Every month many Indian workers in the UAE set aside a significant portion of their wages to support families back home.
People from the southern state of Kerala account for the highest remittances, statistics show.
Some arrived in the Emirates more than 20 years ago and have never skipped the monthly transfer essential to keep homes running and provide crucial education for children.
Some steadily built up savings to start small businesses and retail outlets in line with their goal to assist loved ones.
To mark International Day of Family Remittances, which is observed each year on June 16, The National is telling the stories of Indians in the UAE who put others first.
Surendra Nathan, 52, an electrician with a company that designs car parking spaces in Dubai, feels fortunate to be able to support his daughter’s ambition of becoming a doctor.
If you spend everything then you can’t do anything in your life
Mohammed Yayyattukavil,
Dubai resident and sales manager from Kerala, India
“From the time she was young, my daughter always said she wanted to be a doctor. Dubai has been good to me and I can help her through college,” said Mr Nathan.
“I had dreams of building a home and I did it, slowly. I was very disciplined; I send money home every month.
“I make sure I do not spend any extra money and owe no dues to anyone.”
He bought small shops near his home in Kerala and rented these out as a supermarket, cosmetic store and tailor's.
“Everything changed for me when I came to Dubai,” he said.
“Every month I tell people they must send home Rs20,000 [Dh1,000] minimum. If they have children studying, it will be more.
“I kept aside money to slowly buy land and shops. If I didn’t have enough money one year then I would do it the next year. Some people come here and don’t save. I did this for my family.”
Family remittance stays strong
India, Mexico and China are the top countries for remittances, World Bank figures show.
Remittances fell drastically when hundreds of thousands of migrants from South Asia returned home after the coronavirus pandemic began in 2020.
The availability of vaccines and opening up of the economies in GCC countries enabled a gradual return of workers and supported larger remittance flows, a World Bank 2021 migration report said.
Indians form the largest expatriate population in the UAE, with about 3.4 million living in the Emirates.
The UAE tops the list of non-resident remittances to India followed by the US, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Annual remittances by Indians in the UAE amounted to more than $17.06 billion in 2019, UAE Central Bank figures show.
Richard Wason, chief executive of Lulu Financial Holdings, said family remittances remained strong, with a significant increase in volumes to India, elsewhere in South Asia and the Asia Pacific region.
“We expect this to continue as the rates are favourable at the moment for outward remittances from the UAE to other countries,” he said.
“With many expats now returning to their jobs, we are witnessing an even further increase and this is expected to continue to all corridors.”
Hasan Fardan Al Fardan, chief executive of Al Fardan Exchange, also said there was a surge in remittances to India after a natural dip in the first few months of this year.
“Indian expats are taking advantage of the drop in the value of the Indian rupee,” he said.
“Kerala receives 19 per cent of overall inward remittances. From the UAE, 35 per cent of the remittances sent to India are sent to Kerala.”
Lessons in saving
Expatriates said they were grateful to have retained their jobs when they saw friends return home after businesses shut down during the pandemic.
Mohammed Yayyattukavil, 50, from Kerala, moved to the UAE about 30 years ago and works as a sales manager with a furniture company.
“I could make a home, buy a car, pay for my children’s education and take care of my family’s expenses, this is important to me,” he said.
He advised young people who come to the UAE to imagine their salary as Dh500 less than they actually earn so they save the amount.
“If they have a salary of Dh2,000, they should think they earn 1,500. Then they can send home Dh500. It can be their investment so they can become something.
“If you spend everything then you can’t do anything in your life.”
He warned people to be cautious of spending more than they earn.
“They will have too much tension if they don’t live within their means,” he said.
“You cannot earn Dh2,000 and spend Dh4,000.”
Mr Yayyattukavil was part of a Kerala charity group that distributed food to people in need during the lockdown when stay-home restrictions were enforced.
“For many people it was a struggle, we were lucky,” he said.
“The UAE has given me a life, given my family a life.”
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Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
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MATCH INFO
Manchester United 1 (Fernandes pen 2') Tottenham Hotspur 6 (Ndombele 4', Son 7' & 37' Kane (30' & pen 79, Aurier 51')
Man of the match Son Heung-min (Tottenham)
Last-16
France 4
Griezmann (13' pen), Pavard (57'), Mbappe (64', 68')
Argentina 3
Di Maria (41'), Mercado (48'), Aguero (90 3')
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
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Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
