Before you pack your bags...

I am going to write three seemingly disconnected sentences, but I will tie them to the article later; please bear with me: In 2016, I got to know through my Dubai-based friend’s father that the UAE was planning to introduce e-gates to make the immigration process easier for residents and locals.

In 2018, the same friend told me that she talked to a robot for 15 straight minutes when she called her bank’s customer service department.

In 2023, during a tech exhibition, the Dubai police introduced a driverless vehicle that would patrol the city’s streets.

All three examples show that the UAE’s development strategy is more focused on leveraging tech. But what does this have to do with people in Pakistan? Let me explain.

According to a report published in June in the UAE’s ‘Khaleej Times’, more than 230,000 Pakistanis migrated to the Emirates in 2023. Per a report published in the local media on July 31, the Secretary Ministry of Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development told the Senate Standing Committee on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development about Pakistanis being involved in criminal activities in the UAE. The Senate committee was also told that the Middle East was now looking towards Africa for skilled labour and not Pakistan.

What brought us here? And what can we do to improve that?

The UAE market holds immense importance for most Pakistanis here – both tourists and those looking for a job opportunity. Many housing societies across Pakistan today smell of dirhams and riyals earned through the sweat and blood of thousands of Pakistanis who go abroad to build comfortable lives for their families back home. Regardless of the strict working conditions there, there is no denying that the Middle East has uplifted the economic and social status of many families here.

This is perhaps the reason why many people prefer to go there. There are no major cultural and language barriers there, and it is easy for people to build a second home there. But now it seems doors to the UAE may consider revoking their ‘it’s always open’ policy, and Pakistan’s lackadaisical attitude is to be blamed for this sorry state.

And now I will come to the three sentences I wrote in the beginning. While it is true that those three instances point to the country’s shift to technology, it also provides opportunities to people who are interested in moving there. They highlight that the UAE is looking for people who have certain tech skills (Dr Imran Batada has written various articles on these pages to explain various digital skills that will be in high demand in the years to come) and probably do not have to offer easy-to-grab, entry-level jobs.

But those interested in emigration do not get their information from newspapers. They prefer content creators on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube, and while they can help to some extent, there is no extensive coverage of how the UAE’s market is reshaping. Then, there are content creators who use sensationalism to incite people to leave the country as soon as possible. Taglines like ‘Pakistan say zinda bhaag’ are often used by certain internet personalities to make a strong case for immigration. Then, there are people who add a religious touch to it and encourage people to take the leap of faith.

All of this is not necessarily bad, but what these influencers do is paint a rather rosy picture for people and imply that immigrants will get a job as soon as they land in Dubai. No one makes a detailed vlog on the skills the Dubai market requires and the short courses that people can take if they are interested in coming abroad.

One thing common among most people here is to take a tourist visa to explore job opportunities in Dubai. As they spend their life savings on finding decent accommodation for themselves for at least two months, many tourists become desperate to find a job to earn some money to cover the expenses they incurred on their trip abroad.

When their skills don't match with the available jobs, they resort to begging, standing in tourist spots, and targeting their fellow countryfolk to get a few bucks. This is not to criticize them. It is indeed a brave decision to go to a new country to find good opportunities, but, unfortunately, there is no proper homework.

It also requires potential immigrants to check what short courses are being offered at universities and other professional institutions. Continuous learning is all the more important for people who are moving from a third-world country to a nearly developed one.

The other issue that UAE authorities identified is objectionable content on TikTok, especially in the context of torrential rains in Dubai a couple of months ago. Officials here are considering conducting orientation classes for people going to the Middle East, but the fact is that the issues pointed out by the authorities in the UAE can only be tackled through education reforms. With regard to rains, many people came up with their conspiracy theories and blamed the inauguration of a religious site for torrential rains.

Unfortunately for us, religious tolerance in our country is at the bottom. It is not rare for people to see their Facebook friends – people whom we know slightly – share offensive memes about minority communities.

What makes the matter worse is that those who flag the content are often criticized by extremist mobs. We have now created a situation where the best way to deal with charged mobs is to surrender to them and apologize. In all this, we conveniently forget that the people we are empowering will someday find themselves in countries where tolerance is a state-backed law, not the calling of a social sciences student.

The same is the case with vlogging at beaches and other places where women, unlike those they see back home, can wear what they want. A couple of years ago, Turkey pointed out that many Pakistani tourists were guilty of filming women in public places inappropriately.

The concept of ‘consent’ is lost on these people. Again, this is the gift of our state’s indifferent attitude. The hate that women in our society receive becomes clear after every Aurat March. Instead of promoting respecting women’s choices, the state lets media persons spread misinformation about participants.

Complaints from Middle Eastern countries should be a wake-up call for us as they highlight the growing intolerance in our society. It should also serve as a reminder for the government to take measures to make Pakistan more liveable for its population.

It is shameful for the rulers to bring the country to a point where its people prefer begging on the streets of a foreign country over staying in Pakistan and having to deal with the bad times.

The writer is an assistant editor at The News. She tweets/posts @manie_sid and can be reached at: aimen_erum@hotmail.com