In the UAE, we try to be tolerant of cultural differences and we like to educate people about our culture, because they might not be fully aware of local rules and sensitivities. But some incidents simply show a flagrant disregard for authority, which I am not sure has to do with cultural sensitivity. Sometimes these incidents can become ugly, and then people try to play the ‘us versus them’ card.
Firstly, people who come here need to know that there is a different set of cultural values here. And because we are pushing towards more tourism, we need to promote that and probably give out handbooks at the airports. I travel a lot and I haven’t seen those messages highlighted as pronouncedly in the UAE, which communicate to the travellers that “Welcome to the UAE, you are going to love it here. But don’t be caught doing the following things ….”
As for the statistics that British citizens are most likely to be arrested in the UAE after Thailand, we need to realise that the British community here is quite a sizeable one, as a percentage of the total expatriate community.
But the bigger issue is that people are becoming less civil. Civil people — no matter where they go — don’t have problems. My grandparents are British and they are the most civil people I know.
The debate is: Does the UAE need to be promoting their culture more, or do expatriates need to change their perspective?
It is 100 per cent the responsibility of the country people are coming from to educate their citizens. There might be a big difference between the eastern and western mindset but if any country gives its citizens a passport to travel, it is considered a privilege, and you need to respect that.
As for ‘promoting our culture’, our culture is one that you have to experience by living it. We lived in the desert for thousands of years — the desert is unmerciful and sun is unmerciful, so you have to live it. We don’t have major historical architecture, which we can point to and say that it is our culture.
The most patronising thing that I’ve ever heard is when someone looked at me and said: “This is how the UAE needs to be — you speak English and wear jeans. That’s the future.”
And on the other side, I hear people saying: “You are not representing your culture”. But, how do you know that? May be trousers aren’t my culture, but my opinion is that if your culture is not evolving, it’s dying. Just like language.
There has to be evolution, a culture has to start expressing itself in the new situations it faces. What do we pride our culture on? Hospitality, generosity, chivalry, bravery and family. When you look at history, all these qualities were part of a life in the desert, when you were part of Bedouin tribes. But in the modern world, where my job is based on my CV and my education and co-curricular activities, I don’t have to be hospitable to anybody, because the situations have changed. But we still try to keep these qualities, because we pride ourselves on it. That’s what our culture is.
— The writer is an Emirati IT professional and media enthusiast living in Abu Dhabi
