Practical Initiative: Loans Waived

To truly live the meaning behind the celebration of 2019 as the Year of Tolerance in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), some practical initiatives are swiftly acted on. For one, as published in Gulf News on 23 February 2019, AED361M loans of 3,310 Emiratis were waived, in cooperation with some local banks. According to general-director of the Crown Prince Court of Abu Dhabi and chairman of the Supreme Committee of the Debt Settlement Fund Jaber Mohammed Ganem Al Suwaidi,  "it aims to make tolerance a sustainable institutional work expressed through practical initiatives".

I respect the government led by the President His Highness Shaikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan more for this.

I just wish that the local banks will embrace more practical initiatives in handling the loans of people of other nationalities, in observance of the Year of Tolerance.

If you watch "Heal" on Netflix, you will understand that stress is the root cause of most illnesses these days. Imagine the stress of all people who are debt-trapped, and it extends to their families.

A friend whose visa will expire soon is getting nervous because she has some personal loans and credit cards dues but her company with which she has been connected for almost 10 years, has not paid her salaries for some months. The credit and collection company always called and emailed her, threatening her that she would be jailed. For many years she could pay them on time until the employer got delayed in releasing salaries, then her family member got sick and eventually died and she extended financial support to them.

Every bank's extension of credit facilities is indeed a God's grace to every borrower who is in need of money for some purposes. Banks get money from depositors or from other sources, whom they must pay also.

All borrowers know that, but when things go wrong with them beyond control -- for example, employers cannot pay or they lose their jobs, etc. -- the first challenge is how they can survive first, because if they cannot how can they pay their debts? It is important for them to preserve their mental health above all, and stress is its worst enemy. Time flies fast and before they know it, the two-year visa expires and many companies do not hire those with debts as collectors file cases against the debtors in default -- so how can the debtors pay them and how can the banks recover when the person is in prison? If we analyze it, both sides took the risks, and in that case, would lose, and the government who pays for the daily foods of prisoners, maintenance of cells and manpower behind, say at AED100 per day per inmate or AED3K per month per inmate. A big number of prisoners due to debts is also a minus point in the happiness gauge of any locality.

For non-Emirati debtors, we do not expect loans / payables to be waived 100% as those are their obligations to pay, but at least a reconsideration for a more practical way of dealing with such like restructuring without charging higher interests or at lowest figure possible,  without requiring many documents for ease of payment, will give them much relief.  My friend was presented with a list of requirements longer than when she initially applied for a loan, the time she inquired about restructuring, not to mention a much higher interest rate.

In my economics class, my instructor told us that the base of peace pyramid is economics. There would be less chaos if everyone lives a decent life and lives well.  It is this UAE peace and order situation better than in their home countries that attract people of 200+ nationalities to stay here, aside from better opportunities. This peace can be sustained significantly by tolerance, and the leaders are truly right in making bold steps for the nation to live its meaning.

We know for a fact that everyone is connected with the others. We are all like threads forming a fabric of humanity.  The poverty of people adversely affects the rest indirectly as they carry the burden partly.

Many financial gurus have their punch line "Nobody will be left behind". But most speakers target those people who have money to buy what they will present after their talks -- insurance, real estate, and other investment opportunities. How many of them really make moves to reach those are really left behind? The UAE government action to help the heavily indebted local people by waiving their loans is a shining one, proving that really they do not want anyone of them to be left behind. Again I hope that this compassion extends to expatriates, even if not that fully waived. Should this happen, for sure many people will be happy to celebrate their journey to financial freedom.

What are some more practical initiatives to help those who have financial burdens, to live life meaningfully in the Year of Tolerance?

1. Reach out to them to offer workable solutions without humiliating them and hurting their dignity by harassing them;
2. Offer debt restructuring arrangements, say interest charges monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually and principal payback after some years, or give discounts for lump sum payments;
3. Offer job opportunities (government or private) to qualified ones to help them pay their debts, instead of closing opportunities for them (say, lending institutions can offer full- or part-time jobs to debtors whose qualifications match their job vacancies, and part of salaries can offset their payables);
4. Establish livelihood training centers in malls and other accessible places, train trainers, then create livelihood programs through a system under which debtors need not spend a fortune to establish their own businesses but can be productive to pay their debts;
5. Lending institutions to open part- or full-time jobs to the debtors whose qualifications may meet their requirements and a part of salaries can offset their payables;
6. Gather debtors' ideas that will give a solution to a problem or respond to a common need of many people, and reward them, for whatever benefit/s they may bring;
7. Mobilize lawyers, remedial assistants and volunteers to help reduce, if not totally bring down to zero, the number of people jailed due to debts, and counsel the rest of financially troubled ones, and;
8. Utilize online platforms for debt-trapped people to stay alive and get out of darkness.

May we all passionately master tolerance, and may all debtors, regardless of nationality, who carry financial burdens, see light at the end of the tunnel.

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Photo credits:  Pixabay