An American in the Emirates

A few weeks ago Wade and I had the opportunity to visit the US Consulate and participate in Expatriate Voting Day. We were anxious to go, thinking it would be a cool thing to do, visit with other Americans, I’d never been to a Consulate before. It was all those things. And more. As soon as we entered the inner courtyard of the Consulate, Tessa asked where we were. Wade and I looked at one another and responded, “We’re in America in Dubai Tessie”. For just being a big building on a nice piece of land next to Dubai Creek, it felt oddly like home. Maybe it was the American flag flying over head, maybe it was the familiar accents, maybe the pulled pork sandwiches and cupcakes the Marines were selling.  It made my eyes moist and put an extra beat in my heart to walk and talk amongst my fellow Americans while we all exercised our Democratic right in a nation that does not exercise Democracy.

 

This would be my second time casting an Absentee Ballot. In the Middle East no less. The last time was in the fall of 2000 when George W. Bush was seeking his first term in office opposite Al Gore. I was a student at the BYU-Jerusalem Center, deeply engaged in my experience and developing a soft spot in my heart for the Palestinian people. I left Israel with a new found love of International Politics, a sincere fascination with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and a general interest in the Middle East and their devotion to Islam. In 2001, one year later, I would find myself in New York City the morning of September 11th, when at 9:00 AM the rest of America and the world would become familiar with and now want to pay attention to the Middle East, Islam and a man named Osama Bin Laden. I returned to my apartment in Washington DC devastated. Devastated at the tragedy that was September 11th, and a little devastated that this was now how America would view my beloved Middle East. A few weeks post 9-11, former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto came and spoke on American University’s campus. I remember little of what she said, but I do remember her strength, her hope and her optimism was palpable.  She believed in a better future for the Middle East, she knew it had a long way to go, and would end up staking her life on it a few years later when she was assassinated. But she was convinced that the Arab world could be better than it was and that it’s darkened reputation could be reversed. I left the auditorium thinking I should believe it too. Now fast forward 10 years later when my husband receives a job offer to work and live in Saudi Arabia. The heart of the Middle East and the home of Islam. It’s an area of the world that keeps calling me back. That continues to pull at my heart strings and that I continue to defend when no one else will, or rather when no one else will take the time to understand. I imagine and hope that I will continue to develop a compassion for the Arab people, that I will try hard to understand them, their customs and their nuances. And I hope to be a voice that can help break down the stereo types, the misconceptions.

That all being said. I have never been more proud, and even more grateful to be an American. To be a in a position where my freedoms and rights allow me access to an education. An education where I chose to study a conflict and set of politics other than my own countries. An education for my husband whose fruits put us half way across the world. I am grateful that I can choose who and where I worship. I am grateful I can choose what to wear, where to drive and what to say in regards to my political and religious leaders. I am proud and I am grateful that I have a voice. A voice in regards to my rights as a woman and a voice in who I desire to lead the country I call home. Being an expat is perhaps the best place to be during an election. We don’t see the slimy adds, we don’t hear the political rhetoric day in and day out for months leading up to November 6th.  We don’t hear Fox News and Bill O’Reilly spewing forth their biased garbage. We just watch the debates on line, look at some track records and make an informed decision. And then we vote. Then, we vote. We exercise our right as Americans and vote for the next president of the United States. It is a blessing and a privilege and one I will never take for granted and that I will teach my children the importance of. I am proud and grateful to be an American. I am also, proud and grateful to be having an experience among the Arab people. And I will continue to defend both. I will continue to do my best to bridge the gap of misunderstanding that comes from both sides of the world, so long as they both remain deserving of it. God bless America.