著者

鷹木 恵子 Keiko Takaki 桜美林大学 Obirin University

雑誌

国際学レヴュー = The Review of international studies (ISSN:09162690)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.1, pp.77-97, 1989-04-25

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This study is a part of Research Project entitled "Cultural fusion and cultural conflict in the Gulf" sponsored by the Ministry of Education of Japan. The field-work was carried out in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) during July and August, 1987. U.A.E., like the other Gulf countries, has undergone drastic socio-economical changes since oil exploitation started. The huge oil money income has brought not only economic changes but also socio-structural and cultural changes due mainly to the number of foreign migrant workers. They have been immigrating to this area in response to the needs of manpower in the process of socio-economic development. In this paper, the topic of cultural fusion and cultural conflict is surveyed by focusing on the migrant workers in Dubai. Interviews with the migrant workers were conducted and their motivation for immigration to U.A.E., their impressions about life in Dubai, their daily problems, and their perspectives for the future were examined. After carrying out this preliminary research, we came to a tentative counclusion contrary to our original supposition. In spite of the co-existence of many different ethnic groups of migrant workers in Dubai, cultural fusion and cultural conflict are not occuring as much as we had expected. For the foreign migrant workers, economic and working conditions and creation of a new social-network in Dubai are the central issues of concern and have greater importance than cultural assimilation, such as learning the Islamic way of life or the Arabic language. The creation of a social network, in a way, functions as a strategy for resolving their daily problems and for adaptation to the life in U.A.E. without major modification of their own cultual background.