For Many Migrants, the United Arab Emirates is Not What It Seems, pt. 3

Continued from part 2.

This quandary over unemployed immigrants will become worse if no extra action is taken. It seems that as more Filipino workers wish to return home, the more false goals towards migrant aid are set. In spite of the UAE’s introduction of “new” (but vague) migrant-beneficial policies, nearly nothing is improving the jobless immigrants’ lives. Also, the consulate of the Philippines in the UAE is not providing enough help for its citizens, choosing instead to spend time protesting that they are already inundated by requests for assistance, as opposed to lobbying for their people’s rights. The Filipino government supports emigration as a means of alleviating their country’s high amount of poverty, but is not putting enough effort into ending the suffering of migrants in countries like the UAE. Sympathy must be felt towards these immigrants – they dream of better lives, but live with hardship. In the future, it is presumable that tensions will mount throughout the migrant worker community as they request for help and are essentially ignored by their respective governments. This could lead to possible protests and further rights activism by immigrants themselves.

The UAE indeed has the façade of a financially flourishing nation – but as immigrant laborers lose their jobs and live poorly, this outward appearance may begin to unravel. Filipinos remain trapped in the UAE, with hardly any opportunities to return home, but most of the world continues to be unaware of the grim situation at hand. This unfortunate situation affects not just Filipinos, but migrant workers from other poverty-ridden countries such as Bangladesh. Hopefully, governments will collaborate to support unemployed immigrants and introduce laws that can prevent another predicament similar to this from occurring again.


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