I've noticed that there's been a lot of debate and hatred recently between the members here on the UAE community blog. As localexpat mentioned; there has been a lot of friction between (mainly, in my point of view) expats and locals.
I think a
huge problem that characterizes the UAE is the fact that there is so little dialog between locals and non-locals who live in the Emirates. There is so much misunderstanding, hatred and racism. From what I've seen here, many people don't understand the other person's point of view.
Freedom of speech and expression caused a massive debate on the blog as you can from this
post. I for one (although I'm a minority among my own people) believe that freedom of speech and even democracy are essential and important institutions for any country. It is a basic human right to be able to say, think and believe in what you want. However, these ideas are going to take a long time to be implemented in the UAE or even any country in the region.
Because of recent events such as the war in Iraq, many Arabs have a negative view of things like democracy. These ideas are tied to 'evil' America. So, whenever anyone speaks of it, it is met with hostility, anger and perhaps fear. The problem is, freedom of speech is not dangerous. Things are well and fine as they are, but what if a ruler at some point in time starts abusing his power? Yes, Bush was elected through democratic means (if that's what you believe).
But he isn't going to be in power any longer. Democracy allows for this. Americans can voice their choice of who is to rule by voting and protesting. There is a problem where enough people aren't voting, but apart from that the system is
there. There exists a way to escape. How effective it is is debatable, but my point is that there is a way. That's a problem with autocratic or non-democratic rule,
you have no say. You have to accept whatever the one in charge says.
When people are happy and content, they do not see a need for change. My family live comfortably and many people in the UAE do, so not many people see a need for political change. Once you feel how little rights you have, that's when you're going to cry for change.
Many people just don't understand the importance of having a voice. I spoke to
Sharla Musabih and interviewed her for an essay and I learned about so much that happens behind closed doors that I would have never imagined to happen in my own country. There is a major problem of domestic abuse that gets almost
no coverage. Until I met a few women from the shelter and spoke to Sharla, I had no idea what was going on. To make a long story short, it turns out to be a lot. This problem could actively be fought and put under control if the press was free and could discuss these serious issues. By talking about it in the news and press and approaching the authorities, the government will be pressured to issue new legislation and protect women and others from abuse. It is difficult at the moment for a woman to get help when she has been abused by a husband. According to the US State Department Report on the UAE,
"male guardians within the family have a positive legal right, in the Penal Code, to discipline women and children family members at their discretion, including use of physical violence."
Don't you think that needs to change?
What I'm trying to say is that freedom of speech is not a bad thing at all, but a very important right that every person should have.
But another major issue is that many expats don't understand the mentality of people in the country. We (that is Gulf Arabs, Middle Easterners, most people of the region) are used to despotism and monarchy. We don't know what it is to have a choice of government. The whole region, I argue, is still not ready for democracy. If Pakistan were to have completely free elections now, echoing the sentiments of a Democratic presidential candidate and a close Pakistani friend of mine; the radical Islamist party would probably get 85% of the votes. Iraq and many other countries are not prepared to follow this system. The population has to be educated first so that the application of the system can be effective.
Apparently elections went on in
Oman and very few people even blogged about it. Much less voted. Free elections, freedom of speech, etc don't mean much to many people in the region. This is a major point that many many people (Americans to say the least) do not understand.
Also, there has been so much harsh criticism of the UAE. People going so far as to accuse others of being 'Jihadist' or the country being totalitarian. Seriously, there are places that are so much worse. The UAE is very young and has to go through many changes before it reaches an ideal state. America, the ideal democratic naion, suffered McCarthyism and the Red Scare in the '40s and '50s which led to many innocent people accused of being Communist and thrown into jail. Minorities such as African Americans and women only got their rights recently although the country was established for a good few centuries.
Whatever time, whatever place.. change is gradual. The UAE we live in now is definitely not the UAE we lived in 10 years ago. Although quieter and more peaceful in those days, there are so many more opportunities now. The UAE has really stepped up and stands out among the whole region. Just give it some time. Things are not going to keep going the way are at the moment.
What I really hope is that this gap that exists between locals and expats will be bridged. There is too big a divide at the moment, and both sides need to understand more about each other. We are after all, living in the same country! It's great that we can have debates like this on the blog and I hope it continues and improves.
(Sorry for the long post though..)
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