Patriotic Expats: Non-Citizen’s Sense of Belonging in the UAE
Introduction:
The United Arab Emirates is home to around 7.8 million non-citizens, almost 90% of the UAE’s population, but although many of these people have been living in the country for years with no plans on leaving, calling it home may be a controversial claim. The United Arab Emirates is an ethnocracy that holds its generous material privileges exclusively for their ethnically Emirati citizens. Meanwhile, non-citizens are subject to the instabilities of a migrant status dependent on their employer, therefore being readily deportable if need be. This peculiar hierarchy begs the question then, how do non-citizens relate to their impermanent home and showcase their belonging in the UAE?
This paper will delve into this question and how the UAE shapes its migrant stock to fit with their needs and national security concerns to create a tenable demographic situation for the country. Different explanations rationalizing the demographic situation are provided: one being that the state’s intentional manipulation of migrant demographics have led to a population that is suited for cooperation with the regime, and the other is the null hypothesis that these are temporary migrants who deal with the situation to take advantage of their higher wages. I argue that there are significant ties that most migrants develop with the UAE that leads to a rooted sense of belonging in the country through interviews I conducted with expatriates going to school at Boston University, examining migration flows, surveys of expatriates, and the body of secondary literature that has been written on the topic.
Theoretical Implications:
The UAE, along with a handful of other Gulf states like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bahrain, problematize certain narratives and assumptions about statecraft because their populations are dominated by non-citizens. The UAE is an especially stark example of this with around 90% of the population not having citizenship. This special example shows the flexibility of statecraft in being able to privilege citizens in a national narrative while using migrants, who are often ignored in the public narrative, to create immense growth in the country as well.
Traditional theory would also suggest that these non-citizens would not display any affinity or sense of belonging to the United Arab Emirates, but that does not necessarily seem to be the case. Previous literature on rule by an ethnic minority elite shows that there is a slightly higher chance of conflict in the country (Fearon), but the UAE problematizes these findings with the interesting dimension that non-Emiratis do not hold citizenship and can thus be easily done away with if they are causing disturbances.
Another study takes a look at several different countries to analyze their willingness to extend citizenship to immigrants. Countries with larger shares of non-citizens are shown to make it less likely for the state to extend citizenship probably because of fears of demographic change. The further the perceived distance in cultures between citizens and non-citizens, the less likely that there will be enfranchisement. Direct democracies are also shown to have less of a likelihood of enfranchisement of non-citizens because there is higher risk (Koukal). These findings provide significant theoretical implications to compare with the case of the UAE since it has shown contrasting preferences for more culturally similar and different groups at different times in its history.
History of Migration in the UAE:
Despite recent state-sponsored revisionist histories that argue to the contrary, the Gulf has for centuries been a multicultural metropolitan society with migrants from across Asia, Africa, and other parts of the Middle East. Present day United Arab Emirates was once part of the Indian Ocean trade network that brought together goods and people from these maritime communities that produced vibrant and diverse cities before the advent of today’s hard national borders. Merchants moved without regard to rulers' wishes to whichever port town was more active in trade at the time. In fact, because of the nature of littoral communities, port cities like Dubai had more culturally in common with other port cities in Iran and in the greater Indian Ocean trade network than with those that lived off of the coast in the Gulf (Potter 2).
Pearls were the basis of Dubai’s economy and the source of its wealth, and with this, labor was attracted to the Gulf coast to work as pearl divers. A sense of possibility of great profit for these migrants was a big part of the local culture. In the 1800s, pearling revenues rapidly increased, allowing for urbanization of what used to be many small villages (Potter 13). Not all of this labor used in the pearling industry was consented to however; slavery was common and involved the migration of East Africans to the region with the use of slavery reaching its peak in in the late 1800s and early 1900s (Potter 25).
Migration patterns in this pearling era would change due to the material conditions of the Gulf. When droughts made life difficult for those in the Arabian Peninsula, Arabs would move to the shores of Iran that were much more fertile. When Reza Shah came to power and enacted unpopular secularist policies in Iran, Persians moved to the shores of the Arabian Peninsula. Migration was simply a part of life.
The advent of the oil industry after its discovery in the Gulf led to another wave of migration. This is the story more commonly known, and promoted by the Gulf states. This post-oil Gulf will be delved into throughout the paper as it is more relevant to the current state of migration to the UAE.
