National identity crisis: Dude, where's my culture?

The global financial crisis is seen as having benefit for Emirati culture. Seems like a stretch to me.

IHT:

Emiratis have fretted for years over the loss of their culture, as social norms became more a product of the newcomers than of the nationals. Now, some are pinning their desires for a cultural salvation on the global economic downturn, which they hope will reduce the numbers of foreigners pouring into their country and give them a chance to reassert their customs and way of life.

"This is a blessing; we needed it," Abdul Khaleq Abdullah, a political science professor at United Arab Emirates University, said of the fiscal crisis. "The city needs to slow down and relax. It's good for the identity of our country.

"The city reached the summit, but we knew every time we got closer to the top, we got closer to the edge too," he added. "That's the feeling inside each Emirati. When we felt like we had it all, we also felt like we will lose it all."
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In an odd case of role reversal, the minority of nationals fear they are becoming like colonial lords in their own country.

"I'm not just concerned about my future, I'm concerned about the future of my country," said Rashid Ali, 24. He and his friend Fahd Muhammad, 25, were the only two Emiratis seated in a crowded city mall last week. "I'm concerned about our national identity," Ali said.
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The local population has largely been pacified by the largess of a gilded welfare state. For Ali and Muhammad, that meant free tuition and expenses for their university studies in Britain, including a monthly stipend of $1,258 while abroad.

Returning from school this year, they were given government jobs that pay $3,600 a month, which like all income here is tax free. When they plan to marry, they said, the government will give them each a free piece of land and about $200,000 to build a house, plus access to a 10- or 20-year interest-free loan.

That generosity is a problem now, as the government faces the prospect of having to control spending, raise revenue and encourage its own citizens to move into industries like finance and banking, which are now controlled by foreigners. Locals make up only 3 percent of the private work force, experts here said, with Emiratis opting for the shorter workday and higher pay of guaranteed government jobs.

The problem is that many like Ali and Muhammad say they enjoy what they get from the growth — the luxury villas and fancy cars — but not the costs in terms of social change. If the economy slows too much, however, the fear is that the costs may ultimately outweigh the benefits.

"Most people worry now, where is the welfare government?" said Salah Al Halyan, a financial consultant in Dubai, who explained the concerns of Emiratis. "Where is all the comfort? Where is my country? Who are all these people coming? The problem is the attitude of the nationals. They want to live on food stamps."

As the two men walked amid a sea of foreigners in the mall, they alternated between pride in the development and anger about what they called a loss of control of their national identity.

"We are Bedouins, developed Bedouins, but we still have our traditions," Ali said. "It's all changing and disappearing."

And then with deep sarcasm, he said, "What's up dude?" a phrase as alien to his culture as blue jeans and, now, as common in his city as blue jeans.

There's more.

Click on the "demographic imbalance" label at the end of this post for past coverage in The Emirates Economist.