Highlights
- Some migrants from the Arabian Gulf regret their decisions to come to Australia.
- They miss the lifestyle, travel and hired help they could access in countries such as Saudi Arabia.
- Others say they have found a freedom and sense of permanency in Australia.
Salma Ali* has been living in Australia since 2016, but she says if she could go back in time, she would have stayed in the Arabian Gulf region.
A professional couple, Ms Ali* and her husband lived and worked in Saudi Arabia between 2005 and 2016, enjoying the advantages of living in the oil-rich country, from low-cost domestic help through to tax-free incomes.
“Even though I was working full-time, I found time for myself and to go out with my friends,” Ms Ali* says.
I did no household chores myself at all.
Ms Ali* describes how salaries in the Gulf countries were lucrative, and how some packages included extra benefits.
“Some companies provided housing for their employees and paid the fees for international schools for the kids,” she said.
She compares her lifestyle back in Saudi to hers in Australia, lamenting the loss of financial benefits.
Ms Ali* says she misses the extra leisure time in the UAE that she could spend shopping with friends. Source: Getty Images/Svetlana Zibnitskaya
Despite being a dentist, she says she has hardly been able to save any money here. This is in addition to the exhaustion she suffers because she bears most of housework burden.
“It’s hard to get domestic help here in Australia or even to order takeaway food because of the cost,” she says.
Travel abroad expensive, inconvenient
Another disadvantage of life in Australia, according to Ms Ali*, is the difficulty of travelling to the Arab world due to the long distances and high costs.
Ms Ali* says she remembers how a flight from Jeddah to Cairo took no more than an hour and a flight ticket sometimes cost no more than 500 riyals (AUD$200-300).
“We could travel and come back on the weekend like in any other domestic trip,” she said.
Ms Ali* has recently returned from holiday in Cairo and says that her daughter missed out on her NAPLAN exam.
She says she believes that the school system in Australia does not meet migrant families’ needs for an extended holiday during which they can travel to their home countries.
Ms Ali* says it is easy and cheap to travel around the Gulf states. Source: Getty Images/chrispecoraro
The academic level of children may be affected because of missing school.
The pros of migrating to Australia, according to Ms Ali*, were acquiring permanent residency and citizenship.
“It doesn't matter how much time you spend in the Gulf. At any moment you could be asked to leave,” she said.
Since the in the 20th century, plans for development, modernisation, and industrialisation in the Gulf states have relied heavily on foreign employees because nationals are a minority and largely work in the public sector.
Life of leisure for most in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Source: EPA
Foreign workers fill most vacancies in Gulf countries
Gulf countries are sometimes criticised because of that some see as violating the rights of foreign workers, such as the sponsorship system known as ‘kafala’, as well as the sometimes harsh working conditions.
Despite these drawbacks, the oil-rich countries have long been a destination for foreign workers looking for financial security.
According to the , foreign workers constitute more than 80 per cent of the population of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, 70 per cent of the population of Kuwait, and 55 per cent of the population of Bahrain.
Over the course of several decades, the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries have launched several to increase the proportion of nationals in the workforce.
These initiatives have had severe for foreign workers, especially Arabs, who now feel insecure and worry about the future.
Recently, many professionals have left the luxury of the Gulf either unwillingly due to loss of jobs or voluntarily in search of long-term stability, political rights, and better education.
Australia offers freedom, a feeling of permanency
Not all Arab migrants share Ms Ali*'s views. Mohamed Dahim, who lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for eight years before moving to Australia, says that over the past decade, the nature of Arab immigration to Australia had changed.
“Since 2014, many Arab migrants started moving from the Gulf to Australia because of the national employment programs and the political, economic and social changes in the Arab region,” Mr Dahim said.
Mohamed Dahim immigrated to Australia in 2010 and say he loves the sense of freedom and permanency. Source: Mohamed Dahim
Mr Dahim, who migrated to Australia in 2009, says he understands the feeling of frustration that some feel after moving from the Gulf to Australia due to the loss of status and material privileges and the challenges of raising children in a western environment.
But he says he never felt at home in the Gulf country.
Life in the Gulf countries is not a long-term plan. It's like a temporary tooth filling. It may last you a year or two (or) it may break tomorrow.
Mr Dahim says he believes that one of the pros of life in Australia is the political rights that citizens enjoy.
"In Australia, I feel at home,” he said.
“Australia gives me a home and freedom. I can express my opinion freely as I want without thinking twice.”
Many reports indicate the existence of a for immigrant labour in the Gulf states, topped by expats coming from the west.
Foreign construction workers leave a construction site in Doha, Qatar. Source: EPA
say western passport holders in the Gulf states enjoy many benefits such as prestigious jobs, high salaries, luxurious homes and comfortable lifestyles.
Mr Dahim says that many Arab migrants coming from the oil-rich countries to Australia hope to obtain foreign passports to be in a better position to return there again.
According to the , the economies of the GCC countries are on their way to recovery from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the prospects of finding job opportunities there do not seem promising to many.
Return to Gulf states seems impossible
Ms Ali* says that returning to the Gulf has become impossible for her family.
“Age is an important factor. We will not be able to find a job now that we are in our forties,” she said.
Although Ms Ali* and her family have obtained Australian citizenship, she says she often wonders: “What’s next?”
“I got my Australian citizenship and passport and did nothing with it. I think the ones who benefit from that are those who travel a lot or do business abroad,” she said.
Ms Ali* describes the significance migrants place on acquiring Australian citizenship as “over-rated”.
Mr Dahim says he believes migrants coming from Gulf countries feel challenged because of a lack of preparation and unrealistic expectations.
“They want advantages here and there, and this is unattainable,” he said.
Because Ms Ali*’s husband could not find a stable job in Australia, he went on a trip to Egypt to explore the possibility of starting a business there and returning home again.
I am against this idea, but my husband, like any Arab man, refuses to rely on my income.
Ms Ali* says she believes that life in Australia is better than in Egypt, but, in her opinion, the Gulf is the best.
“Life in Egypt is very expensive. A person must get their salary in foreign currency to be able to live,” she said.
If Ms Ali*’s husband decides to return to Egypt, she says he and her eldest son will leave, and she will remain in Australia with their younger children.
*Name has been changed to protect privacy.
