"We will stay here three years or longer if the situation in Greece does not get better," says Nikolas Tsimidakis, the executive chef of the Majestic Hotel in Bur Dubai. Jeff Topping / The National
"We will stay here three years or longer if the situation in Greece does not get better," says Nikolas Tsimidakis, the executive chef of the Majestic Hotel in Bur Dubai. Jeff Topping / The National

UAE the land of opportunity for Europe's struggling jobseekers



Tough austerity measures and rising unemployment in the single-currency bloc have forced many Europeans to look to the UAE for healthier job prospects. While some must leave their families behind, others have relocated with their spouses and children to join fellow expatriates. We profile some of the individuals who have left Greece, Portugal, Ireland and Spain.

Greece: Fewer tourists meant chef faced being laid off or having pay cut

Tom Arnold

When Nikolas Tsimidakis's daughter was barely a month old, he made one of the hardest decisions of his life.

Leaving his wife and child in Greece, he uprooted to Dubai to work as an executive chef.

It a was painful move, but he had little choice. Hotels in Greece were hit by a decline in tourism as the country's fiscal crisis scared off visitors. As a result many places were laying off staff or cutting wages.

"The opportunities in Greece were very bad," Mr Tsimidakis says. "I didn't have a job and salaries and insurance were going down and many were offering no pensions. The option was stay in Greece and get hungry or move overseas and find a better life."

A month and a half on, Mr Tsimidakis plans to bring his family to join him in Dubai in September. "We will stay here three years or longer if the situation in Greece does not get better," says Mr Tsimidakis, 33, who works at the Majestic Hotel in Dubai.

He is one of a growing number of Greeks who have switched from their homeland to the UAE in an effort to escape the impact of tough austerity measures and economic problems.

More than 1,000 Greeks have left for the Emirates during the past year, bringing the total expatriate population from the country to more than 3,000.

Stella Giasta, 30, made the same move nine months ago to a job at the Majestic Hotel, where she works as a revenue manager.

"The main reason I came here was a chance to grow my career but the crisis made the reason to leave more urgent," she says.

Panos Psaltakis, a lawyer, relocated to Dubai after the pharmaceuticals company he worked for set up an office in the emirate.

"I made my decision to come in December 2010," he says. "At the time, 70 or 80 per cent of people I spoke to in Greece said, 'You should stay.' When I returned recently 99 per cent of them said, 'You've done the right thing.'"

Mr Psaltakis, 30, blames Greece's problems on successive governments using money from the European Union to grow the public sector to unsustainable levels.

Ireland: Young economic exiles put down roots in a thriving network

Sean Cronin

It may not be the most obvious place to watch Irish national sports but there are now an estimated 150 people playing regular Gaelic football and hurling in Dubai alone.

The numbers have doubled from five years ago, while other teams are growing in Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and Al Ain as an exodus of young Irish graduates arrives in the UAE.

Many are exiles from an economic crisis in a country where unemployment is now touching 15 per cent as a result of severe austerity measures imposed by the government after an €85 billion (Dh394.59bn) bailout from Brussels in 2010.

Off the playing field the growing Irish presence in the Emirates can also be seen in the burgeoning numbers of members at the Irish Business Network (IBN).

Dubbed “The Murphia” in other countries where Irish exiles have thrived, the UAE’s relatively new IBN has grown to some 300 signed-up members in less than two years.

“We are definitely seeing more Irish companies land here,” says the IBN chairman Brian King – as close as it comes to a godfather for networked Irish business professionals in the Emirates. “There are a lot of highly educated 25 to 35-year-olds arriving.”

Similar Irish business networks are also under development in Doha, Riyadh and Cairo.

“Young people like the lifestyle here,” says Donal McCarthy, a 20-year veteran of the Gulf of Arabia who acts as a consultant to Irish firms setting up in the region.

“In the old days you would see teachers coming out for two or three years before returning to Ireland to take up a teaching job at home. But that teaching job isn’t there any more and they are staying longer.”

Colm Kelly, a project manager from Ballina in County Tipperary is one of a new wave of economic arrivals from Ireland. He quickly secured work with a Dubai construction company and found the local Irish business and sporting networks extremely supportive.

"Back home everyone is obsessed with the fiscal pact, interest rates, property prices. It's just an onslaught," he says. "Here there is none of that negativity."

scronin@thenational.ae

Portugal: Mum-of-two shuts up shop in Portugal to find new life in Dubai

Gregor Stuart Hunter

When Portugal's economic crisis convinced Lurdes Silva, 34, to close down the furniture design company she had managed for nine years, she took a path not commonly travelled by her compatriots.

In 2010, along with her husband and two daughters, Mrs Silva relocated from Porto to Dubai to take advantage of greater economic opportunities available in the Emirates.

"In Portugal, I had my own company but we closed the company and we came here," she says. "Now it's a new challenge."
Within a year, Portugal was forced to apply for a €78 billion (Dh362.09bn) bailout from the European Union, becoming the third euro-zone victim.

