Experience Dubai, there is no other place like it

Experiences are yardsticks by which societies are measured. Good experiences help communities project the right image which in turn helps them improve to become role models for others to emulate. This explains why archaeologists and experts in documentation work hard to unearth all they can about ancient civilisations before conveying the experiences, history, culture and heritage of these civilisations to others.

The Dubai experience on the other hand is unique in terms of the accomplishments and challenges at various levels. A fledgling emirate — with scant oil resources, geographically disadvantaged with a sweltering climate and sunshine all year round, with conflicts happening around it and a population with nothing great to boast about — Dubai has grown by leaps and bounds. Many so-called experts have been in a hurry to criticise this young city calling it a failure even as it set out on a path of development. And many others still pounce on it saying the growth graph can fall steeply at any time.

But Dubai has proven otherwise. It has shown that it is on the path towards development, sure and steady, and that it can overcome any challenge. Examples are many and not too far apart. How did Dubai fix a date and time for the start of the Dubai Metro months before? Same goes for the inauguration of Burj Khalifa, the iconic and tallest structure in the world. Dubai is amazing. It had and still has the confidence and accuracy in what it does and accomplishes them perfectly even as the world reels under the shock of the financial crisis.

It’s time people are let into the details of how the city has grown. And Dubai has every right to be proud, proud of its achievements, proud of what it

The emirate is the hope of the region in its success. And that makes it important to document its achievements has attained in this short span of time.

During its journey, Dubai has learnt a valuable lesson, to turn a deaf ear to criticism about its successes. An example is the success of the Dubai Metro. People wondered who would use it. And now over 250,000 commuters use it on a daily basis.

Dubai is also adept at handling calamities. As a fire ripped through a luxurious hotel, the emirate celebrated New Year’s with about one million people at the venue, even as firefighters made sure no one was injured and the inferno was contained.

The emirate, is by all accounts, the hope of the region in its adaptation and all-round success. And that makes it all the more important to document its achievements with utmost transparency, highlighting the achievements and challenges. It is important that people – locally and globally – hear about it. This is stuff to be preserved and not to be left to vanish with the passage of time.

The experiences of the workers in the construction industry, those who are behind these mega projects, the decision makers … they all have a story to say. And they are no less important than graduates from prestigious universities with management degrees. They are the living experiences. In fact, every nook and corner of the city will have a story to say — how they live, how the rapid changes have influenced them, how they have managed to keep in line with progress, and how they perceive government departments which have moved ahead of time setting very high standards for themselves to be on par with the best in the world.

Any person who is away from Dubai for say 10 years will be astonished when he comes back. The changes are spectacular and they have to be seen to be believed.

He who dubbed Dubai’s development as a bubble and criticised it saying it will burst is now trying to emulate it. Let us now extend a helping hand to him. —malzarooni@khaleejtimes.com