Migration in the Making of the Gulf Space (Worlds in Motion) by Antía Mato Bouzas & Lorenzo Casini

Author:Antía Mato Bouzas & Lorenzo Casini [Bouzas, Antía Mato & Casini, Lorenzo]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 2022-01-13T18:30:00+00:00

Making Belonging in “Western” and “Tourist” Places

Depending on my mood, sometimes I get this feeling that I really don’t want to go to Dubai Mall because I will see everyone [Emiratis]. I always comment on my sister because she says, “Ewww, I don’t want to go there, it’s all locals [Emiratis]”; and I say, “Why—then what are you?” . . . But I get what she means, you want to escape. . . . I think I’ve never been to [Galleria Mall] in my life without saying hello to people [Emiratis]. And it’s fine, we don’t mind it. But there are days where I’m not in the mood. . . . Because when I go there, I need to make sure I’m dressed up; I need to make sure that I look presentable. Other times, I’m not in the mood. I remember once going to Marina in a hoodie and sneakers, and I’m enjoying myself. That’s something I wouldn’t be able to do here [City Walk]. . . . I remember I went ziplining once. . . . You know the Dubai Mall zipline . . . it ends in Dubai Mall. I was wearing my shayla [headscarf], but I was wearing jeans [without an abaya]. So, when I got out at Dubai Mall, I was really uncomfortable. I mean, personally I’m fine with it, I’m not even mit-hajba [wearing a hair veil]. . . . But me being in Dubai Mall and not dressed, I thought a lot, maybe someone will see me, maybe someone will say something, maybe, you know. So, I’ve done also the same zipline in Marina [an area associated with Westerners]. Here is when I was in my hoodie and I don’t care, and I was comfortable, and I enjoyed that ten times more. . . . [But] in Dubai Mall we immediately got our abayas.

Raisa, who earlier commented about feeling excluded in a Western-dominated space in Dubai, expressed her preference for them at other times when she did not want to encounter members of her community. The comment her sister made about not wanting to go somewhere because “it’s all locals” is not uncommon. Like Raisa, some of the other Emiratis I spoke to wanted to go to spaces they associated with Westerners, such as the Marina area, to get a sense of anonymity and comfort. This was a way for them to go out without feeling the need to dress up or behave in a certain way—particularly as they felt scrutinized in Emirati-dominated spaces—and without bumping into people they know and having to constantly say hello. Wilson (1992) argues that one of the attractions of the modern city, for women as much as anyone, is the possibility for people to lose themselves in the crowd. While modern cities can be solitary, they provide anonymity for inhabitants (Tonkiss 2005). Yet Dubai does not provide anonymity for my Emirati interlocutors (or noncitizen interlocutors who have extended family in the UAE). Rather, it is certain spaces in Dubai—such as Western-dominated spaces—that provide them this anonymity.

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