Cultural identities: Parallel and syncretized
The discussion in a previous post, and some discussion with friends got me thinking a bit more about the case of Asian immigrants in Bahrain. Specifically, I want to respond to a point made by an anonymous commenter, who said:
In the seven years I have worked here you have seen a massive influx of asians primarily indians & bengalis. yes they build things but you must remember this is a Arab country and at times is seems like it is becoming a third world ghetto, Bahrain seems to be losing its cultural identity. This being a very small country it shows more than large countries.
This is a common concern for many Bahrainis, and even for immigrants like me who would be sad to see the local cultural identity drowned out by a foreign imported one. A while back Homer wrote of his concern about this, trying to predict possible future outcomes (and I responded to him here). However this time I’d like to look into Bahrain’s past to gather some clues.
Settled trading families: Syncretized culture
It wasn’t always the case that immigrants from Asia threatened the local culture in Bahrain. If you think back a few generations ago, there were many trading families from India and Pakistan who settled in Bahrain to conduct their business. Because of the requirements of business, and because they knew that they would be staying here for the long term, they took steps to integrate themselves in the local society and culture. Being fluent in Arabic was an essential requirement, as was adopting other local codes of conduct such as dress, food, and even mannerisms.
And crucially, these migrants were able to raise their families in Bahrain, so their children grew up learning the local culture side by side with the culture of their parents. So today the children of these immigrants have created a syncretized culture based on their two influences. If you go to their homes they wear thobe and dishdasha one day, and the shalwar qamees another. Their meals are often a combination of local and Indian dishes; or dishes of one culinary style that have been adapted by adding influences of the other. And at home they switch between speaking Arabic and Urdu (or whatever their parent’s language is) without thinking, following a sentence in one language with another sentence in the other. Their friends (and sometimes even spouses) are made up of members from both the migrant community and from among the “real” Bahrainis.
New wave unsettled workers: Parallel culture
However this new wave of immigration that has taken place in the past seven years or so, described by Anon above, has been of an entirely different nature. These low-wage unskilled workers have been brought here in mass shipments and made to work under poor conditions. Because they are unskilled and in such large supply, they are easily replacable by their employers. They were brought to Bahrain only because they accept lower wages than anyone else, and they are less hassle for employers than Bahraini citizens (they don’t enjoy job mobility, less access to courts, labour laws and trade unions, and they don’t have access to any influential social networks). And the workers usually aren’t allowed to bring their families here.
So, they know from the beginning that they have little chance of being able to settle down here for the long term, as they can be sent back home at any time. And they don’t have much desire either to settle here in the long-term because they can’t bring their families. The sole aim for them is to earn money and send it back home for as long as possible. There are very few incentives (and in some cases, opportunities) for them to integrate themselves