As I laid in bed, I thought to myself, God, Buddha, Allah, Mohammad, whoever/ whatever is out there, give this country a chance to prove itself; and then I thought again, why should it? Last night, watching Dubai One Tv station, I saw an Emirati woman bragging about all the wonderful youthful Emiratis who were contributing to the wonderful future of Dubai and the UAE. And yet, when she was asked by the reporter to give a specific example, she circled around the question and could not cite a specific case, person or change.
At the end of the day, this country with it's money and reputation has the ability to do so much for the world, and yet it's constant aim is to what? Make itself the centre of attention. How about spending that money on supporting some of the people who have turned your country into what it is today? If we're speaking of the Burj Khalifa in particular, the thousands of construction workers from India, Nepal, Burma and Bangladesh that worked night and day on the project over the last 5 years. Where is their thank you? And, God only knows if there were people that died in the construction of the amazonian structure, how about a memorial, a song, an offering, something to show that these people were a part of this amazing architectural endeavor. What about providing education for them after they've worked 12 hours on a skyscraper or providing them with a stipend to get education in their home country after they have served their 3 years in Dubai (which almost sounds like a prison service when you put it that way?)
Working at a local international school here in Dubai, there are a number of newly implemented accreditation systems instituted by the Dubai Ministry of Education. These accreditation systems are so that schools can be monitored and regulated to make sure that they are successful learning centers and developing institutions. The Arab schools continue to struggle to pass these inspections and the international schools do repeatedly well. I know, why don't you hire more international teachers to train Arab teachers, or better yet, organize a collaborative initiative that brings together these two different cultures of educators and have them take part in some life-long learning.
At the end of the day, the entire economy is dependent on the real estate economy in Dubai. Without property development, there is no need for doctors, lawyers, sales, teachers, etc. , what will happen if the property market goes bust? What will happen when everything is finished?
How will this country ultimately attract people to live in after they have finished building the dream? Particularly, when they are downright taking advantage of the people who are "actually building the dream."
I recently spoke with a student of mine's parent who is Pakistani. I asked him whether or not his family had been affected by the recent crisis and whether they would be staying on in Dubai. He replied with great honesty.
"Well, we have not been directly affected by this crisis, however, every year, I think about going home. This country takes, takes, takes and doesn't owe you anything. You live in the US for 7 years and you get citizenship. You live in Canada for 3 years and they give you citizenship. You build this country from scratch to something and they send you home or ...."
We foreigners are here because you brought us here and whether or not you'd like to admit it; go ahead, take away the Philipinos, Indian workers, Lebanese bankers, American School teachers, British engineers, and many others and your city will crumble.
So, here's to the Burj Khalifa and all it's splendour, but in actuality, there are so many other things to be proud of here in Dubai. Oh, Dubai, you have created a world full of different cultures that sustains with no common language and no common history. You have brought a number of races together to work at creating a city that is not theirs and never will be. Are you really on top of the world?
