Growing up in the Gulf

In this episode, we discuss the growing pains of figuring out what it means to be a citizen in the Gulf and elsewhere, as well as the arbitrary, unequal, and precarious nature of citizenship itself.

Relevant links:

MUSIC: "SeeTheWorld." by .sinh

Muhammad Ali's 1971 interview with Michael Parkinson

Prof. Engin Isin and Open University video, “Is citizenship nationality?”

Jane Kinninmont’s paper for Chatham House, “Citizenship in the Gulf”

Mohammed Jamjoon reporting for CNN, “Women drive for change in Saudi Arabia”

Abdulateef Al-Mulhim article for Arab News, “Green Card – a ray of hope for expats”

Karim Traboulsi article for The New Arab, “Gulf countries to punish Beirut by deporting Lebanese expats”

Atossa Araxia Abrahamian article for Al Jazeera, “Kuwait offers stateless group citizenship – from Comoros”

Shafik Mandhai’s article for Independent, on Bidoon in the Calais “Jungle”

I was reflecting on Episode 2 of GD and perhaps the reason why a TCK is a subcategory of the term “cross cultural” is because there is this feeling that complete assimilation is not possible.  When you move to the US, for example, you feel like there is an American culture that you can adopt and a community you can become a part of but maybe this doesn’t quite exist in the Gulf, especially in KSA.  That is why, to Iggy’s point, when we talk about our TCK-ness and connect with one another on that basis, we create a virtual space for ourselves even if it is not attached to a physical/geographical place.    

Missing Jubail quite a bit at the mo.  My brother made an impromptu trip and was sending pictures of him chilling on the Persian Gulf - that water is a shade of blue that is permanently on my mind. 

This week's episode is all about identity, labels, and the stories they let us tell. We discuss Third Culture communities, consider the implications of calling yourself an "expat", and learn about Chicken Nuggets of the Gulf (not the food).

A big thank you to friends who contributed their thoughts and voices to this episode, and the very talented .sinh for giving us permission to use his gorgeous track, SeeTheWorld. Other relevant links:

Zeina Durra’s 2010 film The Imperialists Are Still Alive!

Pico Iyer’s 2013 Ted Talk: Where is home?

Ruth Van Reken’s “Cross-Cultural Kids” blog

Mawuna Remarque Koutonin’s 2015 article in The Guardian: Why are white people expats when the rest of us are immigrants?

Our first episode! We introduce ourselves and the lands we love, discuss belonging outside citizenship (non-citizenship, guest workers, transience), the ifs, ands, and buts of hyphenated identities, and Shafaq responds to an accusation from Nandini about when they first met.

Relevant links:

Diana Pinto’s article: Growing up under Different Skies

About the podcast. Gulf Daze is a biweekly podcast where Shafaq and Nandini document and reflect on the experience of growing up in the Gulf as non-citizens*, while exploring questions of identity, culture, and migration. Combining personal experience, research, and a dialogue with you, the listener, we hope it will be a vehicle to:

reminisce about those days in the sweltering Arabian heat

discuss the varied and dynamic experiences of life in the Gulf

explore all sorts of topics, from citizenship and labour laws to colonial legacies; from corniche walks to compound life; from international schools to language blues to community celebrations, and much more.

We want to hear your stories, comments, questions, and requests. Do message us here, or at [email protected]

* “third culture kids” / “expats” / “migrants” / “foreigners” - pick your favourite category

About you. Anyone that has ever identified with living in a country that is not their parents’ native country and anyone else interested in this experience. You might have grown up in the Gulf, or spent some of your childhood (or even adult) years there. Maybe you live elsewhere now, maybe you moved back to the region, maybe you never lived there, or maybe you never left.

Whether you’re bitten by nostalgia, processing the present, thinking about the future... or just mildly intrigued... we hope you’ll join us.