# Dubai natives protect identity in fast-changing land



## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

*Dubai natives protect identity in fast-changing land*

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates -- You see them at government offices, together in malls and cafes, or glimpse their silhouettes behind dark-tinted car windows on Dubai roads, but otherwise the city's natives keep to themselves.

Amid the massive construction and development drive underway in Dubai that is bringing in each year tens of thousands of expatriates and Asian laborers and aims to attract 15 million tourists by 2010, a large number of the small native population have resettled on the city's fringes to preserve cherished tribal and family values.

Many are proud of Dubai's achievements, but an increasingly vocal few speak of alienation, question the social and political cost of fast modernization and even say that they should have been consulted.

Several kilometers (miles) past the city's airport, undergoing a $4.1 billion expansion, are the desert enclaves of "Mizher 1" and "Mizher 2".

Row after row of new two-storey villas, owned by Emiratis, are fast encroaching on what is left of the desert and a distant oasis. There are a couple of grocery stores and almost 25 mosques in an area of about 200 square kilometers (77 square miles).

On a recent afternoon, men in traditional white robes trickled out of the Farouk mosque after prayers.

"I was living three years ago in Hamria, but it was invaded by Indians, Pakistanis and bachelors, so I moved out," said Suhail Al Awadhi, 37, a senior municipal official, referring to an area in Dubai's historic center.

Like all Emiratis, those in Mizher received free plots of land from the government plus interest-free loans or grants ranging from 500,000 dirhams ($137,000) to 1 million dirhams to build homes, according to Awadhi.

Dubai, the commercial center and fastest growing member of the seven-emirate federation making up the United Arab Emirates (UAE), has a population of 1.4 million with locals accounting for only about 10 percent, according to semi-official estimates.

The country as a whole has a population of more than 4 million with locals making up less than 20 percent, according to the last official estimate in 2004. Indians and Pakistanis account for nearly half of the population.

Awadhi, who is married and has four children, said that he feels more comfortable and secure living among Emiratis.

"I like the fact that my children play with other Emirati children," he said.

Both Awadhi and neighbor Mohammed Al Muheiri, 23, lamented the influx of foreigners, congestion and rising crime rate.

But they said that the benefits of development far outweigh the negatives, and praised the vision of Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashed Al Maktoum, Dubai's ruler and the UAE's vice-president and prime minister.

They have no problem interacting with foreigners in their daily lives but would never venture to beaches and hotels frequented by Westerners on Dubai's bustling Gulf coast because it would offend their Islamic sensibilities.

"The foreigners with their bars and nightclubs are in a different world and even if we interact with them it does not mean that we share their values and lifestyle," said Muheiri, a university student who lives with his parents and six siblings in a Mizher house.

In his new book My Vision, Sheikh Mohammed explains his aim to develop Dubai as a fusion of Middle Eastern and Western values and a melting pot of creeds and nationalities, comparing the city to Cordoba, the seat of the Islamic caliphate in Spain in the tenth century.

But areas like Mizher are proof that the fusion is not there yet plus some Emiratis do not share the vision.

"Many people oppose this hyper-development and wonder who are we building all these projects for," said Ibtisam Suhail, a political science professor at the UAE University in Al Ain and a Mizher resident

"You feel this is not your country anymore. There is a great feeling of alienation among Emiratis."

Suhail, in her 40s, believes that not much thought has been given to the social consequences of fast development or the fragile demographic position of Emiratis.

In March Dubai passed a law allowing property ownership by foreigners.

Suhail said that the government is sinking huge sums of money to provide services and infrastructure to new inhabitants, whose loyalty is going to be to their native countries.

"Citizens have been sidelined in the decision-making process, people have not been asked whether they want this," she said.

Except for chamber of commerce elections in the capital Abu Dhabi last year no elections have ever been held in the country.

But UAE President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahayan announced plans in December to expand membership to the strictly-appointed consultative federal council to include figures chosen in caucuses at the level of each emirate.

