Emirati Kids, Does the UAE Feel Like Home To You?

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by Lamya Roslyn

Emirati Kids, Does the UAE Feel Like Home To You?

30 May 2024

Whether you are a local, a third-culture kid, or a foreigner, the rapid growth of the UAE can sometimes feel like a constant race to keep up. Does this rapid development lead to abandoning traditions to adapt to an ever-evolving landscape, or does it create a sense of opportunity while still giving you the space to preserve your culture?

Mariam, Rouda, Khawla and Hind, who come from different regions of the UAE, have witnessed firsthand the remarkable transformations the country has experienced over the generations. To ensure the participants' privacy, their full names and other details are not to be mentioned. Also, to achieve the consistency required for this article, all participants are women in their 20s who come from different emirates.

Today, they take us through what it really means to be an Emirati kid.

Mariyam, RAK, 23

— In one word, what does the UAE mean to you?

— Treasure

— How do you define "home"?

— A place where I can see the palm trees

— What was the best part of your childhood?

— My mom is from Ras Al Khaimah, I loved going to RAK to my grandparents’ cause my Grandma had a Baqala, which meant free snacks for me.

— Can you share a story passed down to you by your grandparents?

— My grandpa once taught me how to catch lightning, or, know when the lightning comes on a rainy day. Supposedly, after every three thunders, one lightning strikes. It works on normal rainy days, not just during storms. To this day, I am testing this theory.

— What is the best part of your culture? What is your favourite ritual or tradition?

— Our clothing is very detailed but also personalised to every woman wearing a Mukhawar and I find that special; there are endless designs and to this day I have never seen one clothing that matches another girl and I like that personalisation.

— How concerned are you about the UAE losing its cultural practices? What do you do to help preserve them?

— I do see the UAE’s culture melting down but at the same time since the UAE welcomes so many nationalities it is bound to happen. However, I do think the UAE’s culture is really rich and should be remembered and I hope to continue seeing festivals celebrating the culture, its people, our heritage and other national celebrations. I hope these celebrations remind me to continue practising our culture daily and not just at events.

— What does "culture" and "family" mean to you?

— Culture simply identifies a group of people and gives them a pathway to how they behave. It is really hard for me to describe family, I have been thinking of an answer for the last 30 minutes and couldn't come up with anything. This does not mean that I dislike my family, on the contrary, I love them and choose to stick with them regardless of the many downs we had. I think Emirati families go through a lot of trouble and we choose to conceal it from the world to make the picture perfect.

— What role do you believe you play in shaping the future of the UAE?

— I am very education-oriented and I hope to invest so much in myself in academia to give back to the community in the UAE through my studies. So far I have pushed myself to attend a research-based institution, and studied abroad to learn from other cultures and see where my culture and others align; the research institution exposed me to hundreds of concepts where I wouldn't get this high education anywhere else.

I wish to contribute to research and publish practical studies of things that matter to the UAE.

— How do you see traditional Emirati culture intersecting with modernity in your daily life?

— In one way, I love seeing cultures mix together, but not to the extent that it erases their context. I guess it concerns me with modesty, I don't mean it in the sense that people are not wearing modest clothes in public that is their business, but I personally think it is distasteful to wear Emirati traditional wear in a flashy manner. For example, wearing a crop top under an open Abaya which I am seeing a lot these days from both foreigners and Emirati women. Emirati traditional clothing is all modest so to remove this aspect, it becomes non-traditional.

— What are some places in the emirate you live in that are strongly connected with your childhood?

— Khalidiyah has a special place in my heart, since I was a kid the area has not changed, it is still really busy and chaotic in a beautiful way where it just works.

— Can you compare how your emirate looked 20 years ago (or so) and now?

— More urban but Abu Dhabi sticks to being a cultural city which I find comfort in.

— What’s the strangest question/sentence you have ever heard from a foreigner?

— Here; I mostly hear foreigners believe that all Emiratis are rich or have stable lives, you just don't know what happens behind closed doors, and no not all Emiratis are rich. When I was abroad, I was called “exotic” which also weirded me out.

Rouda, Abu Dhabi, 21

— In one word, what does the UAE mean to you?

— Home.

— How do you define "home"?

— Home is a place where I feel safe to let out all my emotions. It’s a place I can ground myself in and restart.

— What was the best part of your childhood?

— Now that I look back at it, school was the best part of my childhood. I am a very social person by nature, so my school was the place for me to make friends and also where I could be intellectually stimulated and motivated!

— Can you share a story passed down to you by your grandparents?

— My grandmother would always tell us stories about the past. A story she passed down to me is how she would take all her children, including my mom, to a Quran memorisation centre. When the children finished memorizing part of the Quran, the centre would take the children to the neighbourhood and celebrate! They call this celebration/ tradition “التومينة” where all the families in the neighbourhood would throw sweets on the children to praise them for memorizing. This also happens to be a core memory for my mom!

— What is the best part of your culture? What is your favourite ritual or tradition?

— The best part of my culture is that we are family-orientated people. My favourite tradition will forever be weekly family gatherings!

— How concerned are you about the UAE losing its cultural practices? What do you do to help preserve them?

— I believe the UAE has provided consistent efforts to preserve cultural practices, however, families need to lead by example to pass our cultural practices on to the coming generations more actively rather than loosely mentioning these practices. “Show don’t tell”.

— What does "culture" and "family" mean to you?