Displays of Belonging:
The UAE as a Preference
The UAE has attracted their large number of migrants due to the country’s prosperity and large appetite for foreign labor that the Emirati population can not satisfy. The UAE is a wealthy country with a GDP per capita of $76,609 adjusted for purchasing power parity. This is over 10 times higher than the GDP per capita of its largest sending country, India, and is still larger than the GDP per capita of its top 5 sending countries combined (World Bank).
The possibilities of a prosperous labor-seeking metropolis like the UAE have unsurprisingly attracted migrants from all over the world who seek to find a steady source of good income. In that respect, the UAE provides. Compared to their home countries, wages are much higher. This yields much better living standards in all sorts of respects. In a cross-sectional study of ethnically South Indian children in primary school in India and in the UAE, the Indian children growing up in the UAE were on average 6-10 inches taller as well as less thin. The material abundance available to Indian migrants in the UAE allows for enough calories to ensure healthy growth in children compared to their home country (Habboubi).
A survey of Bangladeshi migrants found that the majority of interviewees reported much better health and weight after moving to the UAE. The UAE also requires employers to supply health insurance for low income workers which leads to increased health outcomes. Unfortunately, these laws are poorly enforced and many companies hire migrants without providing healthcare (Rahman).
Another important but less tangible difference in quality of life of the UAE compared to the sending countries of migrants is security. Bangladesh, the Philippines, Pakistan, and other Asian countries that provide the UAE with their near unlimited supply of migrants all have varying degrees of security issues. The United Arab Emirates in contrast has an incredibly strong security apparatus that leads to low crime in the country. Being able to live and breathe easily without having to worry about crime or violence in their neighborhood has been reported by migrants as an important reason why they prefer living in the UAE (Khondker).
Living standards, whether in terms of economic benefits or safety and security have proved to be major draws for labor migration from the rest of the world, but these migrants do not necessarily fall into the narrative of short-term migrants. Although the UAE’s immigration system does not technically allow for these migrants to apply for long-term status in the country, long-term stays are incredibly common. For many, the United Arab Emirates is not just a stop to make some money, it is preferable as a home compared to their sending countries because of its economic opportunities.
Lifelong Expats
Despite the UAE’s narrative of nationhood that is based on the pure Arab Emirati culture that was in place before immigration from South Asia during the oil boom took off, the true story of the area is much more complicated as mentioned in the History of Migration section earlier in the paper. Present day UAE was home to many ethnically Persian and Indian people from Indian Ocean trade networks for centuries before the creation of the UAE (Potter). In 1946, before there was any state called the United Arab Emirates, ethnic Persians made up 40% of the population of Dubai. Since the creation of the state in 1971, residents would have to prove their patrilineage of ethnically Arab ancestors belonging to the area since 1925, putting ethnic minorities and Arabs without sufficient paperwork on their family into a limbo state of citizenship (Lori). These people have been sidelined by the state, not being fully recognized as citizens but yearning for and petitioning to be citizens, only to be continuously put on hold for an indefinite amount of time.
These people have lived their whole lives in the land that the UAE now holds. They identify as Emirati and follow Emirati culture and practices, but they are not recognized as such. In fact, some who have previously received Emirati passports have gotten it revoked upon an attempt at renewal due to the family’s unknown and unrecorded origins, despite certainly having family ancestry that has been tied to the land that is now the United Arab Emirates. Loose record keeping before the creation of the state along with the indistinct ethnic backgrounds of migrating people have made it problematic for enforcement with the ethnocratic nation-state that is now has been put in place increasing the salience of ethnic identity because of their implications in citizenship status and the benefits that result from it.
The United Arab Emirates has come up with an incredibly bizarre and newfound way to tackle this problem. They have issued passports tied to the Union of Comoros to these people who have slipped through the cracks of the state framework that seeks to put each individual in a category (Lori 3). This offers a temporary solution, that may act as a permanent one in practice, by marking them as migrants, despite all known familial ties being to the land.