Aisha Sultan, 44, another Mizher resident and director of political programs at state-run Dubai Television, says that the influx of foreigners over the past few years has been a shock for Emiratis whom she describes as very conservative socially but never hostile to outsiders.

"I do not think any reasonable or logical person would reject development, people sometimes reject the results," she said.

Sultan said that the government should do more to push Emiratis into private sector jobs, currently more than 90 percent dominated by foreigners.

Authorities have had success with their so-called Emiratization drive in the public sector and in government-controlled companies like Dubai Holding and Emaar, the powerhouses behind Dubai's building boom.

Other ways in which the government preserves national identity include a marriage fund with an annual budget of almost $70 million that offers UAE men financial incentives to wed local women.

And in November a government-supported initiative dubbed Watani, meaning my homeland, was launched by a group of Emirati businessmen to bolster the values of good citizenship and to promote civic responsibility among residents through town meetings, sporting and cultural events.

Its logo is a fingerprint.

"We do not want to lose values like generosity, hospitality and tolerance, the welcoming mentality," said program coordinator Ahmed Al Mansouri, 36.

But Mansouri argues that the rapid buildup of Dubai is needed if it is to "fulfill its vision and destiny", which he believes has always been openness to the outside from the time that it was a tiny fishing and trade outpost 35 years ago.


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## Face81 (Aug 24, 2004)

Interesting, though fairly one sided.

A major change in the way in which foreigners view the country can be dealt with at the most fundamental of levels - education. By implementing "identity classes" at schools that foreign students study at, they can be taught more about the U.A.E way of life and the U.A.E culture as a whole. The UK is already in the process of introducing a similar scheme to help foreign immigrants assimilate themselves into the British culture.

All this alienation and development of pockets of societies in Dubai is nothing new. It all stems from teh fact that most people refuse to accept the fact that they are in a foreign land and they MUST do better to assimilate themselves. I am not pointing fingers at anyone, but I blame the U.A.E government and the expats equally for the failure of the development of a utopian culture in which Emaratis and expats interact together successfully at all levels.

Also, the lack of a sense of belonging due to the non existance of immigration schemes in the U.A.E will obviously lead to the expats not being loyal to their adopted homeland. And when the Minister of Labour enforces such a well known fact by declaring that expats are merely "guest workers" rather than immigrants, it only adds fuel to the fire as the expats feel more and more disconnected from the place they call "home" for a few years.

This issue will only get worse before it gets better. The time to legalise immigration is as it will come on the heals of the property law ammendment and it will help improve this cultural imbalance that seems to be ever growing.


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## dubaiflo (Jan 3, 2005)

this is very interesting.

smussuw, can u actually confirm all of this?

it sounds true, and understandable, but i actually don't think it has a negative touch.


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## smussuw (Feb 1, 2004)

nice article Krazy, where did u get it from btw?

We are seeing our country being taken away, what would u expect us to say dubaiflo?


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## Qatar4Ever (Feb 3, 2004)

its funny when i mention anything of this topic i get my ass biten off but when an expat does its all good and dandy... face it man.. its here and it will stay.. dubai doesnt belong to the ppl of dubai no more so stop kidding urself and who do u really think is going to fill up all ur flashy 100+ story towers and ur the fake islands.. emirities??

Id offer u to move to doha but unfortuantly some retards in doha dont know how to properly plan and they tend to copy dubai's model for success without thinking of its social impacts.. sooner than later ill feel like an alien in my own home... screw the economy.. whats the point of skyscrapers and fake islands if i cant feel at home while am at home..


