Lifestyle UAE

Pictures (from top): Yes, they really ARE everywhere; Landscape in upheaval; Private palace occupied by sheikhling only two days a year; Oasis at al Ain; Beach at Khor Fakkan

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Life in the UAE posed many cultural challenges but they weren’t the ones I expected as I sat on the long flight with my nose buried in Reading Lolita in Tehran. Just in passing, this is not a title I recommend for in-flight entertainment on your first trip to the Middle East, especially as passengers begin disappearing more and more often into the washroom to change into traditional dress and you find yourself more and more surrounded by shrouded women and gowned men.

I’d like to give some historical and factual background but please note that it’s from my own personal point of view. You can get the real facts and figures from Google.

The area, which lies along the bottom of the Persian Gulf and shares a border with Saudi Arabia, was part of the British Trucial States – and sometimes known as the Pirate Coast – until 1971 when the British withdrew. Sheikh Zayed of Abu Dhabi put together a conglomerate of emirates that originally included Oman and Bahrain but the leaders of those states chose, in the end, to remain independent. Today there are seven emirates.

Sheikh Zayed proceeded to do a very unusual thing. He decided to share the oil wealth amongst all the Emiratis, about a million of them. He didn’t share it equally but even the poorest citizens are millionaires. The other three million inhabitants of the country come in to work since the locals don’t have to lift a finger unless they feel like it. These foreign workers can never become citizens but most enjoy good salaries and a very comfortable lifestyle. The poorest among them are the Pakistani labourers but even they earn much more than they could at home.

Sharing the wealth has resulted in a land of no poverty and virtually no crime. It’s the only place I’ve ever been where there are no homeless people and no beggars on the streets. This is partly explained, of course, by the fact that all the citizens are wealthy and anyone without a job isn’t allowed to remain. I’ve heard it said that the reason Saudi is a breeding ground for “terrorists” is the terrible poverty. The Royal Family there doesn’t share their fabulous riches and poverty fosters anger and despair, a “what have I got to lose?” atmosphere.

While I was in residence, I heard about only two crimes. One I read about on a poster in the lobby of a Khor Fakkan hotel:

The First Annual Conference
of the Anti-Money Laundering Committee
in the UAE
Organized by the Central Bank of the UAE
Under the Title
Detection of Suspicious Transactions

The second was reported in the English language newspaper. A thief fell through the bedroom roof of a couple’s home and landed on their bed while they were engaging in an “intimate act.” The woman screamed and ran into the closet. The man captured the thief, a labourer who’d lost his job and needed food while searching for another job which he hoped to find before getting deported. Rather sadly, the episode resulted in an immediate ride to the airport and a free seat on a plane back to his country of origin.

Sheikh Zayed, the Supreme Ruler, had foresight. He realized the oil wouldn’t last forever and encouraged development of malls, luxury resorts and hotels. He believed tourism would maintain the Emiratis’ wealth when the oil vanished – thus the lavish – sometimes garish and Vegas-like – blossoming of Dubai.

Technically speaking, a form of Sharia law governs all. Alcohol, homosexuality, extra-marital sex and Buffy the Vampire Slayer are all forbidden. Since I had no need to consume vast quantities of alcohol and no desire for a torrid affair with a man I wasn’t married to, none of this slowed me down very much. I had two seasons of Buffy in my suitcase but didn’t realize she was outlawed until five months later. Creature sent an e-mail about the release of Season Three. I went to the HMV store to inquire. A young clerk looked at me coldly and said, “That series is BANNED in the UAE.” Suitably cowed, I scuttled away.

Later, knowing my students watched the show, I asked how they managed. Satellite TV. Naturally.

As for alcohol, it’s served in bars, restaurants and hotels in every Emirate except Sharjah, where I lived. The story goes that Sharjah’s ruling family were pirates and Sheikh Zayed wasn’t too keen on having them join his new country. The Saudis went to bat for the al Qassimis of Sharjah but, in return, made them promise to enact laws more in keeping with Saudi values than Emirates’ ones.

I could have bought a liquor license from the Dubai government. Apparently someone looks you over and, based on your gender and weight, allots you a monthly liquor allowance card you can use at the take-out section of hotels not located in Sharjah. I didn’t ever both with this because of Hole in the Wall, a rough and ready booze distribution centre with technically illegal outlets dotted liberally across the desert. All you need is a taxi driver willing to take you to one (everyone’s rich – there’s no public transportation) and, if you’re female, escort you through the swarms of Arab men queuing up for cases of expensive Scotch. Simple, really.

Coming Soon: Life as a Lone Woman.