- The United Arab Emirates donated $100 million to Hurricane Katrina relief.
- Ethnic "Emiratis" comprise less than 20% of UAE's population; most people there are Indians, Iranians, or non-Emirati Arabs.
- Centuries before the discovery of oil in Abu Dhabi (the largest Emirate), the sheikhdoms of present-day UAE profited from the pearl trade, which attracted brutal Portuguese colonists, and later the British.
- The UAE enjoys a robust trade relationship with the West, buying billions of dollars of goods each year from the U.S. alone.
- Many Emiratis need not work thanks to generous revenue checks from the government; some worry about the long-term effects this life of extreme leisure and luxury may have on young people.
- Many American and French Universities are opening up profitable campuses and satellites in the UAE.
Saturday, January 19, 2013
Random U.A.E. facts
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Regarding your last point: In reading a book about the link of Saudi Arabia to terrorism, one of the ideas put forth is that idle, well education populations (especially young) become a breeding ground for fanaticism.
ReplyDeleteIt's an interesting idea, I have no idea how valid it is.
I think there's a mix. Groups like al qaeda recruit among the very poor but there are certainly a large number of educated (often in the West!) and wealthy folks who become ideological leaders. Bin Laden, of course, was from a family of privilege and connection. Saudi is a *very* rich and a *very* conservative country, but I think it's usually the "idle" class who sets public policy. My sense is that's true in *most* cultural contexts, regardless of east vs. west, secular vs. religious, "good" vs. "bad" policy, etc.
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