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## Nasrawi (Apr 1, 2006)

i made post abt same subject from gulf news article last week or before in the sky majlis but nobody respond

i agree with article and its not one sided to try to hide something bcos its talking abt emirati opinion so of course it will show the opinion of ppl from that group only

i think in uae they must do something like canada have an exam for language and canadian history and culture to get citizenship. i think very very little expatriate speak arabic its very shameful on their behalf and i wont blame authorities on this bcos i know expats will say "authorities fault bla bla" like they always say....... they have zero interest in assimilation with emirati society from my experience

& ppl usually dont discuss this bcos then there is racist fight which is true in uae that every group is blaming another for something then in their tourist catalogue they write "melting pot of cultures and nationalities" to fool themselves and others


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## Sahil12345 (Apr 2, 2006)

Nasrawi said:


> i made post abt same subject from gulf news article last week or before in the sky majlis but nobody respond
> 
> i agree with article and its not one sided to try to hide something bcos its talking abt emirati opinion so of course it will show the opinion of ppl from that group only
> 
> ...


 Shameful? Well If my job (hypothetical dont have a job) is moved to Dubai, is it really "shameful" that I do not speak Arabic? I think its a reason to be proud that Dubai can be such a global hub in a region which is the opposite of that. I see Hindus wearing sari's, westerners wearing what they want and Arab's wearing what they want. What's so wrong about that? Maybe Arabic should introduced as a mandatory 2nd language, then there would be a more Arab society. But I don't think people should be "arabized". Because even the expats feel alienated, and if Dubai is offering them a friendly enviorment to their culture, then problems will be smoothed out.


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## Nasrawi (Apr 1, 2006)

Sahil12345 said:


> I don't think people should be "arabized". Because even the expats feel alienated, and if Dubai is offering them a friendly enviorment to their culture, then problems will be smoothed out.


yes its shameful... they dont have to be "arabized" but they should learn arabic whether they like it or not for work in the area

do u take a job in france, germany or usa without knowing french, german or english? unless u r a temporary diplomat with a translator or something

i am doing language course at the moment for work


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## malec (Apr 17, 2005)

I know I'm not in any position to talk about this since I've never even visited dubai but here are my thoughts anyway:

Face is right I think, in that education is the key. Here in Ireland, the country's 1st language as stated by law is Irish and English 2nd, however Irish is not used in day to day conversation so loads of people think of it as a dead language. It's compulsary in all schools though and a some people hate having to learn it because they say they'll never need to use it. You might hear all sorts of people complaining, etc but it's clear that promoting the Irish language like that has done a lot and has made more people aware and interested in Irish culture. It's funny the way some of my friends don't care about it while they're at home but once they go on holidays they love to speak it in front of everyone, especially about the girl sitting right beside them or something so that she won't understand anything . It's clear people do take pride in it from time to time and I actually think about 30% can speak Irish pretty well now. When I joined an orchestra here almost everyone could speak Irish, and I felt ashamed since i'm terrible at it 

Anyway what I'm trying to say is that Arabic should be made compulsary in schools and although some will complain and grumble it should have many benefits not only for getting more people to use the language but also for promoting the local culture. Of course there'd be the problem of finding a good system to teach it aswell.



Maybe a good way of setting this up is to have something similar to here. Here most schools teach Irish as another subject but there are Irish schools that teach everything (except English) through Irish. So maybe if you had some Arabic schools teaching everything through Arabic and then maybe English schools teaching Arabic as just another subject. :dunno:


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## Nasrawi (Apr 1, 2006)

malec.. already many foreign/international schools in uae where expats study teach arabic.. esp the indian schools but its not used by any... they dont read the arabic newspapers or watch the tv or talk so they forget it and dont take it seriously...

in uae only government federal schools teach everything in arabic except english in english... and most students there are emirati/arab. the private schools teach everything in english with only arabic/islamic in arabic and sometimes at poor level

many emiratis from middle/rich families go to private schools and they learn everything in english. they dont know even how to write arabic without mistake.. they only know slang language

hindi language in uae is like spanish in usa now... all the illegals and immigrants speaking it.... except in uae the number of the foreigners is 80% of all so its very serious and isnt joke like in some other countries that the people say are "xenophobia" and dont like foreigners assimilating inside their society........... problem is when ur trying to squeeze a giant suitcase into a laptopbag.... ppl will tell u it should be the other way round....


