I recently had a conversation with a friend and colleague of mine about race and ethnicity. It's obvious here in the UAE that the Emiratis are at the top of the social pyramid. That's probably no surprise to any of you reading this. And so my friend and I were discussing the uncertainty of our lives and careers here. We both agreed that if something unfortunate were to happen - like getting into a car wreck where an Emirati was injured or killed, or if an Emirati perceived that we had insulted them or their family, or if an Emirati leveled an accusation against us that we had done something unethical or illegal - we question whether we would get fair treatment in a court. We could be on a plane out of the country (or worse) pretty quickly.
Now we don't fear for this on a daily basis, but it's always there in the back of your mind. If you're in the wrong place at the wrong time - well - the Dubai dream is over for you. I told my friend, "It makes me always think about having a backup plan, a fall-back, an exit strategy. I just never know when I might have to leave. I can't trust that the system will work for me and so I feel like I live with a lot of uncertainty here." And my professor friend - who happens to be African-American - said, "I feel like I've always lived with the reality that I might not get fair treatment. I've never had a lot of faith that the system would work to protect me." We both sat there for a second and he added, "Living here must be really interesting for you."
And it is. It's a completely new experience for me to not be at the top of the social pyramid. Until I moved here, I never gave a lot of thought to what it meant to be white and well-off in America. I'm now seeing that there was a lot of certainty and security that came along with that.
I would like to believe that everyone is treated equally in the US, but I just don't think that's the case. And even if I am aware of the inequality of races in America - and even if I speak up for change - as a white person I still don't feel what non-white Americans feel. I don't feel the weight of the day-to-day uncertainty about my life, my family, my career, my reputation, and my personal safety. The insecurity that creeps in when you're not a part of the dominant social group is palpable.
Interesting, indeed.
Now we don't fear for this on a daily basis, but it's always there in the back of your mind. If you're in the wrong place at the wrong time - well - the Dubai dream is over for you. I told my friend, "It makes me always think about having a backup plan, a fall-back, an exit strategy. I just never know when I might have to leave. I can't trust that the system will work for me and so I feel like I live with a lot of uncertainty here." And my professor friend - who happens to be African-American - said, "I feel like I've always lived with the reality that I might not get fair treatment. I've never had a lot of faith that the system would work to protect me." We both sat there for a second and he added, "Living here must be really interesting for you."
And it is. It's a completely new experience for me to not be at the top of the social pyramid. Until I moved here, I never gave a lot of thought to what it meant to be white and well-off in America. I'm now seeing that there was a lot of certainty and security that came along with that.
I would like to believe that everyone is treated equally in the US, but I just don't think that's the case. And even if I am aware of the inequality of races in America - and even if I speak up for change - as a white person I still don't feel what non-white Americans feel. I don't feel the weight of the day-to-day uncertainty about my life, my family, my career, my reputation, and my personal safety. The insecurity that creeps in when you're not a part of the dominant social group is palpable.
Interesting, indeed.
Imagine being black, Mexican, AND gay! Does that make me three times less likely to receive equitable treatment?
ReplyDeleteNot necessarily. My African-American buddy says that "Dubai is a pretty easy place to be black." There's really no social stigma attached to being black. Africans have been a part of the life of the city for a long time.
ReplyDeleteThe low-status people here are the ones from south Asia (Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka).
Finally, this is a Muslim country. There are no gay people here. ;)