How can I help change...everything?

As you might know, I am a teacher at a university in the UAE. My job is a little different than most university jobs because my students are already employed. So the normal reasons for people to attend college - to get a job, to get a better salary, to learn new skills - don't apply to my students, as far as they are concerned. I have tried many different approaches to the material in attempts to engage them, but they are constantly resistant.

Needless to say, I am struggling.

I know it is my job as an educator to motivate my students and help them connect what they learn in the classroom to the outside world, to their future. But the way my students see it, they are perfect as they are. They don't need to learn English because they know enough as it is. Or it's too difficult. Or any number of excuses to shut down in class and just play on their cell phones, despite my best efforts to take those awful distractions away.

I am at a loss because everyone around me is saying is that it's too late for these guys (most of my students are men). That I should just go in, present the material whether the students are listening or not, and keep up with the status quo.

I know that's the easiest way to do it. I know that's the sanest way to do it. But I still want to change it, despite the frustration that I am adding to my life by following this path. I want my students to care about my class and improve their English and learning abilities. But I am facing many obstacles that I have yet to encounter in my students in other countries.

To give educators that are not familiar with the UAE education system an idea of what I am referring to, here are some links to peruse:
http://www.edarabia.com/22644/one-in-four-young-emirati-men-dropping-out-of-school/
http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/education/student-cheating-is-a-serious-problem-in-the-uae-academic-says-1.1061287
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/world/middleeast/28iht-educlede28.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Now these problems may seem fairly straight-forward, but I think the biggest issue is that the country is only 41 years old and centralized education is still a fairly new idea. Many Emiratis are familiar with the "Lebanese style" of learning which is teacher-centered, testing heavy, rote learning. So to try and show them that learning can be fun and interesting is something that my students are very resistant to. I only have them for eight or ten week programs, so I need to figure out a way to open their minds in a fairly short amount of time.

So here lies the question: How can I help change...everything?