ANSAmed

(ANSAmed) - DUBAI, AUGUST 1 - Last month the United Arab Emirates got its own, first-ever comic book superhero, Ajaaj. His mission? To promote national identity in a state overrun by foreigners, where natives could become negligible in 20 years. A cultural melting pot, the seven-member oil-rich Gulf federation stands out as an oasis of prosperity in the troubled Middle East, and Dubai as the jewel in the crown. But for native Emiratis, this glory has come at a price, reports Middle East Online. Foreigners continue flocking in, transforming demographics and prompting some analysts to warn that the indigenous population could end up strangers in their own land. Enter cartoon hero "Ajaaj", the brainstorm of Watani, the UAE's social development program which tapped into pop culture as a way to target both natives and foreigners. An ancient fictional character, "Ajaaj" (which means sandstorm in Arabic), has been recast as a trim, young, Emirati man ready to upstage Western comic book icons. His feats are set in the future, in the UAE in 2020, and he is part of Watanìs efforts to "uphold the national identity and encourage a sense of good citizenship", said the group's general coordinator Ahmad Obaid al-Mansuri. The UAE's population stood at 4.1 million at the end of 2005, of whom 825,000, or just 21.9%, were Emiratis, according to official figures. Indian nationals are the largest group at more than 1.3 million, with other Asians, Iranians, Arabs and Westerners also swelling the ranks of expatriates. English, not Arabic, is the common language. And Western expats feel so at home that some seem oblivious to their hosts, disregarding the sensitivities of a largely conservative local Muslim population. In fast-developing UAE, the foreign influx ranges from poorly-paid construction workers to hard-partying professionals. And if the present trend continues, Emirati natives will dwindle to 2% of the population by 2025, the executive director of Dubaìs Statistics Centre, Aref al-Muhairi, warned in the daily Al-Ittihad. Emiratis' concerns occasionally spill into the mainly government-guided local press, and the government recently set up a committee to tackle what is euphemistically called the "demographic imbalance." Though the issue has been around for decades, analysts say that debate has not translated into action. According to lawyer and rights activist Mohammad al-Roken, "we should not be surprised if after a decade we reach a situation where it becomes accepted that this society has no specific identity, but is a cosmopolitan society where the majority dictates the rules." Already today, Emiratis are "under pressure to abandon their language and speak English as one of the means of getting by," he noted. With no sign that the open-door policy to capital and skills will be reversed anytime soon - one newspaper reported that Dubai is getting 800 new residents every day - Watani and other groups have stepped in. Even before Ajaaj, a hard-cover comic for young readers to come out once a month in Arabic and English, Dubai Television aired a series last year featuring four indigenous female characters from times past that turned into a big hit. Seminars and children's camps have also been organised with the goal of "communicating the national identity to other groups in order to achieve harmony". Watani, which means My Homeland and was launched in December 2005, has had an impact, according to Mansuri. "People now use the UAE's map, flag and other national symbols in their slogans and advertisements. This applies to multinationals, not just local companies." And Ajaaj, he said, had already received "very positive feedback" in its first month, even from non-Arabic-speaking foreign residents. The question now is whether the UAE superhero will prove sturdy enough to stand up to his Western counterparts. (ANSAmed)