LONDON // Southall and Dubai have more in common than first meets the eye.

One is a somewhat tatty London suburb, the other is famous as the home of the world’s tallest building and a host of grand property developments.

Yet just as Dubai is home to 200 nationalities living side-by-side, Southall is another example of a diverse population working together harmoniously.

More than 80 per cent of Southall’s population are from ethnic minorities, making it one of the biggest concentrations of South Asians outside of India. Southall is home to mosques, Sikh gurdwaras, Hindu temples and churches.

“All walks of life are here,” Virendra Sharma, MP for Ealing Southall, told The National.

Immigrants started arriving in their droves in the 1950s, attracted to Southall due to its proximity to London’s Heathrow Airport and the availability of jobs, Mr Sharma said.

Yet there is never trouble between the area’s numerous ethnic groups, the MP said. “People in Southall live above their religious or racial backgrounds. Overseas disputes don’t filter through to Southall ... people live in peace and harmony.”

That even holds when rivals India and Pakistan face each other on the cricket pitch. “We all celebrate together, whether Pakistan wins or India does,” said Mr Sharma.

There have been periods of violence in Southall’s history, with several race riots during the 1970s and 1980s. But Mr Sharma said this was due to right-wing groups such as the National Front coming from outside the area.

“We’ve never had local people confronting each other,” he said. “They’ve fought against the National Front but never between each other.”

Abdurahman Abdurahman Haji, director of the Dubai Mall Business Centre, said that the area was not affected by the London riots of 2011. “Ever since I came here in 2005 I haven’t had any inkling of bad blood or tensions between the communities,” he said.

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