Even the narrative of the short-term worker is not entirely accurate. More than two thirds of each foreign nationality residing in the UAE had been living in the country for more than four years according to a survey of over 55,000 non-citizens. Forty percent of non-citizens have stayed more than 6 years in the UAE as of 2005, the last available census. For certain ethnic groups, the numbers are more staggering with 80% of Yemenis having lived in the UAE for over 10 years. At this point, it becomes harder to call this class of people (almost 90% of the population) all short-term temporary migrants (Valenta). The country has a population of ethnically diverse peoples that have grown up solely in the state as well as people from across the world that have come to live in the country for a better life. Many of these people do not envision themselves as temporary residents, but only identify that way because that is the only avenue that the government has provided for them.
Because of a lack of clear and updated data on demographics in the United Arab Emirates, creative interpretations of what available data is needed, but even with the scant data that is available, holes can be poked in the narrative that the government has of their “short-term” migrant population. In 2005, around 480,000 non-Emirati children under the age of 15 lived in the United Arab Emirates. This is a significant bulk of the population, almost half a million people, constituting over 10% of the population. This is a mass of young people growing up with their home being the United Arab Emirates. It can be extrapolated that raising a family in a place is not a sign of purely temporary work. Another figure that pokes a hole in this narrative is the almost 14,000 non-citizens over 65 years old living in the UAE (GLMM). The bulk of these people are not working, and it can be extrapolated that this group of people probably does not plan on contributing much to the UAE at their age. It appears that they plan to live in the UAE indefinitely.
The decision to move to the UAE with the barriers to entry with the amount of time and money that goes into applying for residency in the United Arab Emirates amounts to a significant investment for a supposed “short-term” residency can also be seen as evidence of a more complicated story here. Potential expatriates must go through a series of medical examinations including retinal scans, HIV tests, and a general health exam. Foreign residents are also subject to numerous unofficial taxation due to added fees that only apply to non-citizens including internet service and opening a bank account. Driver’s licenses are incredibly expensive to obtain as well if you are not a citizen. Healthcare and schooling for children are also costs that are not covered by the state for expatriates. The result is that although most expatriates send remittances back to their home country, most of their income is spent inside the United Arab Emirates (Vora 77).
In many ways, non-citizens have transformed the society and culture of the Emirates to be their own with their sheer numbers. Anthropologist and sociologist Neha Vora even argues that Indian migrants are Dubai’s “quintessential citizens” despite their lack of citizenship (Vora 1). South Asian culture is evident in old Dubai through the customs, products, cultural events, and the languages heard on the streets. Dubai has even been described by some as a “clean Bombay” (Vora 66). Expatriates have created a distinct Emirati culture with strong attributes from their home countries. They live as if the UAE is their home.
Many Indian migrants have carved out comfortable middle class lives for themselves in the United Arab Emirates, but attachment to the country does not necessarily mean invocation of being Emirati. Neha Vora conducted interviews with several members of the Indian business community in Dubai and came up with the following conclusions about their attitudes towards the UAE. A large draw from the Indian business community are the economic freedoms available to people in the country and the sense of entrepreneurial spirit that makes Dubai what it is and has been historically. They also see Indians as a major driver of this, being so importantly tied to the city’s history. Importantly, however, many of the people who are a part of this business community, despite their attachment to the UAE, their espousal of its neoliberal values, and acknowledgment of the Indian community’s historical connection to the place, do not identify themselves as being a part of the Emirati nation (Vora 92). But “through narratives and practice,” the Indian business community is deeply Emirati (Vora 115).
Recent developments in the migration system have opened up a new possibility with the Golden Visa. The announcement of the Golden Visa by the UAE in 2019 is the first time the government has issued long term visas. There are two types: 5 year visas and 10 year visas. These are open to high skilled workers that the UAE is in need of to continue its development like scientists, doctors, engineers, entrepreneurs, athletes, successful creatives and highly talented students with several different specific requirements tailored for each individual type of occupation that qualifies for the visa, and importantly, these visas do not require a sponsor. What truly makes this a long-term visa as well is that the family of these Golden Visa recipients are also allowed to move to the UAE and receive Golden Visas (u.ae). Here, the UAE is trying to open up their possibilities for workers that they highly desire, to carve a more attractive long-term space for them while still leaving the majority of lower class workers to continue working with the regular unpredictable system. The United Arab Emirates has shown to be more flexible than some may expect with accommodations for expatriates given their strict reputation, but this is only if it serves their long term interests, as the Golden Visa certainly does.
