How fractured is society there between locals, Western ex pats and imported, indentured labour To me personally, life here is what you make of it. You can mix and learn from so many different cultures or you can stick to what you know and are comfortable with. Society in Dubai is incredibly culturally diverse. But generally speaking, I think itis somewhat pretty fractured because of all the different identities, class brackets and cultural differences amongst the residents. People do mix, no doubt, but there still is a strong element of cultural segregation because some of the cultural differences are quite extreme and, in general, many people like to stick to what they know.Laborers are pretty much still marginalized as are the rest of blue collar society. Also, the U.A.E doesn’t offer citizenship to foreigners and only allows entry on a conditional basis. If you’re not working here, own no property, and you’re not a tourist…you can’t come in. I think that factor also has a big role in segregating people because it limits your level of integration into society, and makes it quite clear that not everyone is equal. It’s important to note though that the Emirati nationals make up less than 20% of the population in their own country, so from the government’s perspective all it is trying to do is directly help and support it’s own people. How much is Dubai a metaphor for the wider world today I think it’s a great metaphor for the wider world because what’s going on in Dubai is no different, essentially, to what’s going on in the rest of the world. If we are talking about the negative aspects, this whole planet functions pretty much through exploitation, racial inequality, human rights violations, financial corruption/deceit etc.. It’s everywhere, and it’s been like that throughout most of history. Of course not all people or those in positions of power are guilty of those type of things, but they are very prominent characteristics
of global society and they happen/have happened here just like anywhere else. But I think in most other places those kinds of issues have had more time to improve or have become very well camouflaged and not as blatant. In Dubai’s case, it’s been on overdrive for the past 20 years trying to be as much as possible, as quickly as possible and at the most strategic cost possible. And In doing that I think it has over- exposed itself a bit which has allowed those type of things to stick out like sore thumbs. I think the recent recession may have been a very well needed break for the city because it’s allowed it to cool down and reflect on itself more, which has in turn shifted a lot of attention to those kinds of issues and on means of improving them, which is great. When it comes to the materialistic aspect which some people associate with Dubai, everybody these days it seems (no matter where you are) is on some Hollywood shit. But in Dubai’s case I think the degree of materialism and commodity obsession can get quite intense because so many people who come here think that that is what life in Dubai is about, or should be about. Which is really annoying and frustrating for people