Privilege and Oppression - What Do These Concepts Mean to You? Growing up in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), I became aware of the distinction between privilege and oppression at a very young age. With all its glamour and extravagance, the UAE has many flaws with deep roots in its society. The country has one of the largest percentage of expatriates in the globe, with over 80% of the population being of foreign descent. For those people, it is impossible to become a citizen of the UAE even if they were born in the state, which means that only twenty percent of the population can benefit from the wealth obtained from the natural resources.
On the one hand, the native individuals are entitled to own land, a house, job, and free education from any institution in the world form the moment of birth, which provides an illustration of privilege. They do not encounter any societal barriers and are set for life by being born in a specific bloodline.
On the other hand, among the problems that can be widely encountered in UAE is oppression. Any individual without a job is expelled from the nation with an aim to maintain a high GDP per capita. In the past decade, blue-collar workers did not have any rights and were living in horrifying conditions, which were close to slavery. Most of the population does not have the right to vote or influence the government in any way. Christians were not allowed to practice our religion, and I was constantly taunted and called an “infidel”.
On my return from the Island of Jamaica, I realised that I was indeed privileged to have grown up as a man in a middle-class family. I became aware of the relativity of the distinction between privilege and oppression, having understood that the world would never be fair, but the fight for equality has to be maintained.
