Question

Wha are the benefits and challenges of diversity across UAE ?

Answer 1

"People mix with different cultures here because it's a good place for that. [The UAE] is the perfect place to mingle with people from different backgrounds. That's what I do," Raju Mathew, a 42-year-old Indian, said.

Mathew believes that people here are given the opportunity to learn about the cultures of different countries, and incorporate positive ideas into their own culture, if one keeps an open mind.

Elcy Buenavides from the Philippines sees that "there is a mix of people who stick to their own culture in the UAE, but because of the work environment, people are exposed to different nationalities." She said that constant interaction has helped intercultural communication, but she has still seen cases of prejudice when "applying for the same job as other people, you will get a different package" depending on nationality.

Attentiveness

"It also happens in some stores or restaurants," she said about the attentiveness to customers depending on their nationality or ethnicity.

Ritu Chawla-Ray, an Indian national, said that although she has not experienced discrimination, she has heard several cases from her friends.

Chawla-Ray said that she likes to take advantage of the multicultural community in the country by meeting people from different places, but "when observing other people closely, they stay with their own nationality."

She acknowledges that there are people who enjoy intercultural socialising, but some people "feel more comfortable within their own culture."

According to Mahboub Hashem, mass communication professor at the American University of Sharjah (AUS), "people socialise with similar others because they share common elements with fewer unknowns. If you don't know the person, you might not feel comfortable so self-disclosure doesn't take place, which is vital for successful communication."

Talking about cultural diversity increasing interaction the Lebanese-American professor said: "On a formal level, yes, people are interacting with other cultures, but on an informal level it doesn't seem so because of uncertainty and the unknown reaction of different others."