emirati writer husain ghanim ghabash had an article published in 2021 which appears and disappears from time to time. the article is about demographics in gulf countries where ghabash warned about the growing number of asian workers describing the issue as a historical crisis that is difficult to get out easily.
he said this issue threatens national culture which has been marginalized, the national concepts which have been swayed, and the future of the remaining arab existence in gulf countries.
ghabash added that almost 16 million asian laborers live in the gcc countries at present and the number is expected to double by 2025.
he said skyscrapers and bright richness hide several humanitarian and national tragedies behind. ghabash said the issue is no longer mere demographic imbalance. it developed to dominate asian settlement in the region except for oman because of its strong culture and saudi arabia because of its special religious position.
ghabash enquires how our countries have reached such a historic crisis, who the beneficiary is, and how such dramatic change happened. he asked if it was a natural development or if it was deliberately plotted. ghabash enquires if there is a solution to this issue.
ghabash answered by saying that the developing strategies adopted by gcc countries'' governments over the recent 30 years represented enhancing constructions and encouraging a rentier economy and false civilization while ignoring demographic, geographic, and historical facts that led to the current situation.
he said the adopted strategies did not consider the demands of small societies in the region which are not in need of millions of expatriate workers, especially with the absence of clear-cut strategies for social and cultural development.
ghabash called upon gcc countries’ governments to build up national identity, enhance the vivid presence of the citizens in their homeland, and safeguard their language, culture, and traditions. he concluded by stating that whoever marginalizes the society bases gets marginalized and whoever causes the weakness of his people, gets weak himself.
he made clear that the power of governments and public institutions is derived from the power of people inquiring if this equation is still valid or amended. he asked if it took the people 3 decades to be replaced by others, and how long it takes to replace the government, two or maybe one decade.
ghabas ended by stating that the coming decade is the decade of national identity which means to be or not to be, otherwise, it will be the last decade of the arab existence in the gulf.
the solution according to ghabash is switching to developing strategies that open the way to the technicians and craftsmen of gcc citizens. i do not know exactly where those gcc technicians and craftsmen nationals are.
if a gulf citizen is asked about his demands, he will mention the following stuff: adequate official buildings, enough toilets, sustainable and advanced education and health care, tidy and well-paved roads, enough food stuff supply, available fuel stations open 24/7, shopping malls, power generating plants, enough a/c machines with regular maintenance, non-stop extraction and exporting of oil with regular maintenance of petroleum refineries, water desalination plants, neat cleaning workers available in all public institutions, airports and shopping malls, fresh meat and fish, nonstop constructions, floating public tenders, enough and well trained medical crews, doctors and nurses, comfortable mass transportation, clean and tidy houses, modern vehicles and security in addition to a long list of demands.
after all of such demands, we see some people claiming that we are not in need of the help of foreign workers under the pretext of addressing the demographic imbalance.
the case is that those who call for addressing demographic imbalance do not accept their suggestions to affect their own interests and commercial favors. they only want their ideas to be applicable to others.