Fujairah: Yasmin Othman Tinai is a bright young professional working in Abu Dhabi as a production assistant.

Listening to her speak Arabic might throw one off as she has a perfect Syrian accent. Yasmin is, in fact, an Eritrean who was born and brought up in Abu Dhabi. She says her accent was influenced by her friends when she was at school, adding that her sisters actually speak with an Emirati accent.

Yasmin is part of the worldwide Eritrean diaspora; a result of Africa's longest war in the last century and Eritrea's independence from Ethiopia. For the younger generations, such as Yasmin and her sisters, having multiple national identities and allegiances is part of such an experience.

Despite feeling a sense of belonging when celebrating the UAE national day, Yasmin has made the effort to learn an Eritrean language and other aspects of her native culture so as to fulfill another instinct of belonging.

She said: "That [Eritrean] identity is there now; we try to pass it on to the younger generation through social and religious celebrations, even if only to make them curious about their heritage."

Al Ameen Naf'e, Chargé d'affaires at the Eritrean Embassy in Abu Dhabi, estimates the number of the community to be around the 4,000 mark in the UAE.

He said, "Eritreans have been coming to the UAE since the seventies and today our largest presence is in Dubai and Abu Dhabi where we have two community associations."

Many in the community are registered either with the embassy or the consulate, and those registered are, in fact, taxpayers as they are required to pay a contribution of two per cent of their wages. But equally, there are many who want little to do with any Eritrean government representatives, if they can help it.

Flight to the UAE

  • They started arriving in the UAE in the seventies, after 1977 in particular.
  • Fighting between Ethiopians and Eritreans caused the flight to the UAE, where the educated Eritreans filled jobs in the government and private sectors.
  • It is estimated there are over 4,000 Eritreans in the UAE.
  • The largest concentration of Eritreans is in Dubai, followed by Abu Dhabi and Sharjah.
  • There are Eritrean cultural associations in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, as well as a number of Eritrean restaurants in Dubai.