UAE has changed from the past in a variety of ways. People today have a different lifestyle than the elders during the times when oil has not been discovered yet. The discovery of oil and developed technology are one of the big reasons that caused UAE’s development. Before oil was discovered in the 1950s, Mohamed Al Fahim stated that the “UAE's economy was dependent on fishing and a declining pearling industry” (“Rags to riches”, 1995). But since 1962, when Abu Dhabi became the first of the emirates to begin exporting oil, the country's society and economy has been transformed. Lifestyle during 1950’s was simpler and easier, people in the past did not care very much about their clothes; they were forced to wear the traditional clothes. Before the use of oil in the early 1970s in the UAE, life was very different: Transportation was limited; education was partially inexistent; and women barely had rights.
Before the discovery of oil, people in the United Arab Emirates did not have any other means of transportation except camels, horses or/and by walking. Today, all the citizens of the UAE use cars to move from one place to another. While before the oil discovery, Emirati’s used camels to move from one place to another, which took them a long period of time to move around. Mohamed Al Fahim admitted that today, when people want to go to Al Ain, they need about an hour and a half from Abu Dhabi but in the past, it took them seven days to travel between Abu Dhabi and Al Ain, a distance of 160 kilometers, and five days to Liwa while now it takes only two hours to reach their destination (“Rags to Riches”, 1995). Yachts and ships are one of the ways of travelling that didn’t exist in the United Arab Emirates before oil discovery. Before people were using small boats to travel through sea. The third way of transportation now is by air with the use of airplanes that people use every day.
Sheikh Zayed had a large role in improving the education in the United Arab Emirates. There were no schools in the 1950’s, except for the religious school that was run by Darwish bin Karam; imam of the mosque and the Emirati’s community’s healer. Mohammed Al Fahim mentioned that “the vast majority of people could not read and write Illiteracy was probably around 98 percent. The handful that learned to read did so using the Quran, the only book available for them to read at the old times. Before 1950’s, children had no schooling besides reading the Quran in the religious school. As soon as the boys become 12 or 13 years old, they would join their fathers, either fishing or pearl diving to contribute to the family’s income” (“Rags to Riches”,1995). After the Union of United Arab Emirates, the late Sheikh Zayed said that “science is the way to lifting the nation and improving it”. Sheikh Zayed gave orders to build schools and institutes all around the Emirates , as it is to bring teachers from Arab countries, and therefore, after they finished building schools , Sheikh Zayed provided clothes and school supplies, books and transportation for all the students. In addition to that, schools had no fees.
In the past, women were not allowed to work or learn. For instance, men did not like for women to be educated and prefer them to get married and stay at home. Men also preferred women and girls to work in their houses and raise the children. Women had strict obedience towards their husbands, and men did not listen to what women wanted. Things changed now. Women go to school, then collage and work. There are many successful women’s names now well known amongst people. Now there a lot of women who prefer to stay at home, but that does not mean that they do not go to college and get a degree. For example, one of the Head of Ministers in UAE, Lubna Al Qasmi. Now, we are been encouraged to do our best and work hard.
As we can see, the lifestyle of the UAE has developed in many ways which were the effects of the discovery of oil and petrol. The UAE will continue to develop itself in the future, which happens to be obvious today as we hear of all the development projects for the coming years.
reference:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Arab_Emirates
http://www.everyculture.com/To-Z/United-Arab-Emirates.html
& some help from my father and brother..
