After reading a comment by UaeBlondie (see the last post), I decided to elaborate on this topic. Now I have always been of the opinion that Dubai is losing sight due to the influx of expats.
Now dont get me wrong, expats built the country with us, and deserve to be appreciated and respected. But with the expansion of Dxb and the UAE in general, both economically and socially, we are heading to an intresting situation.
I believe the the ideology behind the influx of foreigners is for our economic gain (pretty much the only reason I can see so far). Arguably, this great increase in foreigners is wanted and needed by our country so we could get richer? Proof of this is in the words of Sheikh Mohamed, ruler of Dubai: "If the cart is politics and the horse is the economy then we have to put the horse before the cart and not the other way around."
If our economy, being the will of the people, is leading our polotics, then at face value that seems great right?
NO its not, because the collective will of the people in the nation is changing with the increase in foreigners who have their own requirements and wants.
Our economy will lead our politics,,, But it will no longer represent the original inhabitants of this place. We will be rich, but we wont be together.
It is grim, but prove me it isnt so.
Creed - is this the end
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28 comments:
well said,and the society is segregating as we speak.
Wtf?
"prove me it isnt so"::::
U tell me if we r losing our culture or not?
"After reading a comment by..."
"the collective will of"
"foreigners who have their own requirements"
"Dubai is losing sight due to the influx of expats"
"expats built the country with us, and deserve to be appreciated and respected."
F*, F*,F*. F*., F*, F*!!!!!!
YOU TELL ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!!!! Speechless!!!!!!!
I agree with you completely...
The economy runs the show now... :)
Imaginate: Learn how to read properly,,, By saying prove it isnt so I meant: prove to me that we arent losing our culture"... You probably scrolled down and read the last line didnt you? If not I pity your powers of comprehension.
AeBlondie: Thank you.
3lo_g before you go criticising my comprehension skills, please do a self-check on your web publishing skills - the last line of your post is only visible when all the text is hilighted - forgive me for not spotting the invisible.
Even with these invisible words, Creed - is this the end What does that actually mean, firstly?? And how is it linked to the bulk of your post? Pls clarify.
I correctly interpreted you meaning "prove that we r not losing our culture" -- and my response was "U tell me"...
meaning..if you understood what culture was, you would know how to protect it.
My outburst is at the weak and baseless arguments you make about politics and economy - as if only these things have total bearing on culture. No my friend, it is your thinking that changes culture. And if you think others can change your culture, then you're allowing them to do so, and you're the one "losing sight".
First up, Your grammar skills also need work. "the last line of your post is only visible when all the text is hilighted"... Its written: highlighted.
Secondly, I concede that I misinterpreted your comment wrong, due to your obvious lack of organizing abilities when it comes to the "web publishing" skills you speak so fondly of.
--------------------------------
My principal argument, that you missed due to lack of aforementioned comprehension skills, is about that exactly... Thought.
The collective thought and will of a nation being changed due to the influx of new people, new social classes, new mindsets; All of which are related to the economy, and therefore politics (read the post properly).
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Finally, If youve been reading my blog long enough, the invisible text is the song Ive been listening to at the time of writing, a personal touch.
dude take it easy on i*maginate, I guess she is emotionaly unstable these days after all those crappy BFs she had (kudos to the one who asked her to pee on him).
3lo_g I'm not really interested in tit for tat, I was more interested in the content of your post, which disturbs me more than whose grammar/vocab/web skills are better.
For the record, it is not an error in "grammar" when I misspelt "highlight", it is an error in "vocabulary".
"It's"= "it is"
3lo_g how on earth is it possible to organise a reply to an utterly disorganised train of thought as is in your post? Your arguments are very poorly laid out and don't connect well together. You also loosely use terms like "ideology" when it's actually "policy". And that's even more frustrating when you're debating such a serious issue, which you haven't done well. I'm disappointed, especially when your comments reflect much better writing than in this latest post!
All I could communicate was how shocked I was, and I still am, that you could imply a loss of culture in the UAE is almost imminent with changing times. It's as if you're saying people, the WILL, as you say, don't have any power or control in whether they want the culture to survive or not! Your article shows you are making excuses, rather than taking a proactive stance in something you believe in, which you obviously don't.
