by David Zenian
DUBAI — The United Arab Emirates is ranked among the richest countries in the world, but it’s the smooth working relationship between the ethnic Emirian minority and the country’s overwhelming majority of foreigners that makes the UAE unique in the region.
Majority in this case means five foreigners to every Emirian citizen and that’s a lot of foreigners in a country of only 2.5 million people. This combination of ethnic diversity and wealth is evident from the moment a visitor steps into a government-owned United Arab Airlines passenger jet. The aircraft are among the best and most modern money can buy. Each passenger seat — even in economy class — has its private five-channel television screen. The food on board is from top international caterers, the cutlery is not plastic and both cabin and cockpit crew is predominantly British.
Arriving at Dubai airport, the scene is also unique. The facility is luxurious and ultra modern, and all ground personnel except for immigration and police officials are Indians, Pakistanis or Filipinos.
Arabic is the official language of the land, but Persian, English, Urdu and Hindi are so prevalent that not knowing Arabic is not a handicap. In downtown Dubai, Sharjah and other major towns and cities of the UAE, and in banks, hotels, stores and restaurants, Arabic is only a second language.
The imbalance in the ethnic structure of the country is evident everywhere from the most modern shopping malls to the small TV repair shops where practically every facet of the service and consumer industries is operated by non-Emirians.
But the Emirians are happy with the arrangement and the foreigners have no problems adjusting to the laws of the land which in most part are more flexible than the other Moslem states in the region. Unlike regional giants Iran and Saudi Arabia, the UAE is more relaxed when it comes to regulating and influencing the daily lives of the two million foreigners who have made the country their second home.
One such area is the dress code for women. Another is the consumption of liquor. Women do not have to wrap themselves head to toe in dark chadors unless they feel compelled to do so because of personal choice or religious belief. Women are also free to drive or visit stores and shopping centers without being accompanied or escorted by their spouses or close male relatives. There are also no restrictions at area beaches where bikini-clad Europeans soak up the sun along the golden coast of the Arabian Gulf or by the poolside of five star hotels . If local Emirian women normally are still under the veil or stay away from the beaches, it is because of cultural guidelines rather than specific restrictive laws.
As part of a federation, each of the seven emirates draws its own lines on certain issues without interfering with the doings of the other. For example, while one Emirate is totally “dry”, another allows alcoholic drinks to be sold in hotels and special stores for consumption at home. Such flexibility might essentially contradict Islamic codes, but for the United Arab Emirates, it is one of the major ingredients of the existing ethnic and cultural harmony between the country’s “guest” and “host” populations.
