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: Arabic Knowledge@Wharton
(http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/arabic/article.cfm?articleid=2536)
Long before the rest of the world was drawn to the Gulf by the bright lights and glitz of This is a
single/personal use
Dubai, Indians saw it -- and the rest of the Gulf region -- as a place to make it big. With copy of Arabic
Knowledge@Wharton.
nearly 5.5 million NRIs living in the Middle East, they outnumber the combined Indian For multiple copies,
custom reprints,
populations of the U.S. (2.2 million) and the U.K. (1.5 million). The emirates have e-prints, posters or
plaques, please
already produced a number of Indian success stories, and even the average non-resident contact PARS
International:
Indian (NRI) can earn more money and have a better quality of life than back home. reprints@parsintl.com
P. (212) 221-9595
x407.
Local economies are also reaping the rewards of these Middle Eastern forays. Gulf expats
-- largely from the working and middle classes -- sent some US$27.5 billion of remittances back home to
their families this past year alone, according to the Reserve Bank of India. And as Sanjay Verma, Consul
General of India to Dubai and the Northern Emirates, pointed out in a statement to local press during
Indian Independence Day celebrations in August, it's not just India that has benefited. "Indian
entrepreneurs marched in step from the very beginning with the people of the Middle East, forging
symbiotic links, which have benefitted both India and this region," he said.
But this critical flow of capital has been interrupted by the economic downturn -- the wages of many
NRIs are being slashed, the cost of living is increasing and personal investments are shrinking. The
change in fortune has left the Indian government accused of not doing enough to provide financial safety
nets for these NRIs and many Indians in the region are wondering whether the disadvantages of being an
expat in the Gulf -- like being separated from family and friends back at home and not enjoying the same
rights as local national --now outweigh the advantages.
There once was a time when NRIs arriving in the Gulf "made money and totally changed their lifestyles,"
says K.V. Shamsudheen, chairman of the Sharjah-based Pravasi Bandhu Welfare Trust, which provides
financial advice to middle-class Indians. "Today, it is a very different experience. Things are so expensive
now…. People are asking, 'What is the use of being here?'"
No Longer Affordable
That is indeed a question being asked by many NRIs raising their children in the Gulf. For them, one of
the toughest downturn-related changes has been escalating school fees. Typically, NRI families send their
children to private, Indian-run schools, which cost considerably less than the schools catering to Western
expatriates. (Wage discrimination also plays a role here -- a Western expat typically earns three times
more than a counterpart from South Asia.)
When authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) allowed private Indian schools in Dubai to raise
fees by 20% this May, they were met with howls of protests by parents who, however, have had little
choice but to pay up since demand for school places far exceeds supply. A case in point: This past
semester, Abu Dhabi's Our Own English High School had more than 3,500 children on its waiting list for
180 spaces. NRIs, then, have two choices -- fork out for the higher fees or pack up their children and send
them back home while one or both parents stay behind to continue working.
Other families -- as well as individual NRIs -- have other reasons for packing up altogether. The Indian
government estimated that last year, 150,000 Indians in the Gulf returned home after losing their jobs.
Others, meanwhile, have tumbled deep into debt. A report published in August by Dubai-based
consultancy International Swiss Debt Management said Indian residents had the highest debt levels
among all expats in the region. Some of those in debt include more than 1,000 Indians, who are in jail in
All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Page 1 of 3
Is the Gulf Dream Fading for India's Middle East Diaspora?: Arabic Knowledge@Wharton
(http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/arabic/article.cfm?articleid=2536)
All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Page 2 of 3
Is the Gulf Dream Fading for India's Middle East Diaspora?: Arabic Knowledge@Wharton
(http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/arabic/article.cfm?articleid=2536)
collaboration with the UAE's Ministry of Labor and the Protector of Emigrants in India, plans to roll out
an online depository of the originals of employment contracts, which can be used in case there is a dispute
between an employee and employer. According to M.K. Lokesh, the Indian ambassador to the UAE, "this
will not only prevent duping workers with false promises, but also help us develop a database on the
performance of the companies recruiting workers from India."
This is a single/personal use copy of Arabic Knowledge@Wharton. For multiple copies, custom reprints, e-prints, posters or plaques, please
contact PARS International: reprints@parsintl.com P. (212) 221-9595 x407.
All materials copyright of the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. Page 3 of 3