I’m sitting down and ruminating on some of other things here that make this nation, the United Arab Emirates, unique in this part of the world, and perhaps anywhere else in the world.
There is certainly a dichotomy here that emphasizes the differences between the rich and the poor. I have read in at least a couple of places that the Emir of Abu Dhabi, the largest of the seven emirates that make up the UAE, is one of the wealthiest men on earth, worth an estimated half-a-trillion dollar. Whether that is true or not, I can say that the federal government here is using those billions of petrodollars to build a strong, vibrant nation that will hopefully one day not NEED oil money.
Now one thing that MUST be understood about this small country is that it is an absolute monarchy; or rather a federation of absolute monarchies. This federation is ruled by a National Ruling Council made up of the emirs (or princes in a European sense) of the seven constituent emirates (or principalities). For those who may not understand the differences: larger nations ruled by a monarch tend to have kings, queens, or some other top-of-the-line title such as Tsar or Kaiser (Russian and German for ‘Caesar’), or Emperor. Smaller monarchies, those that may have the royalty and trappings of a monarchy, but want larger neighboring nations to understand they aren’t any threat have leaders that accept titles of Duke (who rule over a ‘duchy’ like Luxembourg or Liechtenstein) or Prince (the Principality of Monaco). It is much the same here on the Arabian Peninsula where Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE are ruled by Emirs (and Oman ruled by a Sultan), with their massively larger neighbor the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia being ruled by a king.
Anyway, these emirs were brought together by Abu Dhabi’s Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa al Nahyan and convinced that they would be stronger and fare better as a united country rather than as a collection of smaller ones. Qatar and Bahrain disagreed and went their own ways, but Zayed was successful in convincing the other six emirs of what is now northern UAE. The UAE’s Constitution makes the emir of Abu Dhabi the president, the ruler of Dubai is the VP, and all seven compose the National Ruling Council. This was no accident of negotiation. Abu Dhabi is the largest and wealthiest of the Emirates, making up about 2/3 of the country and easily has the majority of the country’s oil. Dubai is the next largest and second-most wealthy, though it can be argued that Dubai and the other five emirates (Ajman, Fujairah, Ras al Khaimah, Sharjah, and Umm al Quwain) have longer and deeper history. But, as they say, money talks.
Nevertheless, the whole of the nation has benefitted from the great oil wealth here and the Emirates have embarked on a program of planned business, infrastructure and population growth perhaps unprecedented in the world. In 1965 there was not a single doctor or nurse in Abu Dhabi. There was one mud-paved road, a single lane asphalt road that linked Abu Dhabi to Dubai less than 100 miles away. To get to Al Ain took a seven-day trip by camel, or 2-3 days by four-wheel-drive. In 1965. Today, Al Ain and Dubai are barely an hour away by car on divided highways that are clearly modeled after German autobahns and US interstates. The roads are also fenced in the same way as autobahns and interstates in order to keep camels from straying on to them. Camels are large, heavy animals that have a tendency to go through windshields when struck at 120 kilometers-per-hour (nearly 75 mph).
But, I digress.
Just this week I heard that aviation now makes up nearly 30% of the Gross National Product here, which is in line with the nation’s efforts to become an international crossroads. Emirates Airways and Etihad Airways are now major, PROFITABLE, international airlines flying Airbus A380’s and Boeing 747’s and 787’s, among others. Additionally, the UAE has become a major freight hub, to the point that there are two parallel superhighways between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain – one specifically for cars, the other for trucks. And I can attest that the major highway to Saudi Arabia, E11, is crowded with truck traffic moving between the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Today, though, the nation is building the initial phase of its new national freight rail system, planned to be around 1200 kilometers (835 miles) long, and planned to be linked to Europe by 2016. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman are joining in to build the link through the Peninsula to link into the Iraqi and Jordanian systems, which themselves link to Europe. The Etihad Railways are being built to heavy-duty standards the likes of which are only seen in North America and Australia. A high-speed rail system is to follow in the near future.
And, yes, “Etihad” is a popular term here. It is Arabic for “union” or “united.” So, yeah, TECHNICALLY there ARE two "United"
Airlines out there!
It is also said that fully 20% of the world’s construction cranes are to be found in the UAE. Currently home to the world’s tallest building and (opened just last week) the tallest hotel, the building continues. Huge malls are quite popular, and it seems every new one built is touted as the largest in the UAE. This is part of an effort to encourage immigration to build upon the Emirati population of around one million. Emiratis are now a minority in their own nation, surrounded by around 7 million foreigners. Arabic is a language that is heard frequently but not always, and I have yet to NEED to know Arabic in the two months I have been here. English is the language of commerce, and the UAE is being built on commerce.
Many of those immigrants are laborers, construction workers, though many like me are skilled workers. Emiratis today tend to be business owners and entrepreneurs, and Emirati women are making huge inroads into the work force. The local women I have dealt with tend to be kind and polite to a fault, and very efficient and professional. The men I have dealt with are professional and friendly, though like people everywhere, you do bump occasionally into the jerks. My worst encounters have been with Emirati Lexus owners. I’ll just leave it there by saying think of the worst New York taxi driver you’ve ever seen in movies. Yeah.
Customer service here though is all over the map. I do enjoy the gas station attendants. I know my Mom would recognize that kind of service where the attendant asks you what grade and how much you want, and takes your money or card at your car window and gives you change and a receipt. I remember that kind of service from when I was a very little kid. You can get it here today. And gas here is about $1.80-a-gallon!
Government services here are quite quick and efficient from my experience, though there does seem to be a fee for everything! This efficiency may have to do with the Emirati women who seem to man every service desk at government offices. These women apparently feel that they have something to prove in the middle of the Arab world, even if they are wearing abayas (the long black robes), as well as the occasional burqa (face cover). Emirati women serve as police and soldiers, as well as in other pursuits, including doctors, lawyers, etc.
But in other places, customer service can be trying. I have been in my new apartment barely a month and have had electricians here four times to fix wiring construction issues. AND, deliveries and services are not unlike back at home – “we’ll be there between 8 and 5.” On the positive side (maybe), EVERY time a check clears, I withdraw money from an ATM, or I use a credit card, within five seconds I have a text message on my phone telling where and how much has been charged! It’s hard to steal and use checks or a debit or credit card here without the owner knowing!
And all these immigrants are here for one thing – to make money (although I admit that I’m here because I found it difficult to find work back home.) And they come from all over the world. The closest I can equate this place to in the US is Hawaii, where whites and the native population are minorities, and there is an eclectic mixing of people from all over. It’s very much the same here. I am working with American, Emirati, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Indian, British, South African, Filipino, Canadian and a myriad of other peoples. I have met a Lebanese-Venezuelan woman who runs a restaurant here, as well as Nepalese cab drivers, Indian electricians and Kashmiri salesmen, Australian engineers, Belarusian stewardesses, Filipina maids, Indian neighbors, a Kenyan security guard, Thai masseuses, Italians, French, and on-and-on. And we all speak English!
And generally, the Emiratis are quite proud of what their nation has become. It’s an exciting place.
