Dr. Munawar Aziz MCPS*
The term “Dubai Syndrome” has been popularly used to describe psychosocial disorders among families where one-member (usually the male head of the family) travels abroad typically to Gulf States for better job opportunities.
Dr. Munawar Aziz
During the early 1970s, obtaining a passport, once considered nearly impossible, became relatively easy due to government policies promoting manpower export to Gulf and other Arab states. Dubai became a heaven for labourers, as well as skilled and semi-skilled workers. The unexpectedly high wages sent back home significantly raised the living standards of many families. A new middle class emerged through remittances from abroad.
This surplus money was often enjoyed by spouses and offspring, sometimes leading to psychosocial and even psychosexual issues. Numerous articles were published in newspapers on the subject, and the term “Dubai Syndrome” eventually became recognized in both medical and psychological fields. Many of us in the medical profession, and even the general public, became familiar with the concept.
Now, after about more than four decades, a new dimension of this problem has surfaced among those who chose to settle abroad, especially in Dubai. Their children, having grown up in a different culture, began adopting lifestyles that would have been considered unthinkable back home. This was particularly concerning for daughters reaching puberty, as parents grew anxious about finding suitable matches. Frequent visits to their native countries in search of traditional spouses became common, resulting in many failed marriages of convenience.
A confused generation torn between two worlds emerged, struggling with identity. For many, being well-settled in Dubai came at the cost of a broken family system. I call this “Dubai Syndrome-2”. Such families often end up seeking help from psychologists or psychiatrists, with suicidal tendencies commonly observed in this group.
A visit of twice divorced young girl along with her mother who had arrived from Dubai, visited my clinic for a mild ailment requested me to find a “suitable” match for her daughter compelled me to write these lines.
As the age old saying goes: “Too much of everything is bad”, especially when it comes at the expense of family life, cultural and religious norms.
- Dr. Munawar Aziz
Abbottabad, Pakistan.
aziz.munawar@gmail.com
Cultural differences in different countries do take a toll. Males who happily marry in the West and are appreciated back home never want their daughters to get married to foreigners. This dichotomy in the behaviour creates psychological problems. It is too late to suggest remedies. It takes a generation or two to reconcile with a different culture.
Well written article.
It’s sad that places like the UAE (including Dubai) have become such liberal cesspools , at the cost of traditional values. Now, these evils are also spreading into Pakistani society . Just go and take a look in big cities like Islamabad, Karachi and Lahore.
Today there is no ideal country. Bringing up children abroad is relatively easy because they grow up with the sense that the law must be obeyed. In return, the law is mostly justly applied and opportunities for careers are widespread if the youngsters are willing to work hard. People learn the value of merit and fair play. Hard work is respected and cheating is severely punished. Unfortunately, our youngsters in Pakistan grow up in a false environment. Their education is substandard. Merit does not exist and cheating is preferred regardless of eligibility. Earning haram is no longer considered bad in Pakistan. A wealth race becones inevitable because if my neighbour has two landcruisers, I should have one more. Add to it the luxury of being able to buy off the law and the culture of ” DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM ? These are the ills that have degraded our society and now we have no respect within and outside the country. Children brought up abroad are alien to this kind of life and prefer to stay away.