behind the glitter of Dubai

It’s amazing the schism that exists between “reality” and “perception”.  Until last year, my mental image of Dubai consisted of glittery hotels, man-made islands, and designer shopping stores coexisting with a stereotypical “Arabian Nights” image of winding gold souqs, shishas, and mysterious sounds of the oud.  When I lived in Jordan last summer, I caught onto a completely different reality than we ever hear about in the US.

I have a very good friend I met in Jordan who is Palestinian but has lived in the UAE her whole life.  Despite her lifelong residency, she can never become a citizen of the UAE.  Virtually all rights and priviledges are reserved for Emiratis only: who comprise a small minority of the population.  I still cannot grasp the concept that a person can live in a country their whole life, live there, work there, pay taxes, create a family there, etc., but never really become “part” of it.  I also knew two boys in Jordan who are actual Emiratis; they sang their country nothing but praises.

I read a fascinating article today called “The Dark Side of Dubai”, which details the reality of the society and just how far removed actual Emiratis are from life in Dubai.  I highly recommend reading it.  My favorite line reads:

Perhaps Dubai disturbed me so much, I am thinking, because here, the entire global supply chain is condensed. Many of my goods are made by semi-enslaved populations desperate for a chance 2,000 miles away; is the only difference that here, they are merely two miles away, and you sometimes get to glimpse their faces? Dubai is Market Fundamentalist Globalisation in One City.

My one criticism is that while the article does a great job telling us about the lives of European, South Asian, and East Asian expats, it fails address the thousands of non-Emirati Arabs living in Dubai.  What about Jordanians, Palestinians, Lebanese, Egyptians, and more?

Just another example of how important it is to always try and dig deeper so as to hear as many perspectives as possible.

Read the full article here.