unity and purpose amidst uncertainty. Executive Chef O. P. Khantwal (OP) became my right-hand man while implementing our innovations for a new era. OP
As my team was settling down and developing our new business plans, we were faced with a shocker. The bureaucracy and red tape in Iraq resulted in delays of the work permit process for new workers. We were asked by authorities to stop work until all work permit final approvals are received. As a result, we spent two unproductive weeks, without working. I decided to use that challenge as an opportunity to explore Iraq as a tourist.