Dreaming of Dubai
“Dubai is the quintessential home of sand, sun and shopping. A century ago, it was a tranquil town whose coral-and-gypsum huts housed Bedouin traders and pearl divers. Today the merchants have gone international and science-fiction skyscrapers stand alongside the mosques and wind towers of Old Dubai”.
- from the Lonely Planet website
For many years now, the Gulf States (i.e. UAE, Qatar, Bahrain) have been the preferred destinations for thousand upon thousands of our OFWs. Blame it on the enormous global demands for oil which transformed those former backwaters into their current “uber-wealthy nation” status and the tax-free system in those filthy-rich shiekdoms for causing this present day “diaspora” or migration. What person in his right mind could dare refuse such enticing perks like free and luxurious board and lodging and of course, wages equivalent and sometimes higher than 4x of current pay here in our godforsaken country. Clearly, it all boils down to economics vis a vis the singular pursuit to uplift one’s status in life.
Perhaps the city that best exemplifies this burgeoning trend is Dubai, considered as the crown jewel of the United Arab Emirates. It’s hard to fathom the immense in-roads that city has experienced in such a short amount of time. These staggering developments have resulted to a plethora of employment opportunities for the migrant worker to take advantage of. Go get yourself a copy of the Sunday classifieds of the Manila Bulletin or check out those long queues outside employment agencies and you’ll get my drift. Which had me pondering two things: Are the Arabs simply that lazy and well-off that they have to hire foreign workers to do their bidding? Or is it simply because the staggering advancements and progress in their country necessitates such a massive influx of outside help? Go figure.
Almost all of us have relatives or knows someone who has worked or is currently working in the Middle East. These fortune-seekers represent the growing breed of Filipinos who brave the estrangement of family and the perils associated with being an immigrant just to earn their well-deserved keep. Leaving one’s homeland to make a living abroad is by any means no small feat. Horror stories abound of abuses (both physical and sexual) contractual violations and other inequities imposed by foreign employers. Indeed, the picture is not always that rosy in the lands of sky-rocketing wages and highly-industrialized environs. The sacrifices and hardships they endure make for compelling materials that would put any telenovelas to shame. Consider this too: where if not for the billions of dollars of OFW remittances yearly, our economy would surely be in a much deeper quagmire.
So why the heck am I dreaming of Dubai? For the simple fact that it is where my mind and my heart belongs to right now. You see, someone very dear to me has been toiling in that city for almost two months now. Though I have long known the fact that she was leaving, one can not really prepare for the sad realities a prolonged physical separation would entail – the thousand of miles apart, the different time zones to adjust and the feeling of daily yearning to name just a few. Recent advances in technology and telecommunications (e,g. SMS, email, voicechat) somewhat helps to bridge the gap and to assuage the loneliness. Still, nothing beats that simple but overwhelming joy of being just a whisper away from the person you cherish the most.
In my 27 plus years in this mortal coil, it has never really occurred to me to take that giant leap and seek opportunities that lay elsewhere (read: work overseas). I have grown accustomed and attached to my familiar surroundings and to the comforts and permanence of family and friends. I was content to earn my monthly pittance, spend a few here and there and get drunk on weekends. Been working for almost 4 years (with certain lapses in between) now and still haven’t gotten the savings or the goods to show for it. Time, it seems, is sadly not on my side.
How I’m gonna make my dreams a reality is still a big question mark. Finances (lots of it!) are still the prime considerations. Going abroad is nothing to sneeze at. If the plane fare wouldn’t burn a big hole in your pockets, then the cost of living and other incidental expenses will. Plus the fact that I have no surefire employment waiting for me there further adds a damper to my plans. The odds are all sadly stacked against my favor. Perhaps all I have now is an unbridled determination to make that leap of faith and take the biggest chance in my otherwise pathetic and mundane existence.
But enough of these ramblings and self-imposed doubts and fears. Being a slave to helplessness would do me no good. I have long believed in the mantra “Fortune favors the brave” so I guess it’s high time to walk the walk and talk the talk, so to speak. If you have to ask me, the biggest motivation I possess right now is that if ever my dreams come into fruition, I’m leaving to go see about a girl - my damsel in the desert.
(postcript: on a happy note, my damsel in the desert returned to the country last June 16. the dubai sojourn is on hold for now. but hey, who’s complaining?)