Personally, culture is the mosaic that glues my ancestry, my identity, and my future all together. It is the very essence of who I am as a person. I am part of the culture, and the culture is part of me. Family does not simply mean blood-related, it’s a feeling, a sense of belonging and familiarity that connects me to whoever is in front of me.

— What role do you believe you play in shaping the future of the UAE?

— The youth, including myself, play a vital role in shaping the UAE’s future. We are the leaders of tomorrow hence it’s our responsibility to ensure that the UAE will always be the leading pioneer in all fields.

— How do you see traditional Emirati culture intersecting with modernity in your daily life?

— We have been taught to carry the Emirati identity with pride everywhere we go, whether it’s through the food we eat, the clothes we wear, or even the traditional sayings we drop in a conversation! We may not recognise how much the traditional Emirati culture intersects with our daily lives because it is simply a part of who we are.

— What are some places in the emirate you live in that are strongly connected with your childhood?

— I am from Alain and proudly so! I moved to Abu Dhabi to pursue my career, but there is nothing that compares to the warmth and peacefulness that Alain has to offer. I go back to Alain every weekend, and it is the best way to disconnect from all the chaos that happens in my daily life. It’s like a switch that turns off, and all I feel is safe and calm. It’s a lovely way to recharge!

— Can you compare how your emirate looked 20 years ago (or so) and now?

— Well, I am 21, so maybe 20 years would not be a fair comparison. But, Abu Dhabi, more specifically Alain has become a more lively city than before. This means that there are more people visiting Alain for its tourist destinations and it’s creating movement in Alain. The best part of all of this is when foreigners tell me that they love visiting Alain! Another thing to add to it is that Alain has a great market for coffee shops compared to before! I always find myself exploring a new coffee shop during weekends when I am back in Alain.

— What’s the strangest question/sentence you have ever heard from a foreigner?

— “You have a heavy American accent as an Emirati!”

Khawla, Dubai, 24

— In one word, what does the UAE mean to you?

— Home.

— How do you define "home"?

— For me, home is a place that I feel safe in, a place that I feel comfortable, happy and loved and my home is where my sisters are because they are my home and they are the best thing that happened in my life.

— What was the best part of your childhood?

— Going to my grandparents every Friday. It was and still is the best part of my week.

— Can you share a story passed down to you by your grandparents?

— When we were kids my grandma used to talk about a woman called “Umm al duais” ام الدويس. She’s a ghost who is so pretty that all men are attracted to but the second a man goes to her she hunts him down and eats him… to be honest I have no idea if this is real or what the moral of the story even is, but I share the same story to the younger generation to scare them. I know this is not a very friendly story to tell kids but it was so funny and scary at the same time.

— What is the best part of your culture? What is your favourite ritual or tradition?

— My favourite part of my culture is that we always help one another, love and respect each other, and are always there for others.

— How concerned are you about the UAE losing its cultural practices? What do you do to help preserve them?

— To be honest, I am not worried about the UAE losing its cultural practices because we are always teaching our kids about it and that will never change.

— What does "culture" and "family" mean to you?

— For me culture is empowerment, the beliefs and reflecting our traditions in each other and the people around us. “Family“ is not who you were raised with, family are the ones you choose to be with in life, friends can be a part of your family, and for me, the people I call family are my safe space they are the ones who I love and care about, who are always there for me and I will always be there for them and that’s love.

— What role do you believe you play in shaping the future of the UAE?

— As an Emirati woman, I am trying my best to share the knowledge and ideas that can help shape a brighter future for the UAE, by working hard and learning new things every day, helping people around me and always remembering to be kind to one another.

— What’s the strangest question/sentence you have ever heard from a foreigner?

— Once someone said “You have so much money, why don’t you buy me a house?“ and I just walked away because I couldn’t stop laughing.

Hind, Abu Dhabi, 25

— In one word, what does the UAE mean to you?

— Home.

— How do you define "home"?

— A place where you feel utterly safe and comfortable.

— What was the best part of your childhood?

— Growing up in Abu Dhabi as it grew as well.

— Can you share a story passed down to you by your grandparents?

— My grandfather used to speak proper English better than his kids because he worked with the British back in the '60s & '70s.

— What is the best part of your culture? What is your favourite ritual or tradition?

— I love the Emirati clothes that we wear to big events or Eid. It is so glamorous.

— How concerned are you about the UAE losing its cultural practices? What do you do to help preserve them?

— I am not concerned because just like our parents instilled the love for their cultural practices in us, we do the same with our little cousins and future kids.

— What does "culture" and "family" mean to you?

— Culture means the rituals, food and clothes we wear to represent our country. Family means safety and love to me.

— What role do you believe you play in shaping the future of the UAE?

— I feel like no matter what I do, I will always feel like it is not enough because of how much the UAE has given me. Nevertheless, I have studied and worked to ensure my country remains at the top.

— How do you see traditional Emirati culture intersecting with modernity in your daily life?

— I feel like as modern as life gets here, our traditions and culture remain. For example, I go out to modern events wearing our traditional Emirati clothes and gold.

— What are some places in the emirate you live in that are strongly connected with your childhood?

— Al Mushrif City.

— Can you compare how your emirate looked 20 years ago (or so) and now?

— I feel like even 20 years ago, Abu Dhabi looked beyond its years and looked even better than some cities nowadays. But 20 years later, the growth has been indescribable.

by Lamya Roslyn