Vilnius mayor Artūras Zuokas has announced that his plans to expand Lithuania have collapsed, at least for now, since the Qataris bought a Greek island which he had intended to buy, delfi.lt reported on 30 August.
The following was announced on Zuokas’ Facebook page:
“Well, Lithuania will not expand and there will not be Lithuanian hotels or SPA branches, at least for a while. The Qatari royal family bought Oxia Island in Greece for 5 million Euros. They bargained [the price down] by almost 2 million Euros,” stated Zuokas on his Facebook news feed.
Zuokas also posted a link [to an article in The Telegraph] about the decision of the Qatari monarchy to buy the island which Zuokas had wanted to name Dausuva.
This news was announced in the foreign press four months ago but Zuokas only just announced it on his Facebook page on 30 August.
Zuokas will not seek the purchase of the Greek island
The Vilnius mayor told DELFI he knew that the Qatar had decided to buy the island but did not know that negotiations had been concluded.
Zuokas thinks that this unsuccessful bid was good, saying it helped to widen the horizons of Lithuanian business.
“This idea was meant to make Lithuanian people think more creatively and to show that Lithuanian business can be global. Of course, Lithuanian business needs first to attempt the implementation of such a project. I think this will happen in its own time. Lithuanian business should become more global than it is at the moment,” stated the Vilnius mayor.
“The good thing is we can always think outside the box and consider projects and ideas that at first glance look fantastic or unrealistic, [it is then] upon deeper reflection that one can see there is a clear business logic,“ said Zuokas.
Zuokas will not seek the purchase of the island bought by the Arabs. “There have to be dreams that will never come true,” summed up the Vilnius mayor.
Tramslated by Rūta Strolytė
Edited by Rachel Croucher
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Yes I noticed that a while back and was thinking about it, and it is scary that one word can make or break someones reputation and possibly make them seem racist or something along those lines.
@ Frank in America.
Frank, you raise an interesting point which brings us back to the issue of translation. Technically, if the original speaker meant to say, “Arabs have bought the island” as opposed to “THE Arabs have bought the island,” then he would be right, as Qataris ARE Arabs*.
I think the point turns on the fact that as far as I understand, the definite article does not exist in Lithuanian – so doesn’t it come down to a translation decision as to whether the insert the article “the” into the statement or not? Or is there something inherent in the Lithuanian language that makes it clear to a native reader that the definite article is implied? Genuinely curious, I am fascinated that the addition/omission of one word can make such a difference to the meaning of a statement.
* while the statement “Arabs have bought the island” would be technically correct, Mark Splinter is correct to point out that in today’s world, such a statement casts the speaker in a slightly negative light, being that there is an inference of dismissal, as in “who cares, they’re all the same anyway”. The Shard, the tallest building in the the UK and Europe, has recently been completed thanks to 80% funding also by the Qataris, but i have yet to read any politician or media state something to the effect of, “Thanks to the Arabs, this building was completed.”
I’m not very well eduacated on the Qataris but I do know that they are an Arab state in the “Arab world”,they speak Arabic, and they are on the Arab peninsula so I don’t see a problem calling them Arabs if they are, after all its the same as calling the Scots and Irish kelts or celtics, or Lithuanians and Latvians being called Balts. I would like to know what you guys consider Arab, are Saudis the only Arabs, if so then you might be the only ones who are being inappropriate. Qatar is a sovereign Arab state, research or wiki it or something if you don’t believe me.
I understand translation makes everything complicated and can get pretty ethically heavy (i did the Zero II subtitles lol)
But this article just reminded me of how the Israeli basketball players are constantly referred to as “The Jews” by Lithuanian commentators and it gets on my nerves. I won a bet with a friend because he thought 100% of Israeli citizens were Jewish. Oh yeah and he graduated political science. In Vilnius.
Mark, I edited the article and I agree with your sentiments completely, but bear in mind that this is a translation. The original article and Lithuanian did say “the Arabs” so it was a tough call for me as someone editing the article sharing your sentiments to leave the phrase as it was first written and intended, but I think it does show a reflection of attitudes of the original author that is important to convey in some way to show attitudes in Lithuania. I would have suggested to leave the headline as saying “the Arabs” but providing an addendum stating that The Lithuania Tribune does not agree with the use of such a generalised phrase.
Mark, thanks for pointing this out. Even though it was a translation, but we should be more vigilant in the future.
Since when have “the Arabs” been an entity which purchases property? Was it too difficult for you to call them “the Qataris”? Perhaps Lithuania would have more success globally if she understood what to call different groups of people in the 21st century, instead of sticking with 19th century conventions. It might seem like a trivial point but it indicates a huge underlying attitude problem.