Podcast: Dubai: My Home Is Nowhere And Everywhere

This story is about 25-year-old Maysam who has lived in Dubai all his life. He works as a video producer and is also a skateboarder. His parents are from Syria, a place he has only visited once when he was a young child. If you ask him, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is his home.

I ate food from this land. I swam in your oceans. I played in the desert. Everything about my life is associated with this land.

But on paper, it isn’t, and likely never will be. 

The answer to the often-asked question ‘Where are you from?’ isn't straightforward for everyone. There is no place where this phenomenon of mixed identities is amplified more than in the UAE.

In this country, around 90 percent of the people come from other countries. I read that in Dubai (one of the seven emirates) only 4 percent of the population consists of the original Emiratis.

When Maysam is asked whether he feels a sense of connection to Syria, he answers:

“Not at all. Like, fucking not at all.”

I sometimes wonder if for whatever reason they grant me citizenship, would I be able to call this place home. I don’t know. 

Where do I call home? How can I call my home country home when I’ve never lived there? But then I can’t call Dubai home because I can never be a citizen there. I have the same rights as somebody who landed there yesterday.

In the UAE, the company you work for arranges your visa and when you reach retirement age, you'll have to leave. Maysam's mother will probably have to repatriate to Syria soon, even though the country is at war.

What other 25-year-old thinks: I need to have gold for emergencies. Or I need to have this much cash. I don’t feel save. I don’t feel like I have a home anywhere. I need to be ready.