AL AIN // Ten years ago, Dr Hasan Naboodah expected his sons to follow in his footsteps and support an Emirati football team.
But today, Khaled, 12, and Mohammed, 17, sport the colours of the Spanish teams Real Madrid and Barcelona.
"This in itself is an indication of how much things have changed; we now live in a global village," said Dr Naboodah, 48. "We are living in an exceptional era in this part of the world. If you look at history over 2,000 years, nothing has ever changed this quickly."
Dr Naboodah, a professor of Emirati history and archeology at UAE University in Al Ain, cites the internet and the explosion of the world telecommunications industry as a primary cause of this rapid development. It had, he said, allowed his children, and his students, to gain a global perspective.
But while such growth had brought knowledge, it had come at a price, he added.
"Social customs and traditions are being lost to the new generation. Everyone used to be poor, communities lived together and were as close as families. They lived a simple life and had their own identity.
"Now everyone lives in big houses, they don't know their neighbours and they spend their spare time on the computer," he said. "Do we really need such rapid growth? We are in danger of losing our culture, heritage and traditions."
Dr Naboodah grew up in Sharjah in the 1960s. He said the country was much more closely linked to its history back then.
"Most of the population were Emirati and we grew up immersed in our traditions. Our grandparents taught us old proverbs and folk songs and we learned how to survive in the desert. The women learned how to make traditional bread and sweets. Nowadays everyone just buys bread from the supermarket."
In the 1970s, while still living in Sharjah, Dr Naboodah and his relatives would spend each summer staying in palm-leaf huts, known as arish, in the desert, as did most families.
His days were spent swimming in a nearby creek, among tropical fish that he said were now only to be found in places such as the Maldives.
After evening prayers, all the boys would soak their wizars (a cloth garment worn wrapped around the lower half of the body) in the well to use as a cool blanket to give some respite from the searing heat.
It was a way of life today's young people only read about in books, he said.
Dr Naboodah spent the 1980s studying in the UK and when he returned in 1989, he moved to Al Ain. He said he chose to live in "the garden city" as it was the least affected by the rapid growth of the country.
"Al Ain is the gift of Sheikh Zayed to the people of the Emirates. It is green, clean, well organised and, most importantly, there are no high-rise buildings here," he said. "I couldn't live anywhere else."
In 1999, Dr Naboodah was appointed the director of the Zayed Centre for Heritage and History in Al Ain.
Opened under the patronage of the Emirates Heritage Club, the centre has published many books about Emirati heritage to help preserve traditions. Dr Naboodah, who stepped down as the director when the centre moved to Abu Dhabi two months ago, said he had used the publications as teaching resources.
"It was important to make the students want to remember," he said.
"If someone lives a westernised life for too long it is very hard to bring them back. He will think we are talking about some ancient time when actually this is the core of his identity."
He said school curricula should emphasise heritage more and reflect the culture of the UAE and Gulf Arabs. "We should act quickly to stop things changing beyond recognition."
The vast increase in the expatriate population over the past two decades had exacerbated the problem, he said. "Of course some changes are natural but today there are so many foreigners living here that it is difficult to find an Emirati in Dubai. Our population has been diluted."
Rapid urbanisation of places such as Dubai has not helped, he added.
"The infrastructure there is more than excellent and I'm sure in 200 years historians will be very impressed with what has been achieved in such a short time but it does not come without a price.
"It's like building a house, if you make it too big and too luxurious it costs a lot of money to maintain and you encounter unseen problems.
"Now in Dubai the economy is struggling and the language is being lost. I think it would have been much better to take it step by step and make decisions slowly."
Still, he noted that the Government had made a concerted effort over the past two or three years to minimise the negative impact of development.
He praised the Abu Dhabi Authority for Culture & Heritage for its work to preserve the country's oral history, develop its archaeological sites and promote Arab heritage.
"They are trying to stop the negative aspects of the change. Hopefully, they will be successful."
aseaman@thenational.ae
Tomorrow: an editor's view
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Watford v Leicester City (3.30pm)
Brighton v Arsenal (6pm)
West Ham v Wolves (8.30pm)
Bournemouth v Crystal Palace (10.45pm)
Sunday
Newcastle United v Sheffield United (5pm)
Aston Villa v Chelsea (7.15pm)
Everton v Liverpool (10pm)
Monday
Manchester City v Burnley (11pm)
The biog
Name: Shamsa Hassan Safar
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Degree in emergency medical services at Higher Colleges of Technology
Favourite book: Between two hearts- Arabic novels
Favourite music: Mohammed Abdu and modern Arabic songs
Favourite way to spend time off: Family visits and spending time with friends
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Defending champions
World Series: South Africa
Women’s World Series: Australia
Gulf Men’s League: Dubai Exiles
Gulf Men’s Social: Mediclinic Barrelhouse Warriors
Gulf Vets: Jebel Ali Dragons Veterans
Gulf Women: Dubai Sports City Eagles
Gulf Under 19: British School Al Khubairat
Gulf Under 19 Girls: Dubai Exiles
UAE National Schools: Al Safa School
International Invitational: Speranza 22
International Vets: Joining Jack
