A worrying divide...

Recently it has become clear that the cultural divide between Emiratis and foreigners is widening, with articles in 7DAYS and even The New York Times commenting on this growing gap. Reading a post on An Emirati's Thoughts (a great blog by the way), I find this trend to be very worrying because moreso than the divide existing, no-one seems to want to do anything realistic about it. I, personally, find it an unrealistic solution to force foreigners into the culture because you cannot successfully impose a culture on someone else, especially if they are only here for a few years. If the UAE chooses to open its doors to the world, it has to face the consequences, as lousy as they may be. I am not saying I advocate people totally disregarding the local culture here at all, but I do not believe that it should be forced upon them.