The UAE Turns Forty (December 2nd, 2011)…

Because of this anniversary, this is a semi-tribute blog. I had originally started writing this on November 31^st but fell quite ill and then had a host of issues following that, which is why this is up so late.

What I realised when covering the National Day celebrations is that so many people are unaware of the UAE’s pearl diving history, that not many people know the significance of Bani Yas and that very few people are aware of the trucial states.

So I thought I’d put that right.

Before I do, I must stress, there are some excellent books on this subject (Look up Chris Davidson or Jim Krane) my warblings are a very condensed form of history but will possibly interest you enough to make you want to look it all up yourself.

Sheikh Zayed Mosque at night

Bani Yas: This was the UAE’s biggest tribe, made up of numerous divisions. They were a section originally based in Liwa-where the annual date festival is held, you must check it out- and this section of the tribe gave rise to the Al Nahyan’s –Abu Dhabi’s ruling family. Bani Yas was quite well-regarded across Arabia for both its military prowess and also because it was such a large tribe. What I admire most about Bani Yas is that it gave rise to quite a big number of noble families including the Maktoums who now rule Dubai, but I am also impressed by the love of art, literature and culture that its members promote and that is very evident across the country to this day. The Sheikh Zayed Mosque exemplifies this. Look at my amazing pictures of this stunning piece of architecture (and try not to steal them without crediting please!)

Light show at Sheikh Zayed Mosque

Trucial States: Before the UAE started in 1971, there was already a lot of trade going on in Dubai (which had a tiny little port, with just one bulb that had to be kept on all night, presumably so ships knew they were close to land). The rulers of Dubai had a very long-sighted vision and had signed a deal to be under the protection of Britain. It also offered a tax exemption to foreign businessmen. The city itself was dusty with little mud huts that served its mainly-Bedouin population. People from across the water had come to Dubai to trade and many ended up settling there.

Oil had been discovered around 30 years prior to the country’s independence and it was a definite blessing-more so than in other places. This was since the UAE had long relied on pearl diving for its income-in every one thousand or so oysters, divers would find a pearl. However, a short while before oil as discovered in the Emirates, cultured pearls, which could be produced in the thousands with a definite shape started to become all the rage. Suddenly, the UAE could no longer compete with the international market of cultured pearls.

The Trucial states originally included Qatar and Bahrain and in 1972, after the UK decided to end its treaty with the 7 Trucial Sheikhdoms, the rulers decided to form their own state. Since an agreement could not be reached with these two Sheikhdoms in 1971, 6 emirates went on to form the UAE and Bahrain and Qatar became independent states. The seventh emirate, Ras Al Khaimah joined in 1972.

Random Facts: Things I find quite interesting are that even though the currency of the dirham was introduced in 1973, Indian traders and workers here were still allowed to buy and sell things in rupees (I’m not if this was the case for other currencies) and the previous currency had been called the Gulf Rupee. As a result, in parts of Deira and Jumeirah, if you meet someone who’s been here for over thirty years, they’ll still quote you prices calling the currency ‘Rupee’ instead of dirham, which is confusing, but quaint.

Another weirdness (in my opinion) is that Sharjah (yes, Sharjah!!!) had the only functioning airstrip, built by the British in 1939, so for a long time, this is where commercial flights landed-after much discomfort of travelling from Bahrain. Chris Davidson says in his book that this meant flights to Sharjah were few and far between and so Sheikh Rashid told his majlis that an airport was really needed in Dubai. They couldn’t see why it was needed, and let's forget the tourism and travel aspect for a second…but can you imagine a world without Dubai Duty free?

The Islands- View from the Burj Khalifa

It’s incredibly impressive what the UAE has done in the short time its been around. To illustrate; an aunt who’s been married for some time recently said to me that she’s asked her husband to renovate their home and he’s dawdled over the matter until weeks became months which became years. Fifteen years later she is now able to say to him we still haven’t renovated our house and the UAE’s managed to build up an entire country in that time. I don’t think my uncle was impressed.

Getting a Emirates ID Card

 If I remember correctly, the first mention to the public of ID cards happened sometime in 2008.

The idea was to have super card that will eventually link bank accounts, health logs, drivers licenses, traffic fines, e gate cards etc and will massively contribute to the ease of the nation. It’s also more convenient for the government to have the records of its mostly-expat population, so in the event of death, for example, it will be a quicker and more convenient way for the government and families to deal with the situation of closing bank accounts and other records.

However, over the past two or three years, the application deadlines for expats and nationals have changed constantly to accommodate the apathetic attitude of the public to the cards. This was partly due to the fact that the online registration form did not work very well (You had to download some type of software to go with it and if you made a mistake you needed another form and would then have to download it from a different computer, it was slightly crazy), the ID card centres were always insanely busy and some government departments and banks had no idea what an ID card was. Dubai’s RTA had also made things easier for people who didn’t have an ID card saying it wouldn’t make it mandatory for people applying for drivers licenses etc to have an ID card.

As a result, the government has had to take a more hard-line approach to get people signing up to the card, it announced more achievable deadlines and also fines for people who didn’t sign up by that time.

The deadlines are separated between UAE nationals, government departments, each emirate and people who already have ID cards and need to renew them. I’ve attached a sheet with information regarding the deadlines, as you will see some deadlines have already been passed. People who have missed their deadline will be fined 20 dirhams per day to a maximum fine of 1,000 dirhams.

If you’ve just arrived in the UAE and are applying for a visa, your HR department should also set up an Emirates ID application for you since the visa and ID card application is now linked.

I hadn’t applied for my ID card till this week and only then because I was writing this blog (Even though I know the process I wanted to experience it) I think the main reason for my procrastination was possibly because of the queues. I had forgotten however that women in the UAE don’t really need to queue. The first part is really easy; you hand your passport over to a reputable typing centre (some are in the ID card centres but can get full very quickly) they fill in a form for you. This could take up to a day depending on how busy they are and the fees will be up to 400 dirhams at the typing centre.

You should get an sms before your appointment (I got mine the day of my appointment and had I not already known when it was thanks to the typing centre, it would have been a mad scramble)

When I got to the ID centre (I went to Al Barsha), there were about 40 men in a queue and my heart sank since we were apparently supposed to collect a ticket before heading to the appointment. This is a bit strange since you shouldn’t need a ticket to tell you when to go for your appointment since you have already been given a time.

Of course, since I was female I didn’t have to wait in the queue and someone very kindly scanned my document from the typing centre and handed me a ticket. Still, what a pointless hassle for the men! A friend says its because they need to check your documents are in order, but I honestly think this could be done during you ’appointment’

After that though, smooth sailing! You wait for your ticket number to be called, head to the appropriate desk and get your fingerprints and a picture taken. And then you’re done. The ID card should take around 6 weeks I’ve been told.

This is the Emirates ID website which may be of some use http://www.emiratesid.ae/en/process-and-fees/registration-process.aspx

Thank you for the positive and kind comments on Facebook and Twitter and please recommend my blog to people who are moving to the UAE.

As always if you have any questions or comments, please email me or comment below and I will do my best to help.

Next week, I’ll do a number of small topics and bunch them together Paying Fines, What to do in an accident, Salik Toll and e gate.