Racism in Dubai

I have written and re-written this post so many times now, I have lost count. The issue is I haven’t been able to find a balance between people who feel they have been picked on in parts of Dubai because of their colour/ nationality and others who feel like this ‘racism’ is used by people who are over-sensitive and even bigoted themselves.

So, this is my final draft of this post, everything that I’d written previously has been scrapped; make of it what you will.

Many of the people who wrote to me about the incidents of racism they felt had been directed toward them wrote in because they felt the need to highlight an injustice.

I am South African, I grew up in the latter part of apartheid; I remember bits of racist behaviour directed toward me during this time, but mostly I remember the feelings of helplessness my parents talked about. They knew they weren’t any different, they knew they were sometimes smarter than people who got jobs ahead of them, they knew that carrying around a dompas was against their human rights. Even so, there was nothing they could do. Racism is one of the worst forms of injustice and its definitely something we should all look to remove from our lives and from within ourselves. Who are we to judge someone based on their colour?

To know more about Apartheid in South Africa, see the links below.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid_in_South_Africa

http://www.southafrica.to/history/Apartheid/apartheid.htm

http://www.rebirth.co.za/apartheid.htm

http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/

So many colleagues and friends have mentioned they had been subject to racism in Dubai, that I felt it necessary to dedicate a post to the subject. Here in the UAE, it’s even more difficult to find a balance because of the more than 200 nationalities that live here. For some reason, instead of embracing the variety in the cultures here, most people promote classist attitudes and stereotyping.

If anything we should use the unique opportunity that we have here to promote unity.

Of course, this needs to also come from the highest levels. It is a tough bullet to bite when I know certain colleagues earn less than me because they are from a poor Arab country or the subcontinent.  It’s similarly difficult to forget that my South African colleagues are seen as cheap labour- despite the South African education system being far better than the British one. (This is my honest opinion, and having studied in both countries I am allowed to make this judgement.)

We should be judged on our abilities not our nationalities and it is something we should promote. People should be judged by their ability and not their colour. 

When I told people I was writing this post, I had dozens of emails with stories (thank you to everyone who sent me your stories, apologies if yours isn’t in here)

I’ve compiled some of the stories I was told, below. There are far too many to go into. Make your own judgements into whether or not they are racist.

A white colleague told me that during the US elections, he met a liberal-looking white American couple who live in the UAE…when he asked them if they would vote for Barack Obama and they  replied no, because: “Helllooooo, he’s black.”

I got an email from a girl- Gulf Arab- and because she was in traditional dress in Apres which I believe is a restaurant that serves alcohol in Mall of the Emirates, she was asked to leave. She felt ostracised, especially because they didn’t stop her when she walked in, and there were men in traditional dress in there too who were not asked to leave.

I decided to definitely write this post after an Indian colleague told me about her experience at the Dubai nightclub Malecon. She had booked a table for her and a few family members. They were told by the bouncer they could not enter because one of them was dressed with a traditional Indian top. After some argument, they were finally told they could enter as long as they left by midnight. I haven’t actually contacted Malecon to ask for their side of their story but this does seem to happen quite a lot across the clubs in Dubai and I’ve included another story below.

Boudoir is another club in Dubai and an Indian colleague who went there with a group of friends says they were turned away because of an apparent lack of reservation. This was minutes after the same bouncers allowed two girls, who were not Indian, into the venue and who didn't have a reservation. Also, when the group called friends who were in the club already- they said they hadn't needed a reservation which is what led them to believe the bouncers were racist.

Being an outsider to the stories above, it’s hard for me to distinguish whether or not the incidents were racist. But in my experience, people know when something is genuine or when someone is using their power for their own bigoted gain. Of course, in the first story, the American couple were clearly disapproving of Barack Obama because of his colour and one has to wonder about how they go about dealing with the 200 plus nationalities they presumably interact with on a daily basis.

