Today one of my students was doing a presentation on her research project on heroines. She chose Rosa Parks, which I was thrilled with. The presentation was great, I thought and she seemed to have a good understanding of what Parks was fighting for, even though she's so far removed from that time and place...I thought...
At the end of her presentation she had to make a connection between Parks as a heroine and the UAE culture (this is required in the assessment for the presentation..which I certainly didn't decide on, by the way.) Her point of connection was that Parks fought against racism and wanted rights for Black people, just like everyone else had- and that thankfully, there are no problems with racism here in the UAE because all people are equal and no one even looks at colour here. Rrrrrrright. Then I ran screaming out of the room and quit teaching forever. Sigh.
Okay, let's back up. I didn't run screaming. I sat, smiling. I told her that her presentation was good, because it was and she had worked so hard on it. In any other classroom in any other part of the world, I would have asked if the class agreed with her, and perhaps even started a healthy debate. I would have asked how many of the Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Indian, Egyptian or Sudanese students in my class agreed with this statement. I would have asked them if their parents came here looking for a better life and if they were welcomed with open arms, or even received with respect. I would have asked why, in my own line of work, for example, local teachers make 100% more than me for doing the same job and why other Arab Expats (from similar countries mentioned above) make almost 50% less than me. But here, I can't have this debate. This is not something we can talk about in schools. Leave the politics out, they tell us.
Once we accidentally had a political conversation in my classroom and it got out of hand very quickly. We were discussing a short story and the topic of equality came up. An Emirati student of mine said that she was proud of her country because everyone is treated equal. An Egyptian student raised her hand and said "Miss, that's not true. Everyone knows that you don't get good treatment unless you're a local. They just try to say that." My classroom erupted into two warring sides before I even knew what was happening and then the conversation quickly turned to yelling in Arabic, which is even harder to control. I ended it as quickly as possible, but I feel it left a mark on that class for the rest of the year. Who knows what exactly they said in those untranslated moments.
This type of situation makes me uncomfortable and I think that's partially because I don't know what to do with it. I know that I don't feel like it's a good idea to send a student out of school and into the world (perhaps, another part of the world) without having them critically think about their own place in society. Is it a good thing that my student (who wants to go to University in Canada, mind you) has been raised to believe everyone is equal in a place where inequality glares her in the face every day? Perhaps, I am not being fair, though. Inequality does not really glare her in the face. She seems to live a very privileged and sheltered life. I'm sure she sees that she lives in a mansion and that there are men sitting on the side of the road with no shoes, but maybe she doesn't know how to deal with it. Maybe she doesn't have the skills to understand or cope with something so big. In fact, I'm not even sure that I have those skills.
A very wise, very famous man once said: "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." I worry about this. By living here, I imply my own acceptance of the way things work in this country. There is a definite class system with borders that have been strictly set, and one cannot go about saying anything about that without getting in some serious trouble. Should I leave because I cannot accept these things and because I feel I shouldn't benefit from a country built on slavery, or should I stay and try to help my students to see (even just a little) that we DO need to treat all people equally, despite their class, race or ethnicity?
No, you don't need to throw your book bag on the floor for your Nanny to pick up and carry to the car. She's tired. She took care of your brothers and sisters all day, while her children in her home country miss their Mother.
No, you don't need to be afraid of that man because he has brown skin, or looks poor or has dirty clothes. He is just a man who works very hard to try to send money home to make a better life for his wife.
No, it's not normal to me that there is an implicit rule that I shouldn't look certain groups of people in the eye or share an elevator with them.
I was waiting for the elevator in my building one day when a man (who looked to be either Indian or Pakistani) shuffled up carrying a full jug of water (one of those big ones meant for a water cooler). I got in the elevator and held the door for him, and he hesitated, but I told him to please come, since he was holding something so heavy (and also because the elevator can hold more than just me!) With a strained look, he finally got on and pressed himself into the corner to be as far away from me as possible. I smiled at him to try to make it less awkward and he looked down at the floor. When he got off he turned and said "Sorry Ma'am." I was so taken off guard by this strange apology that I just stared at him, not knowing what to say. After the door closed and I continued down it occurred to me that he had been apologizing for sharing the elevator with me, as if he was not allowed or not worthy of doing so. This, right here, is what I'm talking about. He wasn't born thinking he was lower. He probably didn't even come from his own country thinking he was lower. That was developed here. That was burned into him here and that disturbs me so much.
