ABU DHABI // The former US ambassador to the UAE has said that ignorance of the Arab world in his home nation could be affecting its government’s decision making when it comes to progress in the region.
William Rugh, who served in the role from 1992 to 1995, said more must be done to encourage US citizens and officials to visit the Emirates to improve their understanding of the country.
The former ambassador has been visiting the UAE this week as a guest of honour at the Abu Dhabi Festival.
“The Emirates has never been well understood by the American people,” he said.
“The Americans who visit the Emirates come away with a much better understanding of what it is really like here. I believe very strongly that there should be an exchange of persons, students and professionals.
“The American public is woefully ignorant of the Arab world generally and has stereotypical images in their minds, and the only way to really dispel that is to have direct face to face encounters with people in the region.
“Without coming here, American prejudices and preconceptions are not dispelled,” he said.
Mr Rugh said that this attitude could stand in the way when it came to developing ties with the Arab world.
“American policy includes the Congress and the American public and the press. The American president is powerful but he doesn’t operate in a vacuum – he must worry about and deal with the Congress and the public,” he said.
“If the Congress doesn’t have an open and balanced view of the Middle East, then it is handicapped. So the more American congressmen that come here the better, and I wish more would come. I also wish more Emiratis would meet with the American public and press to develop this understanding.”
Following his service as ambassador to the UAE, Mr Rugh was employed by the American Museum of Natural History to lead tours of Americans in the Arabian Gulf region.
“During that time I could see the stereotypes in the minds of the Americans melt away,” he said.
“We took them to visit colleges in the UAE and colleges for women in particular. There is a particular stereotype about Arab women but when we had them sit down with Emirati women and spend time talking to them, they realised that these young women are not only fluent in English, but knowledgeable about the world, sophisticated and more knowledgeable about America than any of them imagined.
“The whole concept of the Emirati woman changed. It wasn’t through the media in America or the stereotypes, it was face to face encounters. I was very pleased to do these trips because that brought to some Americans a first-hand experience of the real world in the UAE.
Mr Rugh said that despite the vast changes that have taken place in the UAE since his time in office, the values imparted on the nation by Sheikh Zayed, the founding President, still held true.
“I was here during the time of Sheikh Zayed and he was always talking about tolerance and openness, and he really meant it. I think his successors in the leadership have followed that policy. It is something that is appreciated in Washington by the people who know the UAE. For the people who cannot tell the difference between the UAE, Iraq or Lebanon, they should understand that the UAE is a special place.”
He stressed that education and experience was the way forward when it came to improving understanding of the region.
“I know there are American students and scholars here, sponsored by the US government, but I think there should be more. When I was here there weren’t any,” he said.
“But it is a wonderful place for Americans to learn about the culture, learn Arabic and learn how people think here. Americans and Arabs have a different world view in many respects but if we truly believe in tolerance then we need to understand how people think. It is as simple as that.”
ksinclair@thenational.ae
