Dubai --- as an ordinary human being

Dubai

I recently had the privilege of travelling on a 7 day sojourn to Dubai, flying business class on Emirates Airline. Service on the flight was just ta!

In 1970 the area was little more than desert, with little infrastructure, little human capital and only one resource, oil. 

A vision was collectively set by the Emirates to become “The first, the best, the biggest”.
That vision has been spectacularly achieved on any number of counts, and Dubai is now the destination of choice across the planet.
I do not propose to list how and why Dubai can lay claim to the title “The first, the best, the biggest”.  You can just google this, starting with the Burj Khalifa (tallest), Burj Al Arab, Rose Rayhaan by Rotana (most expensive hotel), the Dubai Mall (biggest), Emirates Airline (largest airline) . .etc..etc.  The list is endless.

I was more interested in my impressions as an ordinary human being, not the rich and famous. So I did a lot of walking.

1.      It is an understatement to say that Dubai is beautiful. Let us just say that it is a never ending feast for the eyes.

2.      The streets were clean, well lit and marked.

3.      The whole place had an ambience that made you feel good, at peace, safe and alive.

4.      There were no signs of poverty, no beggars, no human misery.

5.      The air tasted good with not a hint of the scent of poverty.

6.      Shops were all well appointed and small and medium business enterprises were littered across all zones, barber shops, convenience and grocery stores, perfume stores, all kinds of food outlets … etc .. etc ... Everything was reasonably priced and of good quality.

7.      Foreign money could be exchanged very easily at no commission.

8.      Internet cafes provided excellent service at little cost at lightening connection speeds.

9.      Public transport, trains, buses and taxis were readily available at very reasonable rates, with waiting time of never more than 5 mins on any. The metro rail was always full, but everyone always behaved with due consideration for others.

10.   Toilets everywhere were scrupulously clean with most also providing hand lotions and scented condiments.

11.   What impressed me most were the people. It is quite difficult to imagine a more ethnically diverse populace, comprising a rich admixture of East, West and Arab with a sprinkling of African.

12.   I would need to be a poet, bard or painter to try and recreate the enormous variations of human facial beauty, physique and garb that is ever present on the streets and malls of Dubai. Even in my imagination I had not known so many variations of human beauty. And Yes, the girls seemed to outnumber the boys by a long way. Yummy!

13.   I felt immensely satisfied that the preferred skin tone, by a big margin, was some nice shade of brown.  Wonderful!  

In short I always felt good. I felt human. I felt safe. It was so good to be alive and part of the species known as homo sapiens.

So how did Dubai do it. How did it become the “The first, the best, the biggest”?
“A’ah but they have oil” I hear you blurt out. Truth is that oil comprises no more than 6% of their revenue! Gotcha! 

Note also that In 2010, the UAE's population was estimated at 8,264,070 of whom only 13% (less than 2 million) are UAE nationals or Emiratis, while the majority of the population are foreigners!!!!  Gotcha again!!!

The emirate's model of business drives its economy, with the effect that its main revenues are now from tourism, real estate, and financial services, similar to that of Western countries – NOT oil!

Real estate and construction (22.6%), trade (16%), entrepot (15%) and financial services (11%) are now the largest contributors to Dubai's economy. 6500 companies now have a trading base here. (124 of the Fortune 500) 95,000 small businesses now call Dubai home.

I did some research and crunched many numbers. The Emirates did it because they had real vision and very high emotional intelligence. They are innovative and imaginative, divested of irrational emotiveness. You really have to be psychologically and emotionally very mature to allow your own people to be outnumbered 7 to 1 by foreigners. Most of all you have understanding that diversity enriches, NOT impoverishes.

I met with fellow Africans from several African countries.  We had absolutely no difficulty in unconditionally accepting the spectacular achievement of the Emirates and tearfully lamenting the tragic failures of our own, especially Zimbabwe which had virtually unmatchable resources, infrastructure and human capital at Independence in April, 1980.
I mean how does a strip of desert become the world's No.1 tourist destination and Zimbabwe with its Victoria Falls, Kariba, Nyanga, Chimanimani, Vumba,  Hwange National Park .. etc . etc ... fail?  Who is fooling who here?
I could not answer a young Saudi lad who asked me to explain why we were persecuting the most productive sector in Zimbabwe with land grabs and indigenization, especially as these were not foreigners. 

I had been to my beloved homeland a month before. The comparison made me physically sick, especially remembering the smell of human misery as I drove into Harare at 5 am, when the air is supposed to be at its freshest.

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