I don't know what will happen, but if history is any indication, things will not stay like this forever.
At the end of her presentation she had to make a connection between Parks as a heroine and the UAE culture (this is required in the assessment for the presentation..which I certainly didn't decide on, by the way.) Her point of connection was that Parks fought against racism and wanted rights for Black people, just like everyone else had- and that thankfully, there are no problems with racism here in the UAE because all people are equal and no one even looks at colour here. Rrrrrrright. Then I ran screaming out of the room and quit teaching forever. Sigh.
Okay, let's back up. I didn't run screaming. I sat, smiling. I told her that her presentation was good, because it was and she had worked so hard on it. In any other classroom in any other part of the world, I would have asked if the class agreed with her, and perhaps even started a healthy debate. I would have asked how many of the Syrian, Jordanian, Lebanese, Indian, Egyptian or Sudanese students in my class agreed with this statement. I would have asked them if their parents came here looking for a better life and if they were welcomed with open arms, or even received with respect. I would have asked why, in my own line of work, for example, local teachers make 100% more than me for doing the same job and why other Arab Expats (from similar countries mentioned above) make almost 50% less than me. But here, I can't have this debate. This is not something we can talk about in schools. Leave the politics out, they tell us.
Once we accidentally had a political conversation in my classroom and it got out of hand very quickly. We were discussing a short story and the topic of equality came up. An Emirati student of mine said that she was proud of her country because everyone is treated equal. An Egyptian student raised her hand and said "Miss, that's not true. Everyone knows that you don't get good treatment unless you're a local. They just try to say that." My classroom erupted into two warring sides before I even knew what was happening and then the conversation quickly turned to yelling in Arabic, which is even harder to control. I ended it as quickly as possible, but I feel it left a mark on that class for the rest of the year. Who knows what exactly they said in those untranslated moments.
This type of situation makes me uncomfortable and I think that's partially because I don't know what to do with it. I know that I don't feel like it's a good idea to send a student out of school and into the world (perhaps, another part of the world) without having them critically think about their own place in society. Is it a good thing that my student (who wants to go to University in Canada, mind you) has been raised to believe everyone is equal in a place where inequality glares her in the face every day? Perhaps, I am not being fair, though. Inequality does not really glare her in the face. She seems to live a very privileged and sheltered life. I'm sure she sees that she lives in a mansion and that there are men sitting on the side of the road with no shoes, but maybe she doesn't know how to deal with it. Maybe she doesn't have the skills to understand or cope with something so big. In fact, I'm not even sure that I have those skills.
A very wise, very famous man once said: "The ultimate tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty by the bad people but the silence over that by the good people." I worry about this. By living here, I imply my own acceptance of the way things work in this country. There is a definite class system with borders that have been strictly set, and one cannot go about saying anything about that without getting in some serious trouble. Should I leave because I cannot accept these things and because I feel I shouldn't benefit from a country built on slavery, or should I stay and try to help my students to see (even just a little) that we DO need to treat all people equally, despite their class, race or ethnicity?
No, you don't need to throw your book bag on the floor for your Nanny to pick up and carry to the car. She's tired. She took care of your brothers and sisters all day, while her children in her home country miss their Mother.
No, you don't need to be afraid of that man because he has brown skin, or looks poor or has dirty clothes. He is just a man who works very hard to try to send money home to make a better life for his wife.
No, it's not normal to me that there is an implicit rule that I shouldn't look certain groups of people in the eye or share an elevator with them.
I was waiting for the elevator in my building one day when a man (who looked to be either Indian or Pakistani) shuffled up carrying a full jug of water (one of those big ones meant for a water cooler). I got in the elevator and held the door for him, and he hesitated, but I told him to please come, since he was holding something so heavy (and also because the elevator can hold more than just me!) With a strained look, he finally got on and pressed himself into the corner to be as far away from me as possible. I smiled at him to try to make it less awkward and he looked down at the floor. When he got off he turned and said "Sorry Ma'am." I was so taken off guard by this strange apology that I just stared at him, not knowing what to say. After the door closed and I continued down it occurred to me that he had been apologizing for sharing the elevator with me, as if he was not allowed or not worthy of doing so. This, right here, is what I'm talking about. He wasn't born thinking he was lower. He probably didn't even come from his own country thinking he was lower. That was developed here. That was burned into him here and that disturbs me so much.
I don't know what will happen, but if history is any indication, things will not stay like this forever.
I think about this every day, too.
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