I haven’t blogged in a while, so I apologize to my readers…how
did you get a long without me? Heehee…
following post is something that I’ve thought about for
a long time but couldn’t come up with how to best bring it across to those of
you back home without sounding negative about the UAE. My intention is to
simply inform and perhaps comment a bit about the culture. This can be tricky.
I want to give facts and have my readers decide. I love Abu Dhabi itself and
owe much to this country that has changed my life in such a positive way.
Driving to school this week while listening to a news report,
it dawned on me. I can bring news headlines across to those back home with some
clarification. In this way, aspects of the culture are coming across from a
more ‘official source’ with my experiences tied to them.
Here in the UAE, I’ve noticed a lot of ‘studies’ being done.
The following studies might seem simple and common sense to you and I.
Remember, please, that this country is only 42 years old, and the citizens of
the Emirate have come a very long way in very little time. There are some big
clashes, as you can imagine when you have a country that has a 20% population
of locals (Emirati), and 80% expats such as myself.
The following are actual reports here in the UAE, “A study
has been done to show that…”
- “Dr Eman Al Nuaimi, paediatric dentistry resident at the Dubai School, said poor parenting was because adults are unaware of the importance of taking care of teeth. “A number of children are brought for dental work and are put under general anaesthesia. It is expensive and can be prevented,” she said.” Taken from www.gulfnews.com
·
Well, I can say that when I look at my children
that many of them have teeth in the process of rotting. Poor parenting? Maybe a
lack of instilling proper nutrition (most students bring sugar filled items to
school) and lack of monitoring dental hygiene. I didn’t like them pointing the
finger at ‘poor parenting’. In teaching local children, it is very clear that
the parents care about their children. Most of my parents are involved in some
way, and those who aren’t I believe wish they were, but haven’t found their way
to be yet. Hopefully now that a ‘study’ has been done, citizens will take it to
heart and be more involved in brushing and maintaining their children’s teeth.
2.
‘Most traffic accidents and fatalities in the
UAE are due to a) speeding, b) not leaving enough stopping distance, and c) swerving
from one lane to another. We must change the ‘me first’ attitude and drive with
caution’ taken from news report on radio.
·
Hmmm…when I went home for Christmas and told my
friends that the Dubai police were getting a new fleet of cars able to catch up
to the drivers who go 300+ km/hr, they thought I was mistaken. I must have
meant 200km/hr? Wrong. Driving here is not as bad as you might think but you
have to be ready for anything at any time. Fog and rain are brutal conditions
when 350 out of the 365 days are beautiful and sunny. Driving in the so called
fast lane isn’t one of the things I like to do. Before you know it, you will
have a large SUV on your tail flashing their lights on you to move over. I
posted on Thursday via Facebook an article from KSA (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia)
noting that there is an average of 19 fatalities a day in that country from
traffic accidents. I can say in the UAE that it’s probably a lot safer due to
red light cameras and speeding sensors. Breaking one of these rules you’ll be
brightly “flashed” by the lights and fined accordingly. Why is speeding such an
issue? Not sure…perhaps the fines are not enough of a deterrent. The traffic
police and criminal courts are also separate, unlike at home where they are
tied, so there is a limit as to what the traffic police can do.
3.
“Of the more than two million calls made in Dubai, more than
500,000 of them were classified as situations not requiring immediate
attention. “One guy called us because he had locked himself out of his car.
That’s not an emergency,” said Brig Omar Abdul Aziz Al Shamsi, the director of
Command and Control Centre at Dubai Police “Some people call thinking their
issue is an emergency when, in fact, it does not qualify as one. One man
complained about a bad mobile phone signal, one was looking for help with a
leaking pipe and another trying to find a maid for his house.” Taken from www.thenational.ae
·
I don’t really have much of a defense here. I
think if I tried to defend this one, I would be insulting to the common sense
thinking citizens!
I predict that there will be more ‘studies’ done to try and
get main issues in the Emirate solved. I hope one is done (if it has already,
it should be again), on the importance of child safety seats in cars. 2 of the
3 studies above have to do with traffic…now realize most children are not in
proper seats or even belted in. Maybe there will be a study that will reveal
that our students should be taught according to more realistic outcomes? Hmmm…
Back home, I know we have our silly ways of doing things and
outdated laws too. I can only imagine the culture shock that Emirati citizens
might have should they go to North America and see our ways for themselves.
This blog was to bring across what I see, not to be negative. It may seem
backwards at first, but really, just different. Things are changing still.
Remember, 42 years ago, this was simply a fishing village with hardly any
vehicles or sugar. Four months here and I still feel the culture shock.
Thank you again for your readership!
xo
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