Personal Accounts
In the process of researching for this paper, I interviewed two expatriates living in the UAE who go to Boston University. This is not a representative sample because of numbers and background, but interviewing them gave me a greater understanding of their individual points of view and I found some definite commonalities in their responses.
The two interviewees were with Rohin Bhajaj and with Youssef Haider. Rohin is ethnically Indian but was born and lived the vast majority of his life in the United Arab Emirates. Youssef’s family moved to the UAE in 2011 from Cairo, Egypt after unrest due to the Arab Uprisings and better job opportunities for his father who got a teaching position at the University of Sharjah. Both Rohin and Youssef responded that their home was in the UAE without hesitation. That was where their family was, their life, where they spent their childhood (Bhajaj, Haider). This question of one’s home has proved to be an important one. In Sitwat Hashmi’s documentary on expatriates in the UAE, several of the respondents answered similarly, that no matter what the state classified them as, the UAE was their home. Some on the other hand were more wary, responding that they did not think they could call the UAE home without the country wanting them as well (Hashmi).
For the past twelve years, Youssef has lived in the same home in Sharjah. He went to school at the local British school. He has family that lives nearby in the UAE. His father would have to renew their citizenship status every couple of years, but in all other respects, home did not feel unstable. Rohin’s family moved to India in 1999 and fell in love with the country. The working conditions and pay were much better than their old home in New Delhi when his father found a job as a Sales Manager. He described Indians in the UAE as sharing the same culture with those back in India, but also touched on how the safety of the UAE led them to be much less “street smart” than people who grew up in India (Bhajaj).
Both Youssef and Rohin often talked quite fondly about the UAE. Rohin particularly talked about how inclusive the country is, saying that he never felt out of place. Youssef emphasized his appreciation for living in a Muslim country that shared many of his same values saying “there’s differences culturally speaking between us for sure, but we’re both Arab. We’re both Muslim. It feels like home” (Haider). Rohin is not Muslim, but also talked about taking part in the Emirati culture, observing Ramadan, and going to National Day, were all parts of home that made him love the UAE. At the same time however, Rohin is able to practice Hinduism, participate in the Indian Club in Abu Dhabi, and go to an Indian school (Rohin).
Youssef has faced some challenges though because he is not a citizen. Due to the aforementioned high cost of getting a license in the United Arab Emirates, Youssef needed to get a license through other means. Without family in the United States, Youssef was forced to figure out getting a permit and driving lessons by himself. Since he has US citizenship, he was able to do this and get a driver's license while circumventing the high costs of an Emirati drivers license (Haider). But, even with the inconveniences of getting this license through other means, this is a privilege afforded to him because of his American citizenship. Most expatriates would not even be able to drive on the streets of the UAE, but are rather relegated to walkable sections of cities with clusters of their ethnic group.
The interviews took a bit of a turn when I asked about the future. The indefinite status of their residency in the UAE then sat in the forefront of their minds. That uncertainty is quite acute when it comes to retirement where it is unclear how their parents could do such a thing in the United Arab Emirates, or if they would have to move again in their old age. Both were also quite critical of the government’s human rights violations when it came to certain labor conditions (Bhajaj, Haider).
When asked about their feelings on never being able to attain citizenship, there were some differences. Rohin did seem conflicted about not ever being able to have that stability of permanent residence, but Youssef viewed it differently. He saw it as an inconvenience, but that it was within the rights of the United Arab Emirates to withhold citizenship; it is their country, and visitors must abide by their rules. Overall, however, the interviewees expressed mostly positive feelings towards the UAE and expressed a high sense of belonging being drawn to the place that they called home.
Expat Patriotism
As has been shown above, there are multiple ways in which expatriates in the United Arab Emirates have displayed their sense of belonging. This can be seen as contrary to those who view the United Arab Emirates as what Youssef called, “a transit stop” on the way to somewhere else or just as a means to make more money (Haider). Natalie Koch takes issue with this and the presupposition that, as she puts it, “nationalism is for nationals” (Koch). A look at the UAE’s National Day problematizes this assumption.
