Sociologist Rima Sabban,
Assistant Professor of Sociology and Assistant Dean of Research and Graduate Studies at Shaikh Zayed University, Dubai:
“The UAE has created a space where people drawn from various cultures, religions and nationalities have learnt and developed skills on how to interact with each other with respect despite all the differences.” Sabban feels it not just the diversity in society which is responsible for such a rich social exchange but it is the system that the UAE government has created which instils discipline in people and brings out their best. “Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal in India and noticed how people were littering the place and driving roughly. The same people who arrive here realise they cannot do that [behave in such a way].
“Similarly, [many people in their own countries] drive dangerously on the roads; yet when they come here, they learn to do what they are expected to. We find this discipline everywhere [in the UAE], be it the ease with which we move through airport security or the way we [move] on the roads.
“The multi-layered existence in UAE creates a social intelligence which prompts people to learn to not overstep boundaries. The UAE government needs to be lauded for creating this discipline,” said Sabban.
This social intelligence, she said, was responsible in setting up a social structure where people adapt to fit in. “People do not realise that they are changing but they [change] every day by the system in which they live.
“The system implements these changes and the [people begin to] respect each other’s space.”
—S.B.C.
