To understand why the Arab Spring has largely passed by the United Arab Emirates, take a moment to listen to Naser Al Hammadi. "What more do we need?" says the 30-year-old electrical engineer. "Here, everything is taken care of. Our education. Our health care. We have free housing."
Hammadi's sentiment was repeated by a group of about 150 men gathered outside the Federal Supreme Court in Abu Dhabi in a rare public demonstration Monday morning. In the 110-degree heat, the government supporters rallied in a park across the street from court, chanting in support of the U.A.E.'s ruler, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan, and passing out national flags and scarves featuring the ruler and the crown prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al Nahyan. Inside, five Emirati intellectuals, jailed since April, were appearing for their second day in court, fighting charges that they were "perpetrating acts that pose a threat to state security, [by] undermining the public order, opposing the government system and insulting" the U.A.E.'s rulers. "We Emiratis rarely speak to the media but we have come here to enhance our voices," says Khaled Al Hosani, another Emirati who joined the gathering. "They [the accused] are not allowed to speak on behalf of us."
The U.A.E.'s wealth shields it from the sort of economic pressures that have sparked unrest in Egypt and Tunisia. The country has one of the highest incomes per capita in the world, and fat government coffers make sure the needs of locals are met, including free housing, health care and education, and heavily subsidized energy. A relatively small and close-knit citizenry with close ties to the ruling families has also staved off mass discontent with how ordinary Emiratis are governed.
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