Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, Egypt, Yemen, Oman, Sudan, Jerusalem and
Jordan to name but a few. Dubai is host to an amazing mix of nationalities and in the second of a series on the communities of Dubai Al Shindagah profiles the different Arabs who have contributed to making Dubai what it is today.
Several decades of dramatic change in the United Arab Emirates have been
accomplished as a partnership between the national leadership and
population and a large migrant force which has contributed both brain
and brawn. Arab states have supplied a great deal of both commodities in
the form of professionals and labour, the skills required to build a new
nation.
The estimated total population of the United Arab Emirates is
approximately two and a half million. A major portion of that consists
of Arabs from a diverse array of countries across the Middle East. The
size of their various communities in the UAE reflects several factors.
When abundant petroleum resources were discovered a quarter of a century
ago, the newly federated UAE had a small population and few of the
skills required for modernisation.
The call for assistance went out and many Arabs answered, some arriving
from nations which had already developed a large educated cadre in
fields such as petroleum and administration, others from more developed
economies coming to prospect as commercial entrepreneurs, and others
fleeing the chaos of war and destruction.
Some of these expatriates came and went, but large numbers stayed in the
rapidly developing state to develop their careers, raise their families,
and in many cases to acquire a great sense of attachment to their new
home.
Several hundred Arabs had arrived before the federation in 1971.
Egyptian educational personnel were seconded officially by the
government of Egypt, some of them financed by Kuwait which was helping
the Trucial States at the time. A number of doctors from Egypt and Iraq
were present to watch the transition to federation, along with a number
of traders from Lebanon, Palestine, Iraq, and Yemen. Mohammed Zafer is
from Lebanon and works as Marketing Coordinator for Emarat. He first
arrived in Bahrain in the 1950s to work as an accountant, was later
recruited by Shell in Qatar where he spent almost a decade, and from
there arrived in Dubai in 1971, just a month before the hand-over of
power from the British. “I still remember when I first arrived. Dubai
was nothing compared to today. But there were charming aspects to life
back then, for example the sense of community and the more relaxed pace.
All of the Arab expats used to gather at the old Sindbad restaurant in
Nassir Square. Now that place is just dust under the gigantic new towers
there.”
The first years of development in Dubai were gradual, during which time
qualified Arabs were recruited to help plan and construct the initial
elements of infrastructure, from roads and power plants to schools and
housing. Engineers and architects arrived from the Lebanon and
Palestine, Egypt and Sudan, as well as educational personnel and civil
administrators and medical personnel and traders.
A large number of Lebanese professionals started arriving in the mid-70s
when the tragic civil war was shredding their country. “The influx was
remarkable,” remembers Mohammed Zafer. “Lebanese professionals from all
of the communal groupings started appearing, along with Palestinian
refugees with Lebanese documents. Many of them arrived with no visa.
They would leave their travel papers at the airport and enter town to
find a sponsor. Once a local arrangement had been negotiated, then they
could retrieve their passport.”
That story highlights a point emphasised by the Arab expats who have
resided in Dubai for many years. The aspiration for solidarity is one of
the most persistent themes, and frustrations, of the peoples of the Arab
world. The leadership of the United Arab Emirates has translated this
hope into practical action by consistently offering solidarity and
refuge to various Arab groups in their time of trouble. When disaster
befell the Palestinians in 1967 with the Israeli conquest of the West
Bank and Gaza, many thousands of Gazans with Egyptian travel documents
made their way to the UAE. During the Lebanese civil war, both Lebanese
and Palestinians came to Abu Dhabi and Dubai to make new lives. In the
first Gulf War between Iraq and Iran, many Arabs from both sides of that
grim battle were welcomed by Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid. After the
invasion of Kuwait, many thousands of Kuwaitis found shelter in Dubai.
Solidarity
Maan Halabi is the Executive Director of the Al Habtoor Group, and
arrived in Dubai in 1979. He has an Iraqi passport, though his family
originated from Syria, and he has witnessed for almost two decades the
solidarity exhibited by the local population with their Arab brothers.
“The government of the UAE have always made every effort to make other
Arabs feel welcome,” Maan says. “We were always treated as equals here.
The reception that was given to those who had encountered difficulties,
such as the Palestinians, the Lebanese and the Kuwaitis, confirms the
sense of united destiny. For that generosity the people of the UAE will
always have a special place in our hearts.”
A survey of the various Arab national groups in Dubai and the UAE
reveals some interesting patterns which reflect the regional history of
development and politics and war.
Egypt contributed most of the original educational specialists required
to launch the school system in the UAE. (Every young Emirati has a fond
story to tell about their Egyptian teachers!) Many of the medical staff
and ministerial personnel also came from the nation which is called ‘the
mother of Arab civilisation.’
The Egyptian presence runs across the employment spectrum, from PhD
consultants and construction, to the media, hotels, secretaries and
agricultural labour. But it wasn’t always that way, says Mohammed Zaher
of Emarat. “Nassir had restricted professionals leaving the country,
only permitting it if they were officially seconded by the government.
This was typical of the socialist penchant for controlling everything.
