In an article that itemizes the many benefits Emiratis receive, including free education, free health care, subsidized land, no interest housing loans and benefits to pay wedding costs, Matthew Brown contends that the perpetuation of this Bedouin tradition of royal patronage is breeding dependence, stifling creativity and undermining Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum’s goal of the UAE being a world class country run by Emiratis.Link to this article:
Matthew Brown, ‘Emirates Prime Minister tries to alter culture of dependence’, International Herald Tribune, 5 October 2007.
Image: Some of the 650 grooms at a mass Emirati wedding in 1999. Article on Emirati wedding customs.