Your negative attitude "we won't be together" shows how collective thinking might alter the culture of this place.
And no, I haven't been reading your blog long enough to know the song you point out. I'll take it to bed with me tonight.
-ADinamorato lol emotional instability AND bad hair day :P
so i*maginate, what exactly is your stance on this subject?
Four points just to give people stuff to think about:
1. What really is UAE culture? Of course there is the ancient Bedouin culture, which is not specifically UAE. But modern Emiratis are a great mix of people: they range from the original bedouin to sea-trading people, to Iranian traders and newer migrants from Asia, Arabia and elsewhere. So when asking if you are "losing your culture", one should be aware of what that culture really is, or what one means by that culture. Because I'll bet it is different things to different groups of Emiratis. What are the things that you feel that you are actually losing that you miss? And on the flipside, what are you gaining that you don't want?
2. All cultures change and evolve. This can be bad and it can be good, it can be sad but it is inevitable. An influx of foreigners may speed up this process, but places such as Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah have always been trading places and ports, where new ideas and new cultures arrive at. There has always been something of a state of flux.
3. Just because one country developed a technology or artform first, doesn't make it their culture. It's up to countries that embrace the new technology or artform to put their own distinct stamp and shape on it.
4. Is part of the problem that Emiratis are trying to segregate themselves to protect parts of their culture, but by doing so, are actually endangering it because they aren't spreading and sharing it? This isn't intended as cricitism, just observation. Traditional practices such having separate schools for expats and locals don't help. Expats don't get a chance to learn what the culture here is like. Sure there's the heritage village and the museum, but those are exhibits, not really real life. There's still a kind of window that we're looking through, we're not actually *there*, so to speak. And that makes it hard for expats to connect with Emirati culture, and embrace it.
From my expat point of view, what is Emirati culture? I suppose for me it the desert, it is traditional style houses and living in tents, it is a strong sense of family, it is Islamic traditions, it is Arabic hospitality. It is also a certain amount of opulence and ostentatious wealth: jewellery, flash cars. It is the traditional Gulf clothing. It is stick dancing and the dance where young girls swing their hair, and the accompanying music. It is family marriages, particularly cousin marriage, and gender segregation. It is some interesting local dishes such as the things one can try at the heritage village: flat breads with cheese and spices, dates, honey. It is the souqs and the dhows of bargaining and trading, and the pearl fishing or former times.
If this sounds very superficial or incomplete to an emirati, that is because it's all I have got to see as an expat. I've been here nearly six years, and I haven't kept my eyes closed, but this is what I have percieved.
I find what I have seen quite rich, and I admire a lot of it - not all perhaps, but most of it - and find many things fascinating. But I suspect that I am still missing a lot of what Emirati culture really is. And if so, then I think the blame lies more with Emiratis failing to reach me than with me failing to reach them. Again not a criticism - just a hopefully constructive observation.
Oh and I left off traditional sports, such as camel racing and falconry. They are also things I perceive as Emirati culture. And the majilis system, though I have not experienced it personally.
@ vocab,,, Good to see you know your faults.
@ ideology,,, No I meant idealogy. Then the quote by Shkh Mohamed, link them together.
@ Weak argument... Im only stating the situation for people to be aware of the issue, and stating that a loss of culture is occuring due to certain factors.
@ The will... Im saying that if the COLLECTIVE will is diluted (as in we become a minority), we will logically not have a say.
@ making excuses... Read above (weak argument).
@ me and proactivity... Im making people aware of the issue, and answering to you (a critic) in detail... If thats not proactive I dont know what is.
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So Im saying/ implying: we "don't have any power or control in whether they want the culture to survive or not"? ... Really? Where?
The title of the post is "Are we losing our culture?", Not "Our culture will not survive".
@ SD first point... intergrating with the new-comers to our land.
