The United Arab Emirates presents itself as a unique case study of immigration as the world’s most heavily immigrant-populated country. Migrants coming from India, Pakistan and the Philippines constitute majority of the expatriate population. As the Emirates moved away from small-scale exports with the discovery of oil 1962, a migrant influx became necessary for maintaining the country’s development. Overseas Filipino Workers remain largely unstudied despite making up 5.56 percent of the country’s population, and they are called [“one of the most invisible groups”]((http://scalar.usc.edu/works/asian-migration-and-global-cities/case-study-of-filipino-workers-in-dubai) in the country. I attempted to uncover and understand the areas that OFWs saturate in hopes of creating a home in the UAE.

The UAE utilizes the kafala system to organize its migrant workers, particularly those working in domestic services and construction. The system necessitates that an Emirati, UAE resident, or institution sponsor workers attempting to gain entry into the UAE. It faces much criticism as it allows employers to have a large amount of power.

For example, sponsors frequently withhold their workers’ passports to control their movement. This practice is now illegal in the UAE, but it is difficult to regulate so abuses still occur. Although the kafala system has its faults, it allows the UAE to accommodate its migrant population, giving many the opportunity to send remittances back home.

The immigration system is known for temporariness, as it requires migrants to frequently renew their visas. This renewal “depends solely on the employer”, creating a looming threat of deportation or jail time for expatriates. This temporariness is an obstacle for Filipinos trying to find security in the UAE.

However, many Filipinos remain gracious for the ability to find work, as they earn more than they would in the Philippines. This gratitude was apparent in all the interviews conducted, with many OFWs sharing similar stories, “I came here in 2015 for a great opportunity. They offered me a good salary job so… I came here for a job.” For OFWs, the chance for upward mobility is the driving force for coming to the Emirates despite its impermanence.

The first point of interest is retail for OFWs. The UAE is famous for its lavish malls, but for majority of the country’s low-skilled workers, expensive malls aren’t accessible due to the price range and general stigmatization. To counter this, Filipinos have opened ukay-ukay discount clothing shops. The term “ukay” loosely translates to thrift shop in English, and these shops are where many Filipinos buy clothes in the UAE due to cost effectiveness. Each shop has piles of used clothes that customers are meant to sift through, making it a bonding activity, especially among Filipinas. Hamdan Street, specifically, is home to other discount stores selling new, low quality items at cheap prices, with the most expensive items costing around 40 AED. A varied demographic of migrants frequent these shops in large crowds.

For the UAE’s migrant workers in general, shops selling counterfeit items are an attractive alternative to malls. Immigrants purchase fake items to obtain an image of luxury at a highly reduced price. The alternative to paying 100 AED for a counterfeit bag is paying 15,000 AED or more in one of the UAE’s pricy malls. Karama, Dubai is known for this, and the UAE government has recently pushed to shut down these illegal storefronts. The shops in Karama, and elsewhere in the Emirates, show the divide in economic class between the UAE’s affluent and low-skilled migrant workers.

According to the interview of one Filipina mother by Gulf News, “The original [bags] are expensive. I can only shell out 100 AED for a bag. But if the quality is an issue, I wouldn’t waste even a 100 AED on it.”

Food, nostalgic photographs and family mementos carry various cultural and social meanings that aid in the creation of safe spaces for migrant communities in the UAE. Filipino restaurants in the UAE signify home for the vast number of migrants that come to work in the Emirates. Panaderia, a Filipino bakery chain that opened in Abu Dhabi in 2008, reflects the idea of replicating Filipino culture in the Middle East in its mission statement: “It brings back happy memories of home away from home.”

Filipino restaurants in Abu Dhabi and Dubai are symbols of financial success, and members of the Filipino community are active in supporting these businesses. The chairman of the Bayanihan Council stated in a talk given at NYU Abu Dhabi that he frequents these restaurants and uses Facebook to write positive reviews in the form of mini advertisements. Through this, the communal aspect of Filipino culture is evident.

The UAE’s prominent supermarkets including Carrefour and LuLu Hypermarket feature Filipino snacks and deserts such as ube cakes. In July 2018 LuLu Hypermarket held a festival showcasing Filipino foods that would be available in its locations in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. Other miscellaneous supermarkets scattered throughout Abu Dhabi offer entire Filipino food sections.

Religion surfaced in several interviews as something carrying particular weight in each OFW’s life. For many people, the UAE’s religious tolerance of Christians was an important aspect of their lives here. For many OFWs, religion comes into consideration when planning where to immigrate, and the UAE’s religious tolerance is attractive.

The chairman of the Bayanihan Council, Elmer Casao, stated, “You can attend mass or church at any time you want to,” when discussing his sense of religious belonging in the Emirates.

With the official prohibition of proselytizing for any non-Islamic religion in the UAE, it is often interpreted to mean there should be no public display of Christianity such as Bible studies in public places. However, churches provide a communal space for Filipinos to convene with other migrant workers and expatriate families in the UAE

”It is possible to get permissions to meet outside of a church compound from the ADTA board… in which case they are legal,” stated Andrew Thompson, a Reverend of St. Andrews Church.

“If the churches do not have this permission, then they are illegal and their activities are for now are being tolerated.”

Although migrant workers are a significant portion of the UAE population, their culture and traditions are often overlooked. Despite this, migrant workers have created locations to recreate their homes in the UAE. Observing these sites of interest lead to the discovery that Filipino culture has seeped into Abu Dhabi’s landscape in the form of churches and restaurants. Although migrant culture seems obscured from the city’s surface, it is noticeable when you take the time to seek it out. These locations saturate the city, proving Filipino migrants create areas of belonging, although they are often hidden from plain sight.