Another colleague of mine from New Zealand wrote me a long email with regards to this post, bits of which I agree with. However, I think it brings up an interesting point that I’ve heard many tout. I will end this post on an excerpt from that email.

“Given the choice most people generally gravitate towards socializing with their own race. When a bunch of people from the same race get together, it is usually a safe environment to have a ‘bitch’ about another race. Which is unhealthy – but unfortunately true in many cases. The thing I find most alarming is the fact that people are just as rude an unaccommodating to their own race as they are any other. Racism is often the scapegoat that is used to describe the fact that a lot of people get treated badly here. The fact is Dubai is filled with rude and self-important selfish people. The people that are often identified as the most racist, I don’t believe it’s a race thing – I think that they just believe they are the most important people here.”

Public Transport Versus Car

Before I start, I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has been reading this blog since I started it a couple months ago. If the stats are correct, hundreds have read it so far and I hope it’s been helpful in giving you an understanding of what the UAE is like.

Most people in the UAE prefer to use cars, the government has been doing its best over the last couple of years to encourage people to use the metro and bus system and it has been a somewhat successful campaign because of the economic advantages.

Using the metro is really good for the environment and should absolutely be encouraged, which is what I would like to do in this post. But I have to admit if you’ve got guests, you will need a car.

Also, after speaking to regular metro users a lot, I find saving cash is one of big advantages of taking the metro and bus system for the moment.

Personally, on average I use the metro to work two out of five days in the week. Some weeks I use it every day, but usually its not always possible because I regularly have out of town guests and its not convenient lugging them around on the metro.

The only reason I can use the metro with reasonable ease is that the station is a ten-minute walk from my apartment block and then a ten-minute walk from my stop to my offices.

This is one of the reasons why taking the metro is difficult in Dubai: the lack of pavements. There are very few places to walk in Dubai and doing so can be quite dangerous because you will encounter roadworks in quite a large part of the city, which also makes walking a dusty experience.

This means you will have to take one of the many feeder buses that the RTA provides, which aren’t always available because they’re tend to be quite late.

This is a serious hindrance to an otherwise excellent system, the metro itself is always on time, always clean and very cheap. The cheapest in the world, we were told when it started up two years ago, though I am not sure if this is still true.

Buses in the city have gotten better and even cheaper than the metro but they are possibly the slowest mode of transport in the UAE. The buses are clean, air-conditioned and women get priority seating. But this mode is for people who will leave home 2 hours before they need to get into work. Also, the RTA drivers are always falling asleep and they drive ridiculously fast, so avoid it if you’re prone to motion sickness.

In Abu Dhabi, the bus drivers are much nicer and the buses seem cleaner, possibly because they are newer. The bus service are fewer than in Dubai, but they are more likely to be on time.

I have no idea about Sharjah bus services, but am sure it’s awful. Sorry, ignore that. That’s just my Sharjah bias.

Of course, one could always hire a taxi if you don’t want to buy a car but because of the high monthly cost, you may as well buy a car.

If I lived in Bur Dubai but worked in Deira, I would take a water taxi across the creek to work, or an abra. They’re cheap, convenient and just a lovely way to travel.

What I would suggest if you’re moving over and would like to use public transport rather than buy a car is make sure your apartment is very close to a metro station with a good walking area, and if your office is too, that’s a bonus. The main malls and places you’re likely to go have metro stations attached to them, which is useful. And, if you get guests but not very often, just hire a car for the week or however long they’re staying. You could hire a car for around 1800 dirhams a month, which is quite affordable.

Transferring your drivers license:

Most European, South African, Australian driving licenses are transferable in the UAE. All you need is a valid eye test, both the card and paper part and a nominal amount of money for typing. If you go to one of the many conveniently located RTA license offices, you will be able to convert your license. If you can’t do an eye test anywhere, there should be facilities at the RTA office. Depending on the time of day, the entire process including eye test shouldn’t take more than an hour.