Between two worlds

Expatriate life changes people, with both positive and negative effects from becoming global citizens

Expatriates who grow up in the UAE often have difficulty connecting with their "home" culture. Razan Alzayani / The National

One of life’s complications for the high number of expatriate workers in the Gulf countries is that the experience changes them. Especially for those who grew up here, the second or even third generation of expatriates, they no longer fit neatly into their home culture in the way they would have if their families had never left.

While remittances from expatriate workers have been a powerful force for good, spreading wealth earned in the Gulf states to often desperately poor areas, this can come at a personal cost. As The ­National reported yesterday, one implication is that some South Asians, who comprise by far the biggest source of the UAE's expatriate workforce, are struggling to find suitable spouses because of factors that include cultural differences and misplaced expectations.

Prospective husbands or wives from “back home” simply experience too much of a culture shock in moving to Abu Dhabi or Dubai – and vice versa.

The term “third culture kids” was coined in the 1950s to describe the children of American parents who were working overseas, but it applies to most expatriate children in the Gulf. Regardless of where their parents originate, “back home” is often a strange and sometimes bewildering place to them – as are its inhabitants. The people they understand and get on with the best are their fellow third culturers, so maybe it’s not so surprising that more young people are finding their spouses locally.