The Rapid Development of the UAE

Abu Dhabi was an island covered in sand. In the 18th century a Baniyas Bedouin tribe discovered water, so the leader moved his people to the island. Soon to follow were the Nahiyan ruling family, who moved from Liwa Oasis. The ‘Abu Dhabi’ translated means (father of the Gazelle) because of the number of wildlife in the region.

Causes:
The discovery of oil brought many changes to the country, the local people’s
standard of living improved immensely. Oil made this country rich; oil improved the local’s health, education and way of living. The infrastructure also greatly improved. The oil made Abu Dhabi popular. Technology was brought into the region enabling Abu Dhabi to connect to the outside.
Oil brought many different nationalities and cultures to this region.
The improvement in this country wasn’t only due to oil but the vision of a wise leader Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan and the UAE people.

Positive Effect:
The infrastructure of the country improved a lot. Roads, airports, hospitals, schools, universities, collages, banks and malls were built. The sandy country was planted with trees, flowers and grass. All the sand was replaced and the city became a green city. The health care improved with world-class professional experts, health tools and technology.
Many foreigners came to this country for vacation, business and property. Tourism has prospered. Technology improved such as TV, Satellites and internet. There are many opportunities to find jobs for locals as well as expatriates. In the past, many items such as clothing, certain types of food and house hold items were unavailable. People had to go abroad to get such things whereas today you can get everything you need here. Education today is freely available. There are universities, collages and even institutes, where you can get your degrees, as in the past you had to go abroad.

Negative Effects:
Due to the population increase, there is pollution increase and congestion. Old values are taken away by new ideas and modernization. The older generations have experienced a culture shock. The new generations are losing their own identity by copying foreigner’s behavior and implementing it into their daily lives. There is also a lot of emphasis on teaching English in school rather then teaching the mother tongue Arabic. The internet has bad effects on our generation by showing things which are harmful to our morals and beliefs .TV programs showing girlfriends and boyfriends and promiscuality which is not apart of our culture and religion, is very harmful.

Conclusion:
As the saying goes, you have to take the bad with the good. So, as to have all these benefits of good health, education, technology and wealth, we have to sacrifice and compromise.
All in all the UAE has come along way in a very short time.