Being Black in Dubai
Middle Eastern Spotlight
Many people in this world simply think that due to the high amount of conflict and threat to international security occurring in certain places within the Middle East, that the entire area should become a “No Travel Zone” for people all over the world. These people are ignorant. There were times when I would express my interests in traveling to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, and the reactions I get are usually anywhere from, “Are you sure its safe over there? Especially as a young woman…” to, “I heard they don’t really like black people over there…” to, “maybe you should wait a few years and let things settle down.” Newsflash, there is conflict everywhere. Black people are targeted everywhere. It can be unsafe for a woman to walk the streets, anywhere. This is the world that we live in. I refuse to let the fear of what may or may not happen stop me from living my life to the fullest, and neither should you.
With that being said, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, has become one of the cities that has modernized itself the most in recent years; It’s population size, infrastructure, and amount of wealth in the city all growing exponentially over the past two to three decades. Quickly becoming one of the most sought-after travel destination for adventurers all over the world, Dubai is increasing in its diversity and is no stranger to welcoming foreigners of all shapes, colors, and sizes.
Throughout the past few years, I have had several friends, acquaintances and even my father, travel to Dubai for various lengths of time and reasons, both business and pleasure. It appears as a beautiful, diverse, welcoming, extremely modern city, and according to them, it is just that. All of them, as African Americans, had nothing but phenomenal reports of the experiences that they had there, both as an ordinary traveler and as an African American.
Coming from the perspective of insiders — people that have lived there for extended period of time — being black in Dubai in no different than being black anywhere else. With a diverse community coming from African Heritage, there are many pockets of black culture throughout the city of Dubai. As a resident of Dubai for many years now, Entrepreneur Monique who is the CEO of her own entertainment group defines the black people in Dubai as, “Entrepreneurial, Well-dressed, and Well-Educated.”
With a city that has grown so much over the past couple of decades with an insanely large amount of money, businesses, buildings, etc., constantly flowing into the streets of Dubai, her notion of how black people are in Dubai s not by any means inconceivable. Dubai is a city for the smart, forward-thinking, well-cultured, determined individuals. It is a city extremely rare in the fact that that, itself, is the city’s reputation. It is a city that represents tomorrow. The architecture, the business society, the economical structure, the culture, the entrepreneurship, and so much more, is the bar to which we hold all of our societies. It is the future of this world, attainable to all of us, now.