Mrs Silva is among 1,200 Portuguese expatriates living in the Emirates, whose numbers are slowly but surely increasing.
"Few people think to come to the UAE," she says. "Most people think of France and Spain and they're not as open to working outside."

For the time being, Mrs Silva has no plans to return to Portugal.

“As of right now I’m not thinking about this, because I’m not seeing any opportunities there,” she says. “It’s not easy, people don’t have jobs and companies are closing down every day.”

Portugal’s government is looking towards the Arabian Gulf to bolster its flagging economy.

The country is hoping to attract more GCC tourists as Emirates Airline begins direct flights from Dubai to Lisbon next month.
"Dubai opens the door for two important markets – the Middle East and the Asian markets," said Cecilia Meireles, Portugal's tourism minister, on a visit to Abu Dhabi last week.

About 14 million visitors travelled to Portugal last year, accounting for 9.2 per cent of the country’s economy. But it has been forced to look to new markets.

Francisco Moser, the chief operating officer of Altis Hotels, hopes to attract wealthy Middle East travellers as the euro depreciates.
"We're trying to rebuild our economy, with a lot of effort from everyone," he says.

"I think the next year, or the next two years, will get better."

ghunter@thenational.ae

Spain: Spaniards with good qualifications forced to find work overseas

Tom Arnold

Gonzalo Gaspar hopes to start a business in Spain one day.

But the economic turmoil raging in his homeland is one of the major reasons he’s staying put in the UAE for now.

“I have a few extremely well-qualified friends of mine in Spain who have been searching for good jobs for a while. That shows how tough the situation is,” says Mr Gaspar, 47, from Santander, who has lived in the UAE for five and a half years.

Working as a regional agent for the IE Business School, he has seen a growing number of young and educated Spaniards move to the Emirates as job opportunities in his homeland have dried up.

“They’re the lost generation as a lot of these people are leaving the country and may not come back,” he says. “You will emigrate, maybe meet a wonderful girl and get a good job and enjoy working and playing hard in Dubai.”

The number of Spaniards in the UAE has almost doubled since 2008 to reach more than 2,200 people, according to the Embassy of Spain.

While the rise is an indication of Spain's unemployment challenge it also reflects the country's growing links with the UAE. Spanish exports to the Emirates rose 36.6 per cent last year compared with the previous year. In addition, more than 100 Spanish companies operate in the UAE.

Mariano Andres has seen a growing number of Spanish people chomping down paella and tapas at Seville’s, the Spanish restaurant he manages in Dubai’s Wafi centre.

He returned to Dubai two years ago after initially overseeing the launch of Seville’s 12 years ago. “I was around the 50th Spanish person in Dubai when I came and now there’s a lot more of us,” says the 40-year-old.

Mr Andres sees his immediate future in Dubai.

“The main problem in Spain has been in the last 15 or 20 years we were building like crazy and too much of the economy was based on construction. When the crisis came no one was investing in property any more and now we have 4 million people out of work in construction,” he says.

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How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Other workplace saving schemes
  • The UAE government announced a retirement savings plan for private and free zone sector employees in 2023.
  • Dubai’s savings retirement scheme for foreign employees working in the emirate’s government and public sector came into effect in 2022.
  • National Bonds unveiled a Golden Pension Scheme in 2022 to help private-sector foreign employees with their financial planning.
  • In April 2021, Hayah Insurance unveiled a workplace savings plan to help UAE employees save for their retirement.
  • Lunate, an Abu Dhabi-based investment manager, has launched a fund that will allow UAE private companies to offer employees investment returns on end-of-service benefits.
Key changes

Commission caps

For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:

• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term). 

• On the protection component, there is a cap  of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).

• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated. 

• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.

• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.

Disclosure

Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.

“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”

Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.

Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.

“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.

Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.

Dates for the diary

To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:

  • September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
  • October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
  • October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
  • November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
  • December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
  • February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.

 

 

Jawab Iteiqal
Director: Mohamed Sammy
Starring: Mohamed Ramadan, Ayad Nasaar, Mohamed Adel and Sabry Fawaz
2 stars

RESULTS

5pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m

Winner Thabet Al Reef, Bernardo Pinheiro (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)

5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Blue Diamond, Pat Cosgrave, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6pm Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 Listed (PA) Dh230,000 (T) 1,600m

Winner Hameem, Adrie de Vries, Abdallah Al Hammadi

6.30pm Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,400m

Winner Shoja’A Muscat, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7pm Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m

Winner Heros De Lagarde, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami

7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh100,000 (T) 2,400m

Winner Good Tidings, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi

The biog

Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia

Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins

Favourite dish: Grilled fish

Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.

