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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Life away from family |
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| jaihoon |
| 12/27/03 at 06:42:25 |
| Life away from family 'takes toll on expatriates' Sharjah |By Mahmood Saberi, Gulf News Bureau Chief Social scientists can learn a great deal about expatriation from the Gulf experience where a large-scale foreign labour migration takes place, says a psychologist. Dr George J. Kaliaden said it was important to analyse the psycho-social impact of 'distant' couples, who spend their entire period of married life in separation while still trying to function as a single family unit. The long separation of couples has led to, what some psychologists call in India, the 'Dubai Syndrome'. Many of the unskilled workers here, for instance, cannot bring their wives due to sponsorship restrictions. Earlier reports showed the syndrome hits women leading lonely lives who resort to drug abuse. A sizeable number of women, specially in the South Indian state of Kerala, had to seek psychiatric help. Drug abuse among wives of Pakistani workers in the Gulf is also common, social scientists said. Dr Kaliaden said there is also a need to study the psychological effects in children left with grandparents or other caretakers in their home countries. Many expatriate parents also prefer to send their children back home for higher studies while both parents continue to work in the Gulf. On the other hand, children who grow up here usually experience a cultural void as they have little exposure to their community or cultural roots. "Many of those who originally migrated here (on a temporary work contract) have already completed 30 years of service here. Now, the second generation have begun to take up employment or take over business enterprises in the region." Dr Kaliden was speaking at the Middle East North Africa Regional Conference on Psychology. He said studies should also be conducted on implications of retirement and the return of expatriates to the 'strangeness' of one's own home country after decades of working abroad. Expatriates going on annual vacation, for instance, usually complain of the hectic holiday schedule back home and how they feel 'relaxed' in the UAE. POINT OF VIEW Life in a distant land * The separation of couples due to work is known to affect women leading lonely lives, with some of them resorting to drug abuse in desperation. * Experts have also called for in-depth studies into the psychological condition of children left with grandparents or other caretakers in their home countries. * Many of the unskilled workers coming to this part of the world cannot bring their spouses due to salary restrictions. This is known to trigger a psychological reaction, with couples trying to spend their life as a single family unit despite the physical separation. |
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