Dubai

Dubai is a beautiful and interesting place. There are approximately 3 million people living in Dubai. Out of them only 30 % are United Arab Emirates nationals. There are over 2 million foreign workers mostly from Asian countries. These two million work here in order to provide bread for their families – probably for another 20 million people in Asia.

We have met so many different people here. We met a young man from Pakistan, near Lahore. He is working here as a taxi driver seven days a week twelve hours a day. He is going to have his wedding in Pakistan in December with 2000-3000 guests, including all the people from his village and relatives from near and far off.

We met a lady from the Philippines. She is working here to support her children’s studies. She gets to see her family once in two years for one month.

Just yesterday we spoke with Hamid, a Muslim man from Mumbai. He is so excited to go home for a month in April. There was another man from India that has been here a longer time – he has six children in India and sees them every year for one month. Another man told that life is very expensive here and because they want to save money for the families at home, they are six men sharing a room in one apartment. There he lives 11 months, working every day, and visiting his country once a year.

Outside of Dubai there are 1200 ships waiting for the cargo – they have been there for a while. Through Dubai the financial crises has hit some poor Asian families that are so far from the world’s financial affairs.

Life is challenging for these people. They say the hard part is that they miss their families. We believe Christ is there to carry their burdens together with them. If you are interested in Asia and the Arab world, come and visit Dubai and share the love of God with them. There are abundant opportunities!