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[Noor]

UAE to Set Cultural Tests for Expats
The Media Line Staff

What is the country's official religion? What does the country's flag look like? These are two examples of the kinds of questions expats will soon have to answer as part of a new cultural test in the United Arab Emirates.

The new test is to be administered to expats applying for residency in the UAE as a way of testing their knowledge of local culture and traditions, local media reported.

"I agree with the suggestion," Sultan Sooud Al Qassemi, a UAE based businessman, told The Media Line.

"In the past few months we have had a series of incidents in which expatriate residents have been caught doing inappropriate things in public such as sexual intercourse on a public beach," he said.

Anyone who is not a resident of the six countries that constitute the Gulf Cooperation Council - Kuwait, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman - must apply for a residency visa in order to work in the UAE.

A committee made up of representatives from various ministries will be established in October to create strategies to improve expats' understanding of the country.

The oil-rich countries in the Gulf depend heavily on expat workers to fuel their growing economies. Recent statistics show that of the four million people working in the private sector in the Emirates, less that one percent is local.

"A knowledge booklet or even a brief test would ensure that the local customs are adhered to," Al Qassemi said. "The Emirati national population can't protect their identity considering the influx of foreigners without at least making them aware of the local sensitivities."

A majority of the foreign workers are employed in the construction and real estate sector, both flagship industries with continuous announcements of new and spectacular projects until the current economic crisis hit the region. The recession resulted in many expats leaving the country. For workers from India and Bangladesh, the economic development in India is gradually making it less attractive for natives of the sub-continent to move to the Gulf in order to find work.

Some estimates predict that by the end of the 2009, only one-third of the new apartments being constructed in the UAE will be occupied.

The huge number of foreigners means that the use of Arabic is becoming less frequent, and in 2008 a fine was issued to a restaurant that did not provide a menu in Arabic. While the lack of a common language has, to some extent, been replaced by a growing use of English, some locals are starting to use a hybrid tongue that mixes Arabic with Asian languages.

"I hope that it is implemented in a non-intrusive manner and that children and the elderly are exempt," Al Qassemi said.

http://www.gantdaily.com/news/36/ARTICLE/56289/2009-07-07.html

[Zoot]

Well now, knowing the colour of the country's flag is bound to stop sexual intercourse happening on beaches.

[veiledsentiments]

Oh gosh... now that made me laugh out loud... thanks noor!

It does make a certain amount of sense to provide some kind of booklet of rules to both expats and tourists and then when they break the laws, they know what to expect..

Hey Littleoldlady, do you think our age will exempt us?

VS

[anaxiforminges]

It's simple: boys wear dishdashas, girls nijabs, with no cross-dressing in between, at least not officially.

[Mia Xanthi]

Does it include the rule that the locals don't have to stand in line in Burger King, but can just honk the horn of their Mercedes to be served?

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

Yes. Nothing has changed here in over a hundred years!

NCTBA

[johnslat]

Dear NCTBA,
Well, 100 years ago there were no Mercedes, no Burger Kings. and no "take-out." But I catch your drift.

[Never Ceased To Be Amazed]

I appreciate that, John, as my beloved...who has not achieved the jadedness (yes, I jes' made that up!) that I've attained. hasn't a clue as to what I'm alluding to! Possibly as she has never even visited the front lines???

NCTBA