'We were not rich in UAE': Prominent Emirati recalls village life before Dubai became a bustling city

From the 1960s to today, Dubai has changed dramatically. Remembering his days in the emirate's "hamlets" or "villages", which have now become icons of the city, prominent Emirati figure Sultan Al Mansoori spoke to Khaleej Times' Michal Divon about life from then to now.

Growing up around the "hamlets" of Jumeirah and Umm Suqeim, the former minister of economy recalled the time when everyone knew each other — those simple days a contrast to the busy, vibrant Dubai of today in which more than three million people of all nationalities live and work.

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“In those times, it was separated [in] small villages, from Jumeirah One, where the Four Seasons Hotel is today,” he told Khaleej Times. Around the Burj Al Arab, he remembers the beautiful white sand dunes on the coastline now dotted with architectural masterpieces.

He recalls the union of the UAE, which was originally meant to incorporate Qatar and Bahrain, before the creation of what is today the country’s seven emirates.

He could still remember the announcement of the Union, which he heard from the radio on the afternoon of December 2, 1971. “It’s the one I will remember for my whole life,” he said, recalling the day he and his siblings made the new flag of the country for the first time amid the revelry.

“There were huge celebrations, more in the heart of the city, like where you’d see the Etihad Museum now, with songs and dances,” he said. “It was a happy feeling for all of us. In the beginning, we didn’t understand it fully, but under the leadership of Sheikh Zayed, the founder of our country, we began to understand where we were going in our future.”

Even as a child, he understood the magnitude of the changes and soaked up everything as it happened.

“The statement that Sheikh Zayed stressed was equality of genders and education. It’s the way we get our country from where it is into something much more progressive, and that stuck in our heads, making our country the best,” he said.

“We were not rich in the UAE,” he said, breaking the myths often perpetuated even today. “It gave us an adamant need for change. It gave us the sense that we needed to grow up and the way to do that was through the best of education.”

It touched him deeply as he would eventually be one of the designers of the UAE’s knowledge economy to take the country beyond a dependence on oil.

Al Mansoori tells us that studying English as a young man in the south of England was a profound experience, where he began to interact with the likes of Europeans, Latin Americans, and fellow Arabs, giving him a taste of the world beyond the UAE. “It was a really interesting environment for us,” he said as he recalled how he learnt distinctive English traditions such as ‘tea time’ and ‘supper’.

He continued his higher education in Arizona, where he pursued his engineering studies. “As high school graduates, we had great opportunities to go on scholarships around the world,” he said.

“My US years were very interesting," he said, referring to an inspiring chapter of his life as part of a group of eight or nine Emirati students at the Arizona State University.

“The style of life was very different,” even more liberal than in the UK, he added.

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