Perceptions of Safety at Home and Abroad

Friday, October 24^th, 2014

Post by Kim

When it comes to perceptions of safety at home versus abroad, the grass is NOT greener on the other side.  I remember when Adam and I were announcing our move to the UAE to friends and family over this past spring and summer, a common question that they asked was: “Is it safe there?”.  A lot of our fellow expats here in the UAE also had a similar experience prior to leaving their home country.  I suppose that, for many people, home feels safer abroad; it’s the fear of the unknown.

I’ve been meaning to write about the level of safety here in the UAE in this blog, but never really got around to it.  With a recent terrorist event in Canada, my home country, I just had to share some of my thoughts on the issue.  In my opinion, the UAE is very safe.  In fact, the crime rate is very low here; thus far, we’ve only heard about one theft incident, but never heard about any robbery or violent crimes towards expats.  This is certainly not the case in North America, where these types of crimes are daily occurrences.  In fact, here’s an interesting article rating countries that are safest to live in 2014:  <http://lifestyle9.com/top-10-safest-countries-to-live-in-the-world/3/>.  See which country ranks at #4!

If we were asked “Is it safe there?”, a question that would typically follow was “Kim, aren’t you worried to go there, as a woman?”.  Although the questions were vaguely posed, I knew that there were referring to female clothing and behaviors.  Back then, I answered “Not really.” and after two months of living here, my answer remains the same.  In the UAE, all female adults are allowed to drive and female non-Muslim expats are not expected to cover their heads (unless visiting a mosque).  Following recommendations, I wear clothing that covers my shoulders and knees and, honestly, this is not really different from what I would normally wear back in North America (e.g., t-shirt and pants).  My public behavior has not changed drastically, either.

When friends and relatives would ask us “Is it safe there?”, I knew that the word “Arab” in the name “United Arab Emirates” had evoked certain images in their minds: those of “Islamic” terrorists that you see in the news.  We would share with them what we knew (e.g., the modernity and Western-leaning tendencies of the UAE; the kindness of the many Muslim people that we met in Malawi), but felt that they were not completely convinced.  It seems that only since we’ve arrived here, showed them that we were alive, safe, and well that we might have convinced them.  One relative, who came to Abu Dhabi city for a business last week, was also wary of the safety of the country but quickly realized that it was very safe as he visited the country.

Then, something that Adam and I never would have anticipated, considering Canada’s reputation as a safe country: a shooting/terrorist incident occurred in Parliament Hill/War Memorial in Ottawa.  A number of my cousins work in government in Ottawa/Gatineau, so out of concern, we e-mailed them to make sure they were okay.  They informed us that they were currently in lockdown at their work, and that they did not know when they could return home.  Fortunately, hours later, they reported that they safely got back home.  One line in my cousin’s e-mail highlighted the irony of the situation:  “It’s a rather scary time…and we thought it would be more dangerous at the UAE where you are”.

Anyway, this whole incident led me to the following thought: places that people consider unsafe may not be as unsafe as you think, while places that are considered safe, even maybe quaint, may not be as safe as you think.  This reminds me of a funny situation back in Austria, when Adam and I were conversing with a Serbian acquaintance.  After Adam stated that he was an American, the Serbian asked him “Is it safe there?” (then referred to movie images of getting robbed in cars and other violent crimes); this, again, was totally ironic because buildings were getting destroyed by missiles in Serbia just a few years earlier!

The notion of safety at home and abroad is inextricably linked to stereotypes about races, cultures, and religions and how these are perpetuated in the media.  In one of my following blog posts, I will have to share with you my thoughts about the image of Arabs and Islam in the media.  Please keep on reading and feel free to comment!