UAE, undeniably open and full of possibilities
To my Italian mind steeped in the ancients, the UAE represents a new place, a “diasporic” reality that opens Europeans to further possibilities. Aristotle’s term “diaspora”, which meant “the specific difference between forms of a common kind”, characterises my perception of the UAE — diverse elements in a newly designed environment that form a new whole.
A new postmodernity has emerged across the UAE architectural landscape and become naturalised in the culture. But the UAE is not only a world of mesmerising surfaces. There is more depth to it.
Its culture refreshes the European mind and makes us understand that all places can be rich and bountiful in meaning, even for those of us who have been taught that our European culture is the most sophisticated and storied, that our way of life unquestionably true.
Like the character Marco Polo by Italian novelist Italo Calvino, we struggle with the possibility of perceiving a place from a universal, innocent perspective. Exactly as Marco Polo understands other cities only by how they are different from Venice, I am unable to assign a value to things except in reference to a concept of home: in my case Milan. Despite his travels, Marco Polo’s eyes remain always Venetian. Despite my travels, I remain ineluctably Italian.
But in that cultural position we are closed off by preconceived notions and inherited ideas. We don’t see that extravagant architecture is a reflection of a renewed society freed from old aesthetic concerns. The UAE is, in fact, a trend-setting group of high-rise cities, remarkably different, undeniably open and full of possibilities. The federation of seven states has grown from a quiet backwater into one of the Middle East’s most important economic centres, a region that embraces a mental openness toward differences and socio-cultural and archeological projects. In the Emirates, I would feel free to practice my own faith. The spirit of the country would allow me spaces of spirituality.
The UAE actively promotes religious tolerance. It is not uncommon for rulers to take an opportunity to demonstrate such true tolerance, especially during the holiday season. Members of the royal families also often attend the inauguration of new churches. It is something that goes beyond the mere commercial exoticism of funding construction of the world’s most expensive Christmas tree each year.
I have never visited the UAE, but friends did relocate there — the Italian community in Dubai has been growing since the ’80s. A friend in the fashion business said she took delight not only in the cities’ seven or 70 wonders, but in the answers the country gave her. She found something about herself that she didn’t know she had. “The foreignness of what you no longer are, or no longer possess, lies in wait for you in foreign places,” Calvino writes in Invisible Cities.
I have the impression that Europeans, especially the youth, are intrigued by the UAE. In the Emirates they find themselves in a melting pot of nationalities and perceive the country as the safest in the Arab region. As a recent survey finds, the UAE is the second-best country in the world to start a career and ranked 10th on earth in quality of life. Europeans know that the UAE has the resources to succeed globally in any industry, foster foreign investment and attract tourists.
Dubai is not only skyscrapers and luxury areas, but also a financial hub with designer restaurants and hotels dotting the built-from-thesand boomtown. Young people hang out with friends at glitzy shopping malls or sit at cafes chatting with one another, basically dressed in the same clothes as their peers in Milan on the Leonardo canals. They all feel the passions of their age, the same uncertainties and fears.
Dubai, very business-oriented like Milan, has become an irresistible magnet for people who flock there to work. Both Milan and Dubai are also cities of big ideas, a commitment set to continue with the glitzy Emirate hosting the next World Fair, Dubai Expo 2020, following Milan’s hosting of the event in 2015.
The United Arab Emirates Pavilion was one of the most visited at Expo Milano 2015. The upcoming first-ever Universal Exposition in the Arab world will be a key event for anyone interested in sustainability and mobility as shown by it its core themes “Connecting Minds, Creating the Future”. It celebrates the beauty and power of collaboration in the modern world, one that more than ever asks us to recognise that there is a bridge between Islam and the Western world, between North and South. There is an interconnection, a door, a dialogue, a synthesis of deep ecology, an inseparable melding of the pattern and structure that can be seen to constitute the web of life.
The UAE is progressive enough to put on green-vision glasses with a world view rooted in sustainability. There the interdependence of humanity and nature is recognised and protected.
The UAE is culture, beautiful Islamic architecture and the heritage of the founding fathers. The UAE is all the ethnic groups native to India, Pakistan and Europe that survived many centuries of sacrifices in their own countries.
They have renewed vigour in these gleaming boomtowns on the Arabian Gulf. The expats bring authentic cultures. Their diversity characterises the vibrancy of the UAE as it marks its 46th National Day on December 2. What a miracle rose from desert, sea and salt. Mariella Radaelli is editor at the Luminosity Italia news agency in Milan
Europeans, especially the youth, are intrigued by the UAE. In the Emirates they find themselves in a melting pot of nationalities