National Day in the UAE is December 2nd, and it commemorates the end of the British Protectorate of the Trucial States, handing it over to the newly independent United Arab Emirates (Koch). On National Day, Emiratis and expatriates alike fill the streets in official celebrations for the holiday. In fact, as Koch reported from the National Day parades in Abu Dhabi, the majority of the people in the crowds were South Asian expats either wearing casual clothes or draped in Emirati flags in a display of pride and support for the country that they live in. The UAE government has been pushing for more inclusion of non-citizens with slogans such as “unity through diversity”(Koch), and their public participation projects such as 2020’s which was “towards the next 50” a nod at the fifty year anniversary. But in the forward looking project, the UAE stressed the need for all parts of society to be involved in this project: including expatriates (UAE).
Many expatriates’ patriotism comes out in the prestige of being able to live in the United Arab Emirates. The unity of so many different nationalities in one place is a common topic of official marketing for National Day as well as unofficial reasons for pride in the country (Koch). Rohin brought up his excitement in participating in National Day because of the pride that comes with growing up in such a diverse place, and commented that “even being here in Boston when I tell people I’m from the UAE, it fills me with pride because this place is getting recognition,” (Bhajaj).
Civil Society
A barrier to increased sense of belonging for non-citizens and citizens alike in the United Arab Emirates is the limits that the government has on civil society in the country. Because much of their population comes from countries with significant social strife, the UAE is quite restrictive when it comes to unofficial social groups (Heard-Bey). That being said, there can be some knowledge gleaned from the sense of belonging that is displayed through the roots being planted when one joins and creates such social groups.
There are various different ethnic social clubs for expatriates to participate in cultural activities like Sudanese Club and India Club. India Club is especially popular with over 11,000 followers on Facebook. They throw a myriad of different events throughout the year like comedy nights, banquets, music, sports events, and movie screenings (India Club). Rohin and his family are also active members that enjoy the plethora of activities and events that India Club offers.
Non-cultural clubs are also prevalent in the United Arab Emirates. There are environmental clubs like the Emirates Environmental Group that host events focused on combating water shortages, panel discussions on sustainability, and the launching of a recycling program (EEG). Sports are also incredibly popular which has led to several different unofficial club sports teams like the Lions Cricket Club and the oldest cricket club in the UAE, Darjeeling (Lions, Darjeeling).
In place of perhaps more accurate and expansive opinion polling, the internet can also be a good source for extrapolating a sense of belonging in the United Arab Emirates by expatriates. With the hashtag search #NationalDay #UAE on Twitter, the bulk of the tweets are in Sanskrit (Twitter). On Reddit, there are several subreddits such as r/UAE and r/UAEteenagers filled with expatriates new to the country, trying to make friends in their area and start cricket teams or talk about the latest music festival in town. There was even an ethnicity check poll in the subreddit that showed the bulk of the respondents being South Asian expatriates (Reddit). Neha Vora has also done research on English language blogospheres in the UAE that is itself a budding civil society online. The blogs are spaces for casual conversation, hot takes, and criticism of the government that paradoxically leave a greater sense of belonging and community amongst the blog users (Vora).
Alternative Explanations:
When researching the topic of expatriate sense of belonging in the United Arab Emirates, it is important to look at other plausible alternative explanations to the ones described in this paper. Firstly, I would like to start with perhaps not a totally alternative explanation, but rather a plausible alternative framing that could problematize the conclusions drawn by this paper.
State Crafted Demographics
It is undeniable that the United Arab Emirates actively uses state power over migration to create a population that it believes will be least threatening to the legitimacy of the state. The UAE inherited these tactics from the British Protectorate and continues it to this day. Due to the specter of Arab Nationalism, the Emirati elite running the government chose to actively favor South Asian migrants over Arab migrants to fill their need for low wage labor for oil production (Lori 105). These threats became all the more tangible after strikes by Arab migrants after broadcasts on an Egyptian Arab Nationalist radio program, and the UAE government clamped down heavily with the hand of the government to stifle these strikes (Lori 106). After years of policies that favored Asian migrants for security reasons, the United Arab Emirates began to see this “demographic imbalance” as a threat in the 2010s and began to change policy (Lori 118).
