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Quote #10
I was often conscious in Abu Dhabi of the foreignness of all this—modern buildings, higgledy-piggledy city, construction cranes, new and derelict buildings, and also the invasion of other Arabs and their cultures smothering and overwhelming the local Bedu culture—all in the name of modernity and education. (272)
When Ahmed served on a committee to reform the education system of Abu Dhabi, she's immediately struck by a weird kind of "internal colonization"—loads of non-local Arabs pouring into Abu Dhabi to "help" the local population and displacing them.
In doing this, these foreigners put their stamp on everything, right down to the design of new buildings, which basically quashes indigenous culture. Even the proposed "improved" education system has the potential to destroy local customs and the importance of oral culture in the area. It leaves Ahmed wondering if literacy and "modernity" are really all that.