Some thoughts on… A Tale of Two Cities
In January, we visited two Arabian cities – Dubai in the Unites Arab Emirates and Amman in Jordan. Formally, the two countries are recent creations. Jordan moved from British Rule in 1946 and was ruled by King Abdullah. The UAE was formed in 1971 out of the expiration of the Trucial States Council, when the Sheikhdoms united in the region to be governed by the Emirs.
Today, the countries are monarchies dating back to the Islamic caliphates. Yet Jordan’s written history goes back to the 2000 BCE. The countries are vibrant. Jordan has a population of 6.2 million in 2008 with a gross domestic product in purchasing power parity terms of $28 billion; UAE has a population of 4.6 million and $164B GDP PPP – a distinct per capita difference.
Yet when you visit the countries you never meet an Emirati national, whereas in Jordan you encounter locals in the streets, villages and stores. In Jordan, every one we met from the hotel security guard to the people in the stores, were all kind and welcoming. In the UAE, the population is mostly immigrants from South Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia. According to the CIA Factbook, the immigration rate for UAE is extraordinarily high at 25 migrants/ 1000 popn. Jordan has immigration as well at a rate of 6 migrants / 1000 population – much of this Palestinian. As a benchmark, despite our strong migrant population, in the US we have 3 migrations/ 1000 people.
Why is there a difference in the attitude of the locals between these two countries? Oil is an obvious answer to the exceptional economic performance, but why can you meet so many Jordanians and so few Emiratis?
The first reason may be that the Jordanians recognize the value of earning a living. Without a steady source of oil money, many Jordanians work at white collar and blue collar jobs. But the work goes beyond a source of income. There is a pride in the work that they are doing, and a purpose for a job well done. Waiter bustle around tables, gas attendants welcome you, and taxi drivers speak kindly. The people have pride in their work and in their country; and it seems that employment is not looked down upon. In Dubai, almost every sector of the economy from day laborers to business middle-men is imported. Emiratis hold top positions in domestic companies, e.g. EMAAR (real estate), Emirates (airlines), DEWA (gas and power), etc; and I would guess these appointments are influenced by the monarchy. But most of other workers are not Emirati. It would seem that the society does not take pride in a hard day’s work for their citizens.
The Jordanians also have a historic culture of engagement with the rest of the world. Located next to Jerusalem, the area is a holy land to the three Abrahamic religions. We visited the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and also went up Mt. Nebo where Moses led his people and viewed the Promised Land before he died. The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea have been crossed and re-crossed for millennia by travelers and civilizations – Nabatean, Parthian, Sassanian. The need to intermingle with foreign cultures is apparent in the attitudes of villagers and city folks – people are interested in knowing where you are from and at the same time have pride in their own country. We encountered only one child who asked for money (at one of the tourist sites), otherwise people sold their goods, but had the pride not to beg – a welcome relief from India and Egypt where one is consistently accosted. In Dubai, there is a distance from strangers or foreigners. Even if you are eating at a restaurant or café and other Emiratis are present, they will rarely speak to you let alone acknowledge you. The Bedouin roots may still be strong in these interactions.
Finally, the Jordan Valley and surrounding areas are a cornucopia for agriculture. Driving through the country side we saw tomatoes, romaine, and oranges selling by the road side along with fruit/ juice stands even in the smallest villages. Such abundant land requires maintenance and fealty. One doesn’t just invest in the land and then walk away a few years later once it is used up. This practice of disposable land use may be possible in the middle of the desert where it is easy to keep moving to new areas without leaving much behind. In Jordan though once you leave the fertile valley, there are not many other areas to settle. Arable land is not plentiful in Jordan, and is practically non-existent in Dubai. Land in Jordan is protected and maintained. Dubai in some ways feels like a disposable city. Of course massive structures are being built – indoor ski slopes, the world’s tallest building, a replica of the globe in the middle of the water. But in the end, the plastic quality (or Vegas on steroids feel) makes me think that if they tire of this city the Emiratis may just move on in their limousines and build another Dubai II a hundred miles into the desert.
In the post 9/11 world, there are so many stereotypes of Arabs, and it is very difficult to characterize a region, but I think anyone would do well to visit Jordan and see a gentler-side of Arab culture.
