ABU DHABI // Social clubs, sports groups, women’s networks and playgroups are among the ways residents of different nationalities interact.
Saba Al Humari, 38, an Iraqi medical student, has made friends from different countries while studying in the emirate. “I am friends with all nationalities,” says the Abu Dhabi resident. “I have American and British friends.”
Anthropology professor Dr Jane Bristol-Rhys says as the country grows, more cultural activities are being staged across the emirates to encourage social interaction.
“There are many cultural activities in the cities that draw many different nationalities,” she says. “I have met so many people at concerts on the Corniche or Yas Island or even at a restaurant. I think we have many places where people can meet and make friends.”
Most workplaces are multicultural and present a chance for social integration, says Dr Bristol-Rhys.
“They are the first people you meet here. There are very few companies in UAE that are not multicultural. No matter where you go you are surrounded by people from different parts of the world.
“It can be the Filipino lady at the shop or a Nepalese taxi driver who takes you to work, or a doctor from Germany.”
It is impossible not to interact with people from different cultures in a multicultural multi-ethnic country, she says.
“There is a great level of interaction among different communities here,” she says. “I have or have had friends from every country in the world. I have been invited to functions from embassies of countries I did not know existed.”
Abderrazzak Sarhane, 41, a Moroccan-Tunisian expat, has many friends of different nationalities, “from Denmark, Germany, Egypt, Normandy, Lebanon”, he says.
He says he met friends through work and playing football.
“For me it is very important that I meet different nationalities because I must know all the world and all characters and all attitudes and all things from different countries.”
jbell@thenational.ae
arizvi2@thenational.ae
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A survey, commissioned by The National and carried out by YouGov, polled 1,056 Emiratis and expatriates on social integration in the UAE. Results showed that respondents believed expatriates had an obligation to gain a basic knowledge of Arabic culture and Islamic influence before relocating to the UAE. The survey showed that UAE residents are willing to mix with different nationalities however differences become apparent at the workplace where salary disparities exist depending on an employees nationality.
Read more on our social integration survery here:
■ Expats should be more aware of UAE culture, survey respondents say
■ UAE residents stress importance of preserving Arabic language
■ UAE residents happy to mix with different nationalities, survey shows
