Regardless of how many years I will end up living in the UAE, of one thing I am certain. It is that I shall always look upon myself as a guest in this country.
I live and work in the UAE by the grace and favour of the laws of the land and the courtesy of my employer.
Should any, or all, of these circumstances change then I will be required to leave the country and make my own way in life.
I learnt this lesson soon after arriving in the UAE about 30 years ago. I was told that as a temporary worker, it was best not to form any long-term attachments to the place since at any time I could find myself on the next plane home.
As, indeed, many people unexpectedly did, much to their alarm. (I shall leave aside the very many expatriates who ran off, owing large sums of money to banks that's another story and one that does not show expatriates in a good light at all.)
So, as a "temporary worker" even one of so many years standing it was no surprise to me that the Ministry of Labour recently won its argument in Geneva to redefine immigrant labour as that very category: temporary workers.
I know there are many expatriates who will argue they have worked "long years in difficult conditions helping to bring the country to where it is", but, I argue, it was quid pro quo.
Legal recourse
We gave our labour and in return we got paid. That means a contract of exchange (money for services) was signed, sealed and delivered. If we did not get paid, there was legal recourse to seek redress.
If we did not like the company we worked for, the alternative was to find another job, and if we were unable to find one in the UAE, because of the various government or contractual restrictions then in force, the alternative was to go back to our own country.
The point is, no one is forcing anyone to work in the UAE. Expatriates come to work in the hope of improving their lifestyle.
If it does not prove to be so, then the answer lies in our own hands, no one else. There is no automatic right to employment in the UAE or any other Gulf country, come to that regardless of how many years a person has worked in the country.
Naturalisation, or changing one's citizenship is out of the question for expatriates, again, regardless of how many years a person has lived here (which is why we are now referred to as temporary workers) so it is no good thinking of the UAE as "our country".
That is your place of birth or, in the case of expatriates who have been born in the UAE, ones parents' place of birth. If you find that situation unliveable, then don't live here.
It is wise to remember that as an employee, you do not have any allegiance to your employer beyond the conditions and terms of employment you have agreed to and signed up to.
Employers rarely have regard or concern for their employees for they will, if necessary, "retrench" and gladly sack any number of people so as to keep the company afloat or more profitable.
If an employer thinks like that, why shouldn't an employee think as selfishly? After all, if we are not selfish and "look after No 1" no one else will.
It is natural for a young and developing country to want to use the talents of more experienced or labour-intensive nations to assist in its development.
Equally, it is natural for expatriates seeking better opportunities to seek work in a country with vast employment prospects.
But it does not mean the expatriates should expect any additional entitlements beyond that which have been negotiated and agree upon with their employer.
So, with this in mind, and that in due course of time UAE nationals will want and expect to be employed in their own country, certain measures have to be taken, voluntarily or imposed, to ensure the expanding national population can get jobs, rather than continue to employ workers from foreign countries.
From the outset I used to argue with those who expected more from their "contribution to society".
Then, and still now, I point out that if, in your own country, you were outnumbered 3:1 by foreign nationals, you would feel disgruntled with government policy.
Even more so if the foreigners were employed and you weren't. So perhaps, for a change, expatriates should pause for reflection before making calls for "rights" that do not exist and never have existed.