It will be interesting to see how these cities develop over the next few decades. But I would think that for Dubai to exist as a cultural entity for the next 1000 years, it will need to adopt some of the Jordanian practices.
February 1, 2009
Today, the countries are monarchies dating back to the Islamic caliphates. Yet Jordan’s written history goes back to the 2000 BCE. The countries are vibrant. Jordan has a population of 6.2 million in 2008 with a gross domestic product in purchasing power parity terms of $28 billion; UAE has a population of 4.6 million and $164B GDP PPP – a distinct per capita difference.
Yet when you visit the countries you never meet an Emirati national, whereas in Jordan you encounter locals in the streets, villages and stores. In Jordan, every one we met from the hotel security guard to the people in the stores, were all kind and welcoming. In the UAE, the population is mostly immigrants from South Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia. According to the CIA Factbook, the immigration rate for UAE is extraordinarily high at 25 migrants/ 1000 popn. Jordan has immigration as well at a rate of 6 migrants / 1000 population – much of this Palestinian. As a benchmark, despite our strong migrant population, in the US we have 3 migrations/ 1000 people.
Why is there a difference in the attitude of the locals between these two countries? Oil is an obvious answer to the exceptional economic performance, but why can you meet so many Jordanians and so few Emiratis?
The first reason may be that the Jordanians recognize the value of earning a living. Without a steady source of oil money, many Jordanians work at white collar and blue collar jobs. But the work goes beyond a source of income. There is a pride in the work that they are doing, and a purpose for a job well done. Waiter bustle around tables, gas attendants welcome you, and taxi drivers speak kindly. The people have pride in their work and in their country; and it seems that employment is not looked down upon. In Dubai, almost every sector of the economy from day laborers to business middle-men is imported. Emiratis hold top positions in domestic companies, e.g. EMAAR (real estate), Emirates (airlines), DEWA (gas and power), etc; and I would guess these appointments are influenced by the monarchy. But most of other workers are not Emirati. It would seem that the society does not take pride in a hard day’s work for their citizens.
The Jordanians also have a historic culture of engagement with the rest of the world. Located next to Jerusalem, the area is a holy land to the three Abrahamic religions. We visited the site where Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist and also went up Mt. Nebo where Moses led his people and viewed the Promised Land before he died. The Jordan Valley and the Dead Sea have been crossed and re-crossed for millennia by travelers and civilizations – Nabatean, Parthian, Sassanian. The need to intermingle with foreign cultures is apparent in the attitudes of villagers and city folks – people are interested in knowing where you are from and at the same time have pride in their own country. We encountered only one child who asked for money (at one of the tourist sites), otherwise people sold their goods, but had the pride not to beg – a welcome relief from India and Egypt where one is consistently accosted. In Dubai, there is a distance from strangers or foreigners. Even if you are eating at a restaurant or café and other Emiratis are present, they will rarely speak to you let alone acknowledge you. The Bedouin roots may still be strong in these interactions.
Finally, the Jordan Valley and surrounding areas are a cornucopia for agriculture. Driving through the country side we saw tomatoes, romaine, and oranges selling by the road side along with fruit/ juice stands even in the smallest villages. Such abundant land requires maintenance and fealty. One doesn’t just invest in the land and then walk away a few years later once it is used up. This practice of disposable land use may be possible in the middle of the desert where it is easy to keep moving to new areas without leaving much behind. In Jordan though once you leave the fertile valley, there are not many other areas to settle. Arable land is not plentiful in Jordan, and is practically non-existent in Dubai. Land in Jordan is protected and maintained. Dubai in some ways feels like a disposable city. Of course massive structures are being built – indoor ski slopes, the world’s tallest building, a replica of the globe in the middle of the water. But in the end, the plastic quality (or Vegas on steroids feel) makes me think that if they tire of this city the Emiratis may just move on in their limousines and build another Dubai II a hundred miles into the desert.
In the post 9/11 world, there are so many stereotypes of Arabs, and it is very difficult to characterize a region, but I think anyone would do well to visit Jordan and see a gentler-side of Arab culture.
It will be interesting to see how these cities develop over the next few decades. But I would think that for Dubai to exist as a cultural entity for the next 1000 years, it will need to adopt some of the Jordanian practices.
February 1, 2009