Home, a generation or two ago, would be simply where you were born, a place where you owned a house or two, the country whose team you rooted for, or whose passport you carried.
But we no longer live in such simple times. Changing economic realities, technological innovation and increased mobility have ensured that all one’s personal landmarks may not be in one place. “Borderless transfer of technology, investment and information are all hallmarks of a globalised world. Those who master these three are part of a narrative of success,” says Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE and author of the book Reform in the Arab World: External Influences and Regional Debates.
For committed expats who live and work here alongside its citizens, the UAE creates a sense of belonging. The foundation for the global nation is laid by the UAE national. At home in the UAE, he remains a potential buyer for second and third homes in the UK, the Bahamas, France or, now, Turkey. As a businessperson, the Emirati has interests in everything from sports clubs to bottled water companies and conglomerates all over the world. As an Emirati at home, expat friends are a part of life.
“It happens very naturally. In my case and in the case of my father, for instance, we grew up with a lot of expat friends and got invited to everything from Christmas to Diwali. As children, this was a part of our lives. We embrace all the nationalities that are here,” says Nayla Al Khaja, the UAE’s first woman film producer.
This multiculturalism informs many aspects of UAE. At the Abu Dhabi Tourism & Culture Authority, for instance, events are planned with an inclusiveness that would be foreign to many nations around the world. At the Arab-German Cultural Seminar in Berlin, for instance, the Shaikh Zayed Book Award aims “to open the door for the cultural dialogue between the East and the West”. The Emirates Photography Competition has a six-strong jury from four countries and last year boasted entries from 134 countries.
“When I taught a class of young UAE nationals, the one thing that impressed me was their answer when I asked them what they wanted to be when they grow older,” says Mark Beer, former head of the British Business Group in Dubai and a resident since 1997, who taught a life skills class. “They did not talk about what they wanted to be in Dubai or the UAE or the Middle East. They spoke about changing the world.
“It is an extraordinary position for our schoolchildren to already believe that they have the ability to change the world.”
The people of the Gulf, Ahmad says, don’t make investments in investment funds alone but look at productive enterprise. “Investments are done on the basis of commercial considerations. It is not meant to be a conquest. There is no change in entity of the businesses acquired — they continue to flourish,” he says.
It is this world view that informs the decisions that seem visionary in hindsight. “I have lived in Kuwait and the UAE,” says long-time expat Tony Jashanmal. “Our family has been spread out in all these countries even before I started working.
“We were the first department store in many Gulf countries. In most cases we were invited to come and open it when oil was found, to help the oil industry people coming from the UK and the US,” the scion of the Jashanmal Group, now headquartered in the UAE, tells GN Focus.
Guest workers to committed expats
Indeed, guest worker has long been the hospitable term used to describe expats in the region, who are invited to contribute productively. An Indian national, Jashanmal, for instance, is the third generation to call the region home.
“We feel a loyalty to this country. One is born here; one is successful because of the benevolence and the facilities. There are restrictions, but even with those requirements one still prospers and one is proud of the country and the environment that has allowed this,” says Jashanmal.
Ahmad says that this ease of life for expats is by no means universal, or accidental. “The UAE is unique. Dubai has truly projected itself as an international city. It is the Venice of the 21st century. In the Renaissance in the 14th and the 15th century, Venice flourished as an international trade centre, with Turks, Armenians and other nationalities living there, who had been brought together by trade. The principles were the same as Dubai now — don’t make a nuisance of yourself, don’t do anything contrary to public order and we facilitate your economic activity,” he says.
Back in 1956, when the first Jashanmal store opened in Dubai, a good relationship with the ruler may have been the foundation for acquiring land for the store and similar commercial concessions. Bypassing the immigrant status debate, the UAE continues to formalise many policies that ease residents’ lives — one example being the e-gate card that does away with showing passports at borders.
Beer says the UAE has consciously set up systems for nationalities to live and work together. Much has changed since he first came to the UAE. “Even in 1997 it was a very positive place to work in. What has changed is the ability to own property, since 2002, and to own a business outright. It makes the bond between the individual and the country so much stronger,” he says.
Immigrant communities
American poet Maya Angelou said: “I long, as does every human being, to be at home wherever I find myself.” Taking it to the next step is the UAE resident, who makes the place comfortable like home in many ways.
Beer says: “The UAE has been committed to the development of everyone who contributes positively to its society, whether that is a school, a university or whether that is work. If you look back to 1971, there was one school and no universities. Now just 40 or so years later, there are more than 400 schools and 90 universities in the UAE.”
Along with sweets doing the rounds in multicultural offices, the backpack from home comes with education systems, financial access and supermarket shelves full of familiar goodies. “The UAE provides opportunities for subcultural interactions. Every community has its own association, which is a source of comfort for its people,” says Ahmad.
The one thing needed to improve the UAE resident’s sense of belonging, he says, is “one community seeing more of others”.
For Nayla, this would be enhanced if expats made the effort to learn Arabic. “We would have so much respect for someone who has learnt to speak Arabic fluently,” she says.
Ahmad’s tenure as the Indian ambassador is still remembered fondly by non-Indian expats and UAE nationals, characterised as it was by events that saw much intermingling. One such event was an Indo-UAE art exhibition where Indian and Emirati artists showed their work together. Another effort saw 15 Indian books translated into Arabic. “I truly attempted to reach out. The premise of the art exhibition was that the soil of the Emirates has nourished cultural expression of Indians livings in the UAE,” says Ahmad.
In many ways, the committed expat keeps alive the unique character of the UAE — hospitality and heritage combined with a global outlook. Taxi and truck drivers, for instance, take the time to guide the lost newcomer, sometimes foregoing fares or taking detours to drop them at their destination.
Educators from all over the world are currently debating ways to maximise instruction in Arabic, even as world-class architects try to keep alive the tradition of Arish houses made of palm leaves, endemic to the region.
As Nayla says, “Expats complete us, they help us build our economy. Even at events, you cannot go without socialising with expats.”
Her compatriot, Yusra Al Gaffar, Head of Branches, United Arab Bank, says: “Our roots are here and we gain multicultural experiences with all nationalities. It is to our advantage.”
Beer tells a story of a North African acquaintance describing life in the UAE. “He said that for many people in the region, Dubai is like the end of a very long and dark tunnel. To an extent it is because the city is culturally diverse, tolerant, open and flexible. It has an extraordinary vision from its leadership, with a passion for long-term development that makes it a good place for committed expats. We know how we fit in.”
