Arabs in Foreign Lands

This short narrative, titled “Arabs in Foreign Lands,” was written by Moisés Naím for the website foreignpolicy.com in 2005. Naím’s main focus for this essay was to raise awareness about Arab’s success in America versus their poverty stricken economies in the Middle East. Through research, Naím found a 2000 census stating that Arab-Americans were earning 4.6% higher incomes than other Americans. He also found that while 42% of Arabs were working either management or professional jobs in the U.S., only 34% of Americans were working similar jobs; I can attest to this first hand. When working at Menard’s, our floor manager was an Arab-American named Ahmed. Moreover, it seems obvious that Arab-Americans are doing quite a bit better than other Americans. Furthermore, Arabs who immigrated to America are, in general, doing exponentially better and are far more successful than those still in the Middle East. Naím claims that there are 3 main problems with the Middle Eastern work force, which remain in the Middle East. Firstly, the Middle Eastern countries do not generate an informed and capable work force. Secondly, Middle Eastern countries continue to mistrust or reject new techniques and ideas that come from their hated Western world. Finally, the Middle East does not respect such knowledge as some people do manage to acquire and achieve. Naím found that at the 2005 rate, it would have taken Middle Easterner 140 years versus an American 10 years to double their incomes.
I think this is a testament to the great opportunities and socio-economic standards we live by in America. Despite our economy’s current plummet, we still have a standard of living that is exponentially higher than in the Middle East. I think this is also a testament to the laziness of some other Americans. I have also seen other foreign work ethics that are better than a lot of American-born people, and that is of Mexican immigrants. In summary, I feel that many Americans should gain an appreciation for the great country we live in. By proving and showing appreciation, we should boost our work ethic, become less lazy and work to grow in our careers and economy.