The Egyptian presence in the UAE only started to expand when President
Sadat of Egypt came to power, as he granted his people the right to work
overseas. Now all of the Arab states with a large population encourage
this sort of economic migration, because they are eager for the foreign
exchange.”
Included in the Egyptian tally are the Palestinians who came from Gaza
and had been granted Egyptian travel documents after the Zionist
aggression in 1948. These migrant Gazans tend to be concentrated in
Dubai, whereas the Palestinians who arrived in the middle 70s to flee
the Lebanese civil war congregated in Abu Dhabi, as many were qualified
to work in the oil industry.
Historically, the Palestinian refugees in Syria have not tended to
migrate so much, because the government of Hafiz Assad has bestowed on
them the right to work and reside outside of the camps, as opposed to
Lebanese restrictions on the refugees. There is little that occurs in
the Arab world that does not resonate with echoes from a complex past.
The Lebanese
Another of the large Arab communities in the UAE are the Lebanese.
Because of their longer history of advanced educational facilities,
there were many qualified experts to recruit for development projects in
the UAE. The professions in which they have tended to take employment
have been in medicine, service industries, and entrepreneurial
partnerships with locals. A classic example of the potential of such
collaboration is the business relationship forged between Khalaf Al
Habtoor and engineer Riad Sadiq which formed the basis of Al Habtoor
Engineering. Nearly twenty years later, that firm is the cornerstone of
the widely diversified Al Habtoor Group, and has contracted for many of
the major construction projects of the UAE.
The Arab expatriates from the other states in the region have frequently
specialised in certain professions.
The Moroccans have contributed over the years many thousands of young
men to the ranks of the national army. The Yemenis are well represented
in the police forces of the different Emirates, although there are also
quite a few well-known merchants originating from that nation. The
Sudanese have arrived in fewer numbers than their Egyptian cousins to
the north, and have tended to find employment in education and
government ministries.
The Syrians are less numerous than the Lebanese, and their talents have
ranged over a wide spectrum from commerce and engineering to mechanics,
transport, and the various service industries.
The Jordanians have migrated in fewer numbers, except for the
Palestinians with Jordanian travel documents, remnant from the period
when the Hashimite Kingdom ruled Jerusalem and the West Bank. The Iraqis
are represented by a similarly moderate number of employment migrants,
typically being professionals who have sought better prospects in the
Gulf, escape from war, and relief from the political intrigues of their
troubled nation.
The Gulf states have had an interesting role to play in this story of
the Arab contribution to the development of the UAE. Prior to the
assumption of power by Sultan Qaboos, Omanis used to provide labour for
farms and fishing, but after the change in regime in the Sultanate in
the same year as UAE’s federation, the Omanis were summoned home.
Now they return in droves for shopping expeditions and for business
activities and for tourism, although there is still a large contingent
employed in the police forces. The Saudis and Qataris arrive to boost
the Emirati tourism industry. An increasing number of qualified
Bahrainis have arrived to take employment in the thriving UAE economy.
The Kuwaitis have had a long history of involvement with the Emirates,
even donating generous development aid prior to the discovery of oil in
Abu Dhabi and Dubai. During the occupation of their nation in the early
90s, thousands of refugees were welcomed by the government of the UAE
which led to many of them purchasing property and making various other
long-term business investments in the UAE.
What are the social dynamics between these various communities? The Arab
aspiration for unity is famous, but equally well-known are their many
divisions. “There is a lot of friendly interaction between the various
Arabs, especially at work,” explains Maan Halabi of the Al Habtoor
Group.
“But of course groups gather socially on the basis of family and local
area origins from back home. After all, we Arabs always appreciate the
strong bonds of family and place, and we carry those prejudices with us
like baggage.”
A more recent addition to the ranks of Arab managers in the UAE is Atieh
Hamarneh, a Jordanian who was appointed in 1996 as General Manager of
the Holiday Inn Resort Sharjah Continental. As a member of the younger
generation of Arab professionals who arrived much later than earlier
compatriots, he has an interesting perspective on social interaction
between the Arab communities.
“I felt as a newcomer that integration was a little bit difficult. Many
in the various Arab communities have been here for a long time, so each
nationality tends to have their well-defined circles. In addition, Arab
expats in the UAE are very business minded, so many of the relationships
in those circles are therefore based on the business interests they
share. And everyone is so busy here.
“That makes it hard for new people to be integrated. The younger
generation is different, whether born here or newcomers. They tend to be
more open minded.
“Here in the Dubai community, the locals are probably more open to
genuine social relationships with the other Arabs than most other places
in the Gulf. The late Sheikh Rashid was the first among them. When he
died, his many Arab friends from other countries felt his passing like
that of a father.”
The migration of millions of Arabs from all corners of the Middle East
to live and work together in the Gulf states is one of the more
fascinating and positive stories in the region during a grim 20th
century.
The fact that the intermingling has happened at all and that it has been
so productive is a historic achievement. Each of these migrants will
eventually return home, having discarded many misconceptions about their
fellow Arabs and having gained a greater sense of common identity.
The success of this large scale social experiment has been little noted,
but is one of the more far-reaching consequences of the modernisation
process of the Gulf states. The achievement demonstrates that the
destiny of the Arab nation might indeed be unity.