My family and I recently moved to Abu Dhabi after almost a decade in Dubai. For those who don’t live in the UAE, this might seem like a simple thing. After all, they're only about a 90-minute drive apart.
But ask any resident in the UAE and you’ll find that there is a level of attachment that people have to the emirate they live in. Many people would rather commute hundreds of kilometres daily than move emirates.
However, I was not affected at all when we moved, despite having lived in Dubai all these years, first with my parents and then with my husband. My mother-in-law, who has been a Dubai resident for less time than any of us, felt sad to leave our home. My husband too had grown fond of the apartment, especially since it was where we brought our daughter home for the first time. It's not that I had no sentimental memories in the home, but as we drove away I am pretty sure I did not even look back. To me, it’s just a place with four walls.
I was born in Sanaa and it was home for our family for more than 20 years. We moved twice while living there, and it was there that I spent 16 years of my life.
After I left to study in India, I stayed in a boarding school in Kerala and later in Pune, then with my grandparents and at various relatives’ homes in Kerala. Eventually, I got used to not having my own room, as I came to consider them as temporary living situations. Home for me was always Sanaa, where I travelled back and forth between holidays.
In 2011, when the political situation in Yemen worsened, my parents, brother and I were forced to leave the country for our safety. It soon dawned on me that we had no home base to go back to, and began to feel like strangers in our own country. My brother found it even harder than I did – he didn’t know how to read our native language, Malayalam, or how to navigate the different cultural and social nuances.
That’s when I came up with an idea to help him. But honestly, it was also to help myself cope. I told him that we need to accept the idea that home could no longer be tied to a house, a town or even a country. I told him that home is wherever the four of us were together.
Years later, my parents moved to Dubai with my brother and I followed them soon after. When I married, my husband was added to the "list". So now, you could send me anywhere and if I had these five people with me, I would still be at home. This coping mechanism has helped me a lot. No matter where I am or where I go, I know exactly where my happy place is.
But it can also be a bit sad. I recently overheard my husband talk to our daughter about his ancestral home in Kerala and how it is now hers. He told her about the 100-year-old school he studied in and regaled her with stories about the friends he grew up with. I have no such places to show, having lost them to regional conflict.
I also feel a sense of instability sometimes. I know friends who have properly settled down, found new friends, decorated their houses and go about their routines – everything that can make a place feel like home. I feel unable to immerse myself in such things because there is always a thought in the back of my head that things could change.
I hope I can teach my daughter my coping mechanism so she knows that her dad and I will always be "home" no matter where we are. But I also want her to have memories and experiences that can give her a sense of belonging.
After a decade in the UAE, the longest I have been anywhere since Yemen, I know there is no place more perfect for her to do that. The country is safe and beautiful and has the perfect mix of cultures for her to grow up to be a well-rounded sensitive person.
We have only lived in Abu Dhabi for six months and I love it just as much as Dubai. The city has a relaxed laidback vibe and is perfect for families. Moving here has been exciting because it is a new start, a new apartment and new places to see. But my true home is still the people I am with.
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Nancy 9 (Hassa Beek)
Nancy Ajram
(In2Musica)
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
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- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
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Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
