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Expat Americans Await History

DUBAI - As organisers in Washington DC prepared for Barack Obama’s inauguration today, locally based Americans prepared to watch the new president’s swearing-in ceremony in Dubai.

Democrats Abroad, the official arm of the Democratic Party for Americans living outside of the US, anticipated two hundred guests at its dinner and live broadcast at the Dubai Marina Yacht Club, said chairman Chris Hansen.

Noah Waxman, a businessman originally from Washington, D.C. attended former President Bill Clinton’s second inauguration, but will be watching this one on tv in Dubai.

“As an American and especially as a Washingtonian I am really sad to be missing it,” he said.

Jim Russell, a pilot for Emirates Airline said his schedule made celebrations difficult. “I’ll probably be sleeping.”

While Russell was not excited for the inauguration itself, he said he is happy about the new president.

“I think he represents a change from the sort of aristocracy that I feel like the Bushes and to some extent the Clintons represent these sort of controlling families,” he said.

Several local Americans said people have been congratulating them since the election.

“I helped a friend of mine cross a border to Oman, and crossing Oman even the security, the border crossing guards said good things,” said Joseph Bracken, who owns a software company here. “They just said ‘good luck Obama’ when they heard my accent.”

“My conversations with non-English speaking dhow sailors turned into a celebration for Obama,” said Waxman. “I use Obama as an icebreaker. I get big thumbs up all around the Middle East.”

David Kreeger, a local finance worker, said his non-American co-workers were excited after the initial Obama news. “They literally all congratulated me the day he won. I was just standing in the office and people were saying ‘Obama’, and then all these languages.”

Russell said he had a similar experience in Dhaka. After telling a little girl he was American, he said she replied ‘Oh, Obama’.

But Russell also said he is cautious of the exuberance surrounding the new American president. “People who think that he’s going to stray a lot from the United States policies on things like Israel, they’ll be somewhat disappointed,” he said. “A lot of Middle Easterners and Arabs are very positive of Obama, they think he’s going to be the guy. They might be a little disappointed.”

emily@khaleejtimes.com