How working in the UAE has changed lives

The often-underestimated efforts of labourers help build the economies of this nation and their home countries.

Ahmed Arif runs his own successful small business in an Indian village – and he has a decade of hard work in the UAE to thank for it. As The National reported yesterday, he is one of many former labourers who have used the money they earned here, and the skills they developed, to help their families and secure their own futures upon their return home. Mr Arif's is one of thousands of good-news accounts that show the other side of the story from the serious, but thankfully rare, difficulties some expatriate workers face in the UAE.

It is well known that middle- and high-income workers from Europe, Australia, East Asia and North America flock to the UAE to enjoy the comfortable lifestyle, sunny weather and tax-free incomes. But the stories of people like Mr Arif, who went home and set up a modest novelty shop with the money he earned from construction work in Dubai, are arguably more significant. For them, finding employment in the UAE – albeit low-paid by western standards – is genuinely life-changing.

The Gulf Cooperation Council countries are the major source of remittances to India, accounting for $25 billion (Dh91.8bn) of the total $69bn sent to the country in the 2012-13 financial year. Indians are just one of the groups that do this. Workers from the Philippines, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Egypt, Jordan, Syria and many other countries are also able to assist their families by remitting their wages as builders, security guards, waiters, domestic helpers, drivers, gardeners, road workers and similar jobs.

This money provides tangible flow-on effects that transcend the individual worker and his or her immediate circle. It allows families to build homes, freeing them from the insecurity of being at the whim of landlords, and provides spending money that strengthens local economies, helping to raise the standard of living for entire communities and creating hope where none had previously existed.

While labourers – especially those who have had to leave their loved ones behind – undoubtedly face hardships working in the UAE, they come here by choice. They earn more money than they could at home, providing a sense of financial security, and hone skills that will help them build a brighter future. They also make a strong contribution to this nation that is too often underestimated. It is a relationship that works for all parties and builds wealth both here and abroad.