Dubai: "I miss the warmth of my country, the mountains, the trees, and the four different seasons of Azerbaijan," said Valida Gazibayova, a 25-year-old marketing manager at a Dubai real estate firm.
Gazibayova is among the approximately 1,500 Azerbaijanis living in the UAE. Although small in number, they have created a vibrant community and preserved their culture and traditions. Most Azerbaijanis in the UAE reside in Dubai as it offers enticing job opportunities, with 15 to 20 per cent of them being investors in real estate, said Samir Imanov, head of the Azerbaijani community in the UAE.
"The safe and secure environment creates an incentive for Azerbaijanis to invest in the UAE along with the advantage of being a tax free country," he said.
There has been a significant increase in the number of Azerbaijani people in the UAE recently. While they numbered some 10 to 15 residents in 1992, they now make up over 1,500. The Azeri community gathers every month or two in an effort to keep their traditions and customs alive here, which is especially important for younger Azerbaijanis who have not lived in their home country for long, and is now trying to set up an association.
Gazibayova came to the UAE to study and decided to stay on to get multinational experience, but says she will eventually move back to her country, seeing it as her duty to do so. "I miss speaking my lang-uage," she said.
Her words were echoed by Gunay Hajiyeva, an Azeri in Dubai, who says she takes part in every Azeri cultural event in the UAE. "It's the least I can do for my country," she said.
Despite praising the security offered by the UAE Hajiyeva says nothing will replace Azerbaijan.
Fast Facts
- There are approximately 1,500 Azerbaijanis in the UAE
- They started coming to the UAE in the early 1990s.
- 80 per cent reside in Dubai as students and as employees or investors in real estate.