What Im saying is that they are so many newcomers to our land that our culture ( or cultures as you so rightly pointed out) will no longer be evident, and will be replaced by the cultures of the newcomers altogether.
well if the uae people teach the newcomers about your culture, as SD has suggested, then your culture will become a part of their culture.
It might not necessarily die out, but spread out.
inshallah that is the case.
3lo_g, you are answering your own question "Are we losing out culture", and the answer is YES - if you and 100 others keep blaming external factors on a loss of culture/identity, then of course it will be affected.
Your way of thinking in this post shows you are ready to accept a loss of culture. This is disappointing: great civilisations don't lose their culture - unless their people think this might be a reality. As I said, nothing matters but the "thinking" - and any argument you put forward claiming culture might be lost due to politics and economy is just an excuse. Cultures don't die out, they evolve. But how long they last depends on the conviction of their own people to make it survive/thrive.
You are not raising any issues by this post except for your own weakness, your own "losing sight" of culture.
... Firstly the reason I asked "Are we losing our culture?" is to answer it?!
"Your way of thinking in this post shows you are ready to accept a loss of culture" ... Where? Read carefully.
I DID NOT say I accepted it, I pointed it out. You still didnt read the post properly did you?
"any argument you put forward claiming culture might be lost due to politics and economy"... Ever hear of the fall of Communism? Know what factors contributed to it?
"just an excuse"... Faith and human spirit doesnt do anything lest its backed by something tangible, like an economy.
"your own weakness"... I like the way you said that,,, Like you know me.
So cute
I don't know you, I am commenting on your post and what you're writing.
If you think I'm cute, how about we discuss this at my place?
whats that place called? ur bedroom?
now stop the childish arguments both of you !
LOL .. come on 3lo_g.. I bake some nice cakes.. ADinamorato, up 4 a 3some?
no i*maginate, am not a fan of sharing a bed with a guy. Though if the 3some includes another girl...
Id definetly chose her over you.
Incidentally, expats don't want UAE people to lose their own culture here. Many of use would like to see some things changed but we have no agenda to try and replace your culture with ours. To be honest it makes me cringe when I see a young emirati man with an American baseball cap, I would far rather see him in a keffiyah.
So while our presence is kind of overwhelming in terms of numbers, we are not actually trying to make you guys the same as us, and into the same things. Give me Automatic (yeah I know it's Lebanese, but it's Arab-style food at least) over McDonalds any day. Give me camels and dhows over motorbikes and jetskis any day. And I would far rather be offered dates and qahwa at someone's office than sickly sweet Indian-style tea with Rainbow milk (if I wanted that, I would go to India).
But these are things. I think the culture that is more at risk of change from expat presence is about ideas and attitudes. Many expats come from countries that tolerate or even embrace things such as homosexuality. That is still something forbidden here. Many of our countries support single mothers, or the right of consenting adults to have sex or set up home, and so on. Many of us come from cultures where men and women are more equal in terms of marriage rights and consent: there is no concept of a "guardian", or of it being easier for one partner to obtain divorce based on gender than for the other partner. Many of us also come from countries where religion is a private matter, not something enforced by the state. And of course many of us come from countries where the poorest child born in the lowliest family can still rise to become educated and eventually become prime minister/president. This is something that isn't possible - yet - in the UAE.
And I think these are the ideas and cultural phenomenons that probably present the greater threat to UAE culture as some perceive it. Emirati people see us living the way that we do, and quite possibly some young emirati people will want the right to live likewise. Young men will want girlfriends. A young woman might start to ask why she can't become president, but a sheikh's son can.
But it should be recognised that some the change is good. Young people going out getting drunk and fighting, or drink-driving: those things are clearly bad. But cultural traditions such as child camel jockeys or the "ownership" of maids - I think that changes there, which have partly been forced by expatriate opinion via the media and then via international pressure - have been for the good.
ok nothing for me to say lol
the battle ended
it started with the cultural problems then grammar and vocab lessons and ended with each other sexual orientation !!!
yeah good job presenting your points
For starters, its good to see you back in the scene 3lo g :)
As for your post.. what can i say, you couldn't have said it better..
