Want UAE Citizenhsip?

Forget long-term residency visas, Mishaal Al Gergawi is calling for citizenship to be granted to all long-time time and committed residents of the UAE. His justifications:

A friend of mine lost one of his newborn children when his wife went into premature labour. He buried his son in the UAE, but had to renew his annual visa three months later. He tells me this and I think to myself, we'll take their dead but not the living? This must be the result of a typo in the fine print, right? No, this is the status quo. I am writing this article in sweat pants and a white T-shirt that bears the image of Shaikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, the late ruler and founder of the UAE. The T-shirt was created by Munabu Ozawa, a 36-year-old Japanese graphic designer who has been living in Dubai for six years now.

Mr. Al Gergawi doesn't specify the "C" word, but a week later he pens another article where he clarifies:

As a modern federal union, the UAE proudly hosts many people from different parts of the world. Many of these people have started families here and, more importantly, their children have developed strong ties to the UAE - ties so strong that they feel more at home in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Sharjah than they do in Beirut, Tehran or New Delhi. What frustrates many of these Dubaians, Abu Dhabians or Sharjahians is that their identity is sometimes included in the same category as what we call 'recent expats'. And so they have started wondering about the value of their existence here and the measure of their belonging to their respective cities. This and the examples of other countries (such as the UK, the US and Canada) has led to calls for citizenship. Here is my take on this. As an Emirati, I support naturalising any person who has spent a considerable amount of time in the UAE (five, 10, 15 years - someone qualified must set the right number) in which they have shown two qualities: first, the ability to contribute positively to the growth and development of the UAE; second, and more importantly, they must have shown love and respect for Emirati culture and embraced this culture in their daily life.

There are numerous examples of people who would be eligible for UAE citizenship if the rule was open for anybody who has lived in the UAE for 15, 20, even 25 years (just read the comments). Rosh coined the term "UAEians" rather than Emiratis. Mr. Al Gergawi is absolutely right, the demographics and realities of the UAE have changed so much since its founding, that the rules might need to (rather than should) change. Demographics are destiny, and the Emirati population will disappear under current trends. But granting UAE citizenship is unrealistic. In a country where every local must carry a "family book," radical changes will be required: First, only a select few will be eligible, A) Religion: will a Hindu or a Syrian Druze be forced to convert to Islam, or will all creeds be given the right to hold citizenship? Al Gergawi refers to culture, he really means Islam. Second, only educated people will be eligible. Maybe the Japanese graphic designer, or the Moroccan accountant, but I doubt the construction worker or the garbage man who has slaved for 15 years of his life picking up our trash or tendering our gardens will be eligible, and that is not fair. Third, the pensions and benefits (and socialist hand-outs generally) provided to Emiratis cannot be sustained for a large number of people. If citizenship is a conferred right to all who pass the integration test, than the UAE's experiment in socialism and big (too big) government will have to end. Fourth, immigration and integration. If the UAE where to begin granting citizenship today then there will be a huge spike in the number of people coming in to the UAE for that sole purpose tomorrow. Nothing wrong with letting people in, but large numbers of immigrants entering will be impossible to integrate (see USA and Hispanics or Europe and Muslims) Judging by the last decade, the UAE has utterly failed in integrating even recent expats. (don't take my word for it, look at this piece from Maryam Al Hamly - it's really that bad). I can go on and on,but I'll leave it there. I'm not against the idea, but I don't think we are there yet. A more realistic aim to introduce a sort of "halfway" citizenship akin to the American Green Card and like America, the number of years required to live in UAE must be long (like 20-30 years) with a strong emphasis on the "melting pot" and unlike Europe or Canada where citizenship is granted in 2-3 years and "salad-bowl" multi-culturalism have ensured zero integration and the appearance of ethnic enclaves. It is not impossible but it is unrealistic. In the future, who knows?