Dubai politesse laws spur Arab-Asian culture clash.Byline: Daily Star Staff Summary: Spitting here could get you deported. The red-tinted juice of a popular Asian leaf has been deemed offensive as Dubai tries to buff the image of its less-posh districts. The crackdown, announced this week amid a broader bid to stem "offensive behavior," has stirred an unusual Arab-Asian culture clash in a city where Western ways. DUBAI: Spitting here could get you deported. The red-tinted juice of a popular Asian leaf has been deemed offensive as Dubai tries to buff the image of its less-posh districts. The crackdown, announced this week amid a broader bid to stem "offensive behavior," has stirred an unusual Arab-Asian culture clash in a city where Western ways often grate against conservative Gulf sensibilities. The tradition of chewing the leaves of the betel plant, a mild stimulant stimulant, any substance that causes an increase in activity in various parts of the nervous system or directly increases muscle activity. Cerebral, or psychic, stimulants act on the central nervous system and provide a temporary sense of alertness and well-being as common throughout South and Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, region of Asia (1990 est. pop. 442,500,000), c.1,740,000 sq mi (4,506,600 sq km), bounded roughly by the Indian subcontinent on the west, China on the north, and the Pacific Ocean on the east. , is so ingrained in some countries that it's been mentioned in works as varied as Hindu's sacred "Vedas" and the musical "South Pacific." Even Myanmar's authoritarian regime Noun 1. authoritarian regime - a government that concentrates political power in an authority not responsible to the people authoritarian state authorities, government, regime - the organization that is the governing authority of a political unit; "the has failed to curb its use. The leaves of the fast-growing vine are widely chewed with tobacco, cloves cloves symbolic of stateliness. [Plant Symbolism and Folklore: Jobes, 350] See : Dignity or with the hard areca nut areca nut (  ·rēˑ·k in a popular mixture known as paan,
which promotes a reddish saliva. "It's like telling an Italian
not to have an espresso," said Pakistani security guard Munir
Ahmed Munir Ahmed is a citizen of Pakistan who was reported to have been held in the United States Guantanamo Bay detainment camps, in Cuba.[1][2] Pakistan's Daily Times reports that Khalilur Rehman was born in Gujrat. .
The assault on the betel leaf could be seen as a curious choice as Dubai's faces far more serious troubles after the global recession crashed the boomtown's party and left many construction sites idle and foreign workers foreign workers Those who work in a foreign country without initially intending to settle there and without the benefits of citizenship in the host country. Some are recruited to supplement the workforce of a host country for a limited term or to provide skills on a packing up. The slowdown has allowed Dubai officials to impose their sense of order in a place that for years was stuck on fast-forward. Though Dubai's cosmopolitan tolerance is still strides ahead of any place in the region, the book of rules is getting heftier. Earlier this month, Dubai's municipal authorities issued a list of boundaries - no serious kissing or hugging in public, no miniskirts and bikinis, no public boozing or rude gestures. Most of the bans were already in place, but the message was that harsher fines - or even jail time - might be imposed. It's seen as part of the cultural push and pull of Dubai. At the moment, the outsiders - who outnumber locals by about 8-to-1 - are feeling some pressure from Emiratis. The director general of the Dubai municipality MUNICIPALITY. The body of officers, taken collectively, belonging to a city, who are appointed to manage its affairs and defend its interests. , Hussain Nasser Lootah, announced Monday a clean-streets campaign that specifically targeted the use and sale of betel. "We are taking all measures to stop its sale here," said Lootah. "Deportation is a crucial step." In some older areas of Dubai, far from the tourist glitz glitz Informal n. Ostentatious showiness; flashiness: "a garish barrage of show-biz glitz" Peter G. Davis. tr.v. and walled beach resorts, the red-colored spittle spit·tle n. Spit; saliva. of paan-chewers stains sidewalks and walls. While it interferes little with day-to-day life, its not in keeping with the vision of Dubai as a modern, efficient city. The ordinance collides with the traditions of the South Asian workers and shopkeepers who were the backbone of Dubai well before its transformation from sleepy Gulf port to millionaire magnet. "We were working and helping build Dubai before the rest of the world heard of the place," said Rizwan Karem, an Indian exporter in the old commercial district of Deira. "This is a harmless little bit of home we enjoy here." Copyright 2009, The Daily Star. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |
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