Your post was indeed very true and as Moyarti said..."couldn't have said it better.."
yes we are losing it!
we are discussing an issue here not whose grammer and english is better ...
I completely agree with you there.
And oh!
I think your language, skills, grammar, statements, sentences, are all layed out in a clear, straight-to-the-point way! :)
Some calrifications for secretdxb and others:
1. You forgot the most important aspect of culture: language.
2. Cultures are not "offereed" by locals to foreeigners; you either find ways to experience them, or you don't.
3. Please don't say things like "from an expat point of view" and "we expats think"...Such statements just don't make sense! There isn't one homogeneous expat community and you aren't a spokeswoman for any expat group.
4. I'm not sure, but you might be surprised to know that many of the locals who lament the loss of their culture are educated and westernized young men and women. To better understand what they're talking about starts with a better knowledge of their culture and heritage and the critical challenges facing their community in a time of incredible change.
5. "Stick dancing"?..."the dance where young girls swing their hair"? And you've been here for six years and introducing yourself as a keen observer of culture!!!
The underlying problem here appears to be the desire to segregate everyone, to see every issue with culture as a case of 'us' and 'them' rather than a collective. It is this separation of people, this tendancy to create groups against one another, that breed discontent such as what you exhibit here.
Of course people are different, and you cannot deny that. It is a ridiculous ideology to imagine that people from different cultures and religions can exist happily, holding hands, skipping off into the sunset. And I understand that there is discontent in the Dubai nationals, feeling as though people from other countries are coming and taking your jobs. I am from Britain, and there is a similar sense of discontent here sometimes. People flock here in hundreds of thousands and more, coming for our minumum wage and NHS, and enviable work conditions. We now have to compete for jobs in the same way you describe. And often, there is a feeling that the culture and 'feel' of Britain is changing as a result.
It is a problem. But, you also must consider that this ability for people to move to other countries should also be seen as a positive. More competition can be positive in the sense that the job will now be done by the very best won't it? In Britain we have a great number of Asian and Indian doctors who are fantastic at what they do. A mixing of cultures can bring with it various issues, but also on a positive side can bring about understanding, and fusion. In a way, where would Dubai's tourism industry be without western influence? Without the top architects from around the world to create the skyline you see and waterparks you enjoy? Much of Dubai's growth is reflective of foreign influence from all over. Therefore, shouldn't Dubai be seen as a glorius fusion of old and new cultures? I think it would be, if only there was some more of the old and traditional left there.
In addition to this, try and imagine the country the people sometimes leave behind. Indian people and Philippino people are not treated particularly well in Dubai to be honest. There is no health and safety, no minumum wage, they often do the jobs that no one else wants to do. Its hardly wonderful for them. But it must be better than what they leave behind, perhaps poverty or war. I think that it is important to acknowledge that being able to go to a different country, it gives someone a better chance at life, which is something that I think everyone deserves.
Yes a culture can suffer from an influx of foreigners. This can, as in Britain and America, even bring about destructive results. But I agree with Imaginate when she says that you have to prevent it through attitude. This extends right through from the young people such as yourselves, to the Dubai Government. My Dad lives in Dubai, and when I visited one of the things i commented on was that it feels like it has no culture. I love to travel, I am in awe of other cultures. Yet in Dubai I had to really work to find a sense of culture. Perhaps a trip to Hatta and the rock pools, or a walk (not dune bashing) over the sand dunes, a boat ride along the river. It wasn't as though you step outside and a sense of culture is almost palpable, like it is in perhaps South-East Asia or parts of Europe. I think that this lack of 'culture' in a physical and emotional sense that you feel is more to do with the littering of the skyline with skyscrapers and shopping malls, rather than to do with the expats changing it. Britain has maintained its ancient monuments, its traditional architecture and its cultural values, these are the things that should be valued when it comes to creating and maintaining a sense of culture in a country.
It is a sad fact that you have to work to keep your sense of culture. But it a realistic and modern fact. But it is simple things like keeping and maintaining traditional buildings and mosques and being proud of the Arabic culture, being willing to share it and maintain it, rather than being too quick to segregate the old and the new, the nationals and the expats.
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