Third country children- are they truly global or just lost

Dubai is a city of contrasts, a huge salad rather than a melting pot. It is a city where each community retains its identity and its ties while living together with others. So what happens to the children born here and who grow up here. Here is my take on their life as third country children. The children in Dubai grow up rather privileged. A mother once commented that when she takes her children back home, they come across very naive compared to the children there. The exact quote was "Dehatis in branded clothes" which translates as village bumpkins in branded clothes. In some ways it is very true since the majority of the children here have things done for them. It is a wonderful place for doing a lot of stuff but teaches very little in terms of life skills. Our children grow up sometimes very unaware of life. Also there is no sense of belonging in a way. The country they were born in and brought up in considers them aliens. The country whose passport they hold treats them like that. They have no flag to salute, no national anthem to sing. While one may argue that this is a great opportunity to transcend national borders, our children can do so only if this beautiful country was more of a melting pot. Instead it is like a giant salad, where each portion is distinct and untouched by the character and quality of the others. Perhaps one can go as far as to say that Dubai is home to various ghettos. Each nationality does not really mix with the others nor adopts any of the culture. Arabic should have been second language to these kids. Instead they barely know how to read and write and not speak it at all. What a tragedy this is!!Perhaps here is where we as parents need to stop and think whether we are truly giving our children the international experience. But I also feel that unless one learns to appreciate one's own culture and traditions one finds it hard to appreciate the other. What do we need to do to give our children a sense of identity and of belonging? I have still to find the answer. If only I can help my child to be part of the melting pot and fully appreciate our own culture will I feel my child is a global citizen, completely at ease with various nationalities and able to appreciate the similarities and accept the differences.