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## AntonAmeneiro (May 6, 2005)

Even though the first impression the article gives off could be that of a racist society, giving it a second thought, I think we would all say the same if our local folk was just the 20% of the population in our countries... As for Arabic being mandatory for those who go to work there... well I think it's just fair, it's like coming to Spain to work and not learn Spanish, it doesn't really make sense.


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## Krazy (Apr 27, 2004)

smussuw said:


> nice article Krazy, where did u get it from btw?
> 
> We are seeing our country being taken away, what would u expect us to say dubaiflo?


middle-east-online.com


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## smussuw (Feb 1, 2004)

Sahil12345 said:


> Shameful? Well If my job (hypothetical dont have a job) is moved to Dubai, is it really "shameful" that I do not speak Arabic? I think its a reason to be proud that Dubai can be such a global hub in a region which is the opposite of that. I see Hindus wearing sari's, westerners wearing what they want and Arab's wearing what they want. What's so wrong about that? Maybe Arabic should introduced as a mandatory 2nd language, then there would be a more Arab society. But I don't think people should be "arabized". Because even the expats feel alienated, and if Dubai is offering them a friendly enviorment to their culture, then problems will be smoothed out.


Well, I am an Emirati and am not proud of what Dubai is getting itself into. Every city has an identiy and I dont want Dubai to be called a multicultural city. It should be an Arabic city with different cultures.

We Emiratis are the only ones who feel alienated and isolated.

Expats had always had the chance to wear what they want and we arent forcing them to wear our clothes. They have at least to be grateful to the country that hosted them for so many years.

It is shamful to see some of them spending like 20 years in the country without knowing a word in Arabic. Then they ask for the Emirati citzenship. If they want something they should at least earn it and that wouldnt happen by not intergrating in our culture.:sleepy: 

English is not even an official language in the UAE so I dont know what ur talking about. Arabic should be mandatory as a 1st language and not as a 2nd as u suggested.


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## DG (Sep 2, 2005)

smussuw said:


> Well, I am an Emirati and am not proud of what Dubai is getting itself into. Every city has an identiy and I dont want Dubai to be called a multicultural city. It should be an Arabic city with different cultures.
> 
> We Emiratis are the only ones who feel alienated and isolated.
> 
> ...


 :applause: wise words


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

This article was first publisched more then a week ago. It even made the first page on Yahoo. I think it is a AP article.


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## Nasrawi (Apr 1, 2006)

krazy maybe u can add a poll for emiratis and expats to vote abt if they think they should learn arabic and use it in daily life in the uae


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## Nasrawi (Apr 1, 2006)

AntonAmeneiro said:


> Even though the first impression the article gives off could be that of a racist society, giving it a second thought, I think we would all say the same if our local folk was just the 20% of the population in our countries... As for Arabic being mandatory for those who go to work there... well I think it's just fair, it's like coming to Spain to work and not learn Spanish, it doesn't really make sense.


ur right... they say its xenophobia etc but they dont put themselves inside the shoes of other ppl

in germany they have complaints abt the turkish population even though the percentage compared to germans is way less..... same in france with algerians/moroccans and in spain probably.... in italy i think they have albanians.. in usa mexicans... in canada they complain abt too much chinese coming.. in uk the indians/pakistanis.... in ireland east europeans/nigerians/chinese.... in australia chinese/greek/lebanese... (im not sure of these but giving rough example)

i dont think in all these countries the foreigners they are complaining abt is even 40%...... and definitly not 80% like uae (i think this 80 is also a lie its more than that)


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## smussuw (Feb 1, 2004)

^^ not even 10%

I remember how the reaction was when a turk killed a priest in Greece. Every other turk was labeled as a criminal.

Compare it to the situation here :sleepy:


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

^^ There is a difference though; those (legal) imigrants gets state provided benefits and can become citizens in 3 - 5 years.


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## AltinD (Jul 15, 2004)

Nasrawi said:


> krazy maybe u can add a poll for emiratis and expats to vote abt if they think they should learn arabic and use it in daily life in the uae


 People would be forced to speak Arabic, only if all the personel working on services industry would be Arabs, but we know very well that isn't the case.


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