What do you think the inhabitants there need to do to ‘preserve their own identity’? Foreign influences: Expats force locals to ask who they are By Nada El Sawy The UAE is unique in that expatriates constitute more than 80 per cent of the population. As the country continues to grow and accept foreigners at an astounding pace, Emiratis worry that their national identity and culture are at stake. The issue has become so pressing that President Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed al-Nahyan declared 2008 UAE national identity year.

‘People here have the feeling that we are losing our own country if this double-digit [expatriate percentage of population] growth continues and if the government does not address the problem and address it squarely and urgently,’ says Abdulkhaleq Abdulla, a professor of political science at United Arab Emirates University in Al Ain.

Issues such as the demographic imbalance, the disappearance of the Arabic language, competition over jobs, lagging education and a lack of sensitivity towards Emirati cultural and religious values, have been discussed in the past, but are now taking centre stage.

Last month, a two-day forum on national identity took place in Abu Dhabi to debate such issues openly for the first time. The conference, organized by the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development, featured more than 30 high-level government and private-sector speakers.

Participants spoke their minds. Ahmad al-Tayer, chairman of the National Human Resources Development and Employment Authority (Tanmia), said: ‘Today, an Emirati student is being taught Islamic studies in English by a Pakistani. This is the state of our nation.’