A sense of safety

When I first began to tell my friends and family that I would be traveling to the Middle East, the most common reaction was concern about my safety.

Even as I’ve been here for now for over two months, I still get the occasional message asking me about how “safe” I feel here.

Well, let me just tell you that since arriving in the Middle East, I have met mostly only absolutely amazing people. From Abu Dhabi to Al Ain, to Dhank, Oman, and up to Dubai. I’ve rented two cars and driven all over this beautiful desert meeting people all along the way.

The only people I’ve met here who I didn’t particularly enjoy were a group of Americans who were drunk at a pool bar (getting drunk in public here is very frowned upon) talking about how they’re better than everyone because they’re Christians and serve in the US Navy (seriously, these particular guys were awful).

The people I have met who are from here are kind, generous and proud of their country. They acknowledge how much their government does for them and are appreciative of the things they have. They are excited to show you their culture and introduce you to their way of life. They are quick to ask you if you need help if they sense you’re lost or confused. They are very highly educated and have well thought out formed opinions.

The locals I have met here are the kind of people you can sit and have a conversation with for hours, and I love to talk.

Last Saturday I was laying poolside talking to a local Arabic friend about the hard parts of life. This particular day we talked about guns and gangs and violence. We talked about terrorism and hate. We talked about hardships and the crime we have personally experienced. We talked about the perspectives we’ve been fed by our government and our media. We talked about the differences in our countries laws and possible solutions for it all. We even talked about the importance of mental health.

Our conversation was eye opening to me.

You see, I am a 33 year old female from the United States of America and I have personally experienced more crime in my life than this 36 year old man who was born and raised in Dubai.

I have experienced more death (suicide, cancer, overdose and accidental), I have experienced more hate, I have experienced more gun violence, more depression, more anxiety, more more more more more of all the negative things in life… and it never really occurred to me that these things do not have to be “just a part of life” like I had always thought.

My Arabic friend doesn’t know a single person who has committed suicide or died from a drug overdose. He only knows one person who got cancer, and they got treated in Belgium (paid for my the UAE government) and has not had cancer again since. He doesn’t know anyone who owns a gun, but he does know a guy who has a pet tiger (which is against the law here). He has never met anyone who has been stabbed. He has never seen a dead person on the sidewalk. He still remembers the first fight he saw at a night club.

This is not a sheltered man. In fact, he has traveled much of the world and experienced several cultures. He speaks six languages.

We chatted all afternoon.

The next day when I went to see him, I told him about what had just happened in Gilroy, California. 4 dead, 15 injured.

His eyes got wide and his forehead crinkled. He put his head down and shook it side to side and said, “Some people are so sick”.

Little did I know that less than 7 days later I’d be telling him about another one. This time, El Paso, Texas. This time 20 dead, 26 injured.

It seems to me that I am safer staying here…