The strength of the UAE’s security apparatus is also an important factor in understanding their control over demographics in the state. Unproductive migrants, if they do not find work within 30 days of losing their previous job, will be deported. Any expatriate that causes any trouble will also be deported. The near endless supply of possible migrants abroad affords the UAE the possibility to be as discriminating as they want. This is succinctly expressed in the phrase that Pardis Mahdavi used to summarize the feelings of employers and recruiters in the UAE that she interviewed in her research, “But we can always get more!” (Mahdavi).
The UAE has used immigration policy to try and shape demographics to craft a population of migrants that will be as unproblematic as possible, resulting in more agreeable expatriates that would lead to a greater sense of belonging in the UAE. If this is true, the argument of the paper still holds, but this would be an important amendment to the reasoning. This explanation shows that selection bias as well is possibly a strong force in this phenomenon of expat patriotism and sense of belonging.
However, I do not feel that this is a strong enough argument to negate the fact of belonging which is still itself a surprising and important thing in and of itself. There are clusters of communities from South Asia that have transformed the culture. Civic organizations and clubs are being created to root these “temporary” migrants to the UAE. National Day celebrations are awash with patriotic people who are not even citizens of the state. Regardless of the selection of these people, the fact that many non-citizens can find a genuine connection to the United Arab Emirates is important to note and study.
Temporary Means Temporary
Another alternative explanation that I find much less convincing is the null hypothesis; no matter what some may say, these are still just temporary migrants on a stop to somewhere else that they may call home.
The argument goes that because of the UAE’s strict citizenship laws, expatriates can be nothing but temporary migrants. Remittances can serve to be indicators of temporary migration. If a significant amount of income is being sent abroad, that can indicate that a migrant is still invested in the people and place that they came from. A survey of 350 migrants in the UAE showed that 21% of Arabic migrants remit over 50% of their earnings, as well 34% of Asian migrants, and as 22% of African migrants sending more than 30% of their income (Khan). The percentages for each race that remitted under the given thresholds were negligent. Additionally, 31% of the survey reported their reason for migration being to support their family (Khan). These are all minorities of migrants, but it is still an important narrative.
In response, I would note that despite all of this, the evidence that the majority of expatriates live in the United Arab Emirates for extended periods of time is too strong of an indication that there is something more than temporary migration here. There are ties being made to the country and the national character is subsequently being changed by these migrants who call the UAE home.
Limitations and Further Research:
Two major barriers in the UAE limit the ability to come to strong conclusions about expatriate sentiments and feelings towards the country. One is the lack of adequate public opinion polling data. There are a handful of such surveys that are usually geared towards specific questions being researched but no broad opinion polling. There are problems that are inevitable in the interpretation of opinion polling from methodology to the phrasing of questions, but polls can be a good way to gauge general public sentiment.
The second barrier is a much more systemic one that will probably not be addressed in the near future. The UAE government's repression of dissent in any form makes it difficult to see whether or not people may be self censoring themselves. The lack of a strong civil society and arena for expression makes the job of discerning the authenticity of expression by expatriates harder than it already would be in a more free and open space. Even with a strong polling industry in the UAE, questions of self censorship would need to be addressed to take accurate extrapolations from the data. These limitations will be hard to overcome but are necessary for more accurate future research.
Conclusion:
The story of the strange demographic situation in the United Arab Emirates is a simple one if you take the state’s narrative at face value; the UAE was a small ethnically homogeneous ethnocracy before the discovery of oil led to a necessary influx of temporary economic migration to work in the oil fields, but the evidence laid out throughout this paper has problematized this story that many have taken for granted. Different modes of belonging are revealed through the small but vibrant expatriate civil society that is allowed under the UAE’s strict laws, the active online migrant community, the enthusiastic participation of the non-citizen population for National Day, and the duration that these migrants are choosing to stay in the country. My interviews with Youssef and Rohin proved to be helpful in getting a fuller understanding of expatriate’s views. All of this information adds up to show that the story of temporary migration is incomplete. There is something more here. Homes and communities are being rooted in this place despite the people’s inability to ever gain the status of citizenship. The introduction of the Golden Visa shows that the state knows there is more ambiguity in the timelines of expatriates than it seems at first glance, and seeks to officially permit long periods of stay for expatriates that they see as valuable. This region has had a long history of migration and cultural mixing that complicates the cookie cutter approach that the state has tried to take with dividing people into categories. But no amount of government intervention or policy initiatives can change the fact that many of these expatriates have found a home in the UAE.
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