Day #2 – Introduction to the UAE

Preconceived notions should be a thing of the past. Formulate an opinion only when you are able to see for yourself the truth.

Many people in the western world have many preconceived notions about the Arab world. Interestingly, they all may be wrong. What we hear in biased media outlets or watch in movies portray a world so remote and unrealistic to what we know and are used to. For the first time today, I listened to our new friends give an interesting perspective on their misunderstood world. It is safe to say that this part of the Middle East is very different from what we think we know.

The first thing we must understand, they explained, is that traditions they are known for may not be Islam requirement, but a cultural practice that has existed for many years. The practice of having more than one wife is a cultural issue as opposed to a religious fundamental. Our friends tell us that even the practice of arranged marriages, a tradition, is slowly becoming the thing of the past. What surprised me the most on this first day was the willingness to respond honestly about any question we pose to them. Our young friends and counterparts have been very open and transparent with their detailed explanations of their lives, culture, traditions, and opinions about everything and anything. It was interesting to hear that their biggest concern is moving forward in a western-dominated world while at the same time, keeping the values and morals of their traditions and religion. This internal struggle is more than definitely apparent when speaking with the people of the UAE.

This was also reiterated during our visit with the United States Embassy in Abu Dhabi. What was strange was that we couldn't take pictures of our own Embassy. I guess it was more of a security issue. But I can tell you that the building is oddly shaped. Look it up online, if you are lucky enough to find it, you'll know what I am talking about.

This morning was spent in the lavish Emirati Palace that cost over $4 billion. The huge building houses guests of the crown prince such as world leaders and royalty. After touring the Palace, we were introduced to the goals and missions of our hosting entity, the Emirates Foundation. The Foundation, according to our guest speaker, is one of UAE's foremost philanthropic organizations that focuses on youth development, knowledge creation, national society and heritage. The Foundation provides financial support to individuals and groups to help further their missions and goals. They spend about Dhr100M on about 50 project every year, working with international companies and partnering with the private sector.

I also learned that just because this country has an insane amount of money, does not mean that all of their people are well-off and not needing to worry about life in general. Apparently, there is a significant number of individuals who are unemployed or who cannot get a job. I had asked what the unemployment rate was, but I was told that it was difficult to come up with that exact percentage as they are recreating the process of determining such as the number of 10-14% was unclear. But what struck me the most was the fact that the government does so much for their people to make sure that they have jobs and a living to provide for their families, that they go to the extent of informing unemployed individuals of opportunities to get jobs. My favorite quote of the presentation is that the UAE is “trying to be an honest-based economy.”

The biggest problem they are having in the realm of labor is the availability of human resources in specific fields. They recognize that everyone wants to be a manager or be in upper management which creates a gap for the vocational and technical specialties. They are gradually taking the initiative to provide training for such jobs in order to encourage Emiratis to fill such positions. Everywhere you turn in the Abu Dhabi (at least my perception as of now considering we have yet to visit other places) you see a lot of non-Emirati opening the doors, serving drinks and food, driving, and even the secretarial jobs ... I had asked why this was so, comparing Guam's current work force in which these jobs are usually occupied by outer pacific islanders and filipinos. The response surprised me only because it was a simple answer that was not expected as the preconceived notion of “only outsiders should do these jobs” prejudiced my thinking. The answer was really simple. It was about education and population. There are not enough Emiratis to go around to fill such jobs. Jobs in the UAE are based and determined by the level of education. There is a strict procedure on the educational qualifications of any position. Because Emiratis are intent on the foundation of education and its importance, they place incentives for acquiring that undergraduate degree ... which is job security and the availability of choices in employment. And this is the thinking that we need to have at home. Guam is such a small community and we have the resources to implement and to encourage our people to get an education, to get a great job, and to get a better life, but the majority of our mindsets have been stuck to the essence that we do what we do because we are used to it and do not like change.

People on Guam preach about change and they moan and bitch about change, and they scream and yell about change. Has change occurred within the past decade? Or the past two decades? Of course not. What we need to learn from the Emiratis is progressive, positive, and optimistic thinking. We are always stuck on the notion that nothing is going to change, that no matter what will be done, we are always going to fail. I will be the first to admit that the past few days, I have been pessimistic about my future on the island. I grew up on Guam and it is my home, but the actions of our leaders have lead me to continuously wonder if staying or coming back home from seeing and learning about the world is worth it because there may not be a home to come back to. If I learned anything in this one day, it is that such positive thinking and optimism will get you far.