JOKE'S%20ON%20YOU
%3Cp%3EGoogle%20wasn't%20new%20to%20busting%20out%20April%20Fool's%20jokes%3A%20before%20the%20Gmail%20%22prank%22%2C%20it%20tricked%20users%20with%20%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fmentalplex%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emind-reading%20MentalPlex%20responses%3C%2Fa%3E%20and%20said%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fpigeonrank%2F%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3E%20well-fed%20pigeons%20were%20running%20its%20search%20engine%20operations%3C%2Fa%3E%20.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIn%20subsequent%20years%2C%20they%20announced%20home%20internet%20services%20through%20your%20toilet%20with%20its%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Ftisp%2Finstall.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Epatented%20GFlush%20system%3C%2Fa%3E%22%2C%20made%20us%20believe%20the%20Moon's%20surface%20was%20made%20of%20cheese%20and%20unveiled%20a%20dating%20service%20in%20which%20they%20called%20founders%20Sergey%20Brin%20and%20Larry%20Page%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Farchive.google%2Fromance%2Fpress.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3EStanford%20PhD%20wannabes%3C%2Fa%3E%20%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EBut%20Gmail%20was%20all%20too%20real%2C%20purportedly%20inspired%20by%20one%20%E2%80%93%20a%20single%20%E2%80%93%20Google%20user%20complaining%20about%20the%20%22poor%20quality%20of%20existing%20email%20services%22%20and%20born%20%22%3Ca%20href%3D%22https%3A%2F%2Fgooglepress.blogspot.com%2F2004%2F04%2Fgoogle-gets-message-launches-gmail.html%22%20target%3D%22_blank%22%3Emillions%20of%20M%26amp%3BMs%20later%3C%2Fa%3E%22.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

Results

1.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh50,000 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Al Suhooj, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)

2pm Handicap (TB) 68,000 (D) 1,950m

Winner Miracle Maker, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m

Winner Mazagran, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar

3pm Handicap (TB) Dh84,000 (D) 1,800m

Winner Tailor’s Row, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh76,000 (D) 1,400m

Winner Alla Mahlak, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly

4pm Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,200m

Winner Hurry Up, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer

4.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m

Copa del Rey

Barcelona v Real Madrid
Semi-final, first leg
Wednesday (midnight UAE)

SPAIN SQUAD

Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)

Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)

Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)

Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

THE BIO

Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old

Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai

Favourite Book: The Alchemist

Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna

Favourite cuisine: Italian food

Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman

 

 

Profile Periscope Media

Founder: Smeetha Ghosh, one co-founder (anonymous)

Launch year: 2020

Employees: four – plans to add another 10 by July 2021

Financing stage: $250,000 bootstrap funding, approaching VC firms this year

Investors: Co-founders

Who are the Soroptimists?

The first Soroptimists club was founded in Oakland, California in 1921. The name comes from the Latin word soror which means sister, combined with optima, meaning the best.

The organisation said its name is best interpreted as ‘the best for women’.

Since then the group has grown exponentially around the world and is officially affiliated with the United Nations. The organisation also counts Queen Mathilde of Belgium among its ranks.

Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

The specs

Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo

Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed

Power: 271 and 409 horsepower

Torque: 385 and 650Nm

Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000

About Okadoc

Date started: Okadoc, 2018

Founder/CEO: Fodhil Benturquia

Based: Dubai, UAE

Sector: Healthcare

Size: (employees/revenue) 40 staff; undisclosed revenues recording “double-digit” monthly growth

Funding stage: Series B fundraising round to conclude in February

Investors: Undisclosed

Walls

Louis Tomlinson

3 out of 5 stars

(Syco Music/Arista Records)

RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile

Started: 2016

Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel 

Based: Ramallah, Palestine

Sector: Technology, Security

# of staff: 13

Investment: $745,000

Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors

Messi at the Copa America

2007 – lost 3-0 to Brazil in the final

2011 – lost to Uruguay on penalties in the quarter-finals

2015 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final

2016 – lost to Chile on penalties in the final

The%20specs
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Match info

Athletic Bilbao 0

Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)

Selected fixtures

All times UAE

Wednesday
Poland v Portugal 10.45pm
Russia v Sweden 10.45pm

Friday
Belgium v Switzerland 10.45pm
Croatia v England 10.45pm

Saturday
Netherlands v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Denmark 10.45pm

Sunday
Poland v Italy 10.45pm

Monday
Spain v England 10.45pm

Tuesday
France v Germany 10.45pm
Rep of Ireland v Wales 10.45pm

England World Cup squad

Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

MATCH INFO

Day 1 at Mount Maunganui

England 241-4

Denly 74, Stokes 67 not out, De Grandhomme 2-28

New Zealand 

Yet to bat

Real Madrid 1
Ronaldo (87')

Athletic Bilbao 1
Williams (14')

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Champions parade (UAE timings)

7pm Gates open

8pm Deansgate stage showing starts

9pm Parade starts at Manchester Cathedral

9.45pm Parade ends at Peter Street

10pm City players on stage

11pm event ends

Match info

UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai

Sunday's games

Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm

Match info:

Leicester City 1
Ghezzal (63')

Liverpool 2
Mane (10'), Firmino (45')

Scores in brief:

Day 1

New Zealand (1st innings) 153 all out (66.3 overs) - Williamson 63, Nicholls 28, Yasir 3-54, Haris 2-11, Abbas 2-13, Hasan 2-38

Pakistan (1st innings) 59-2 (23 overs)

UAE jiu-jitsu squad

Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)

Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)

Results:

Men’s wheelchair 200m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 27.14; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 27.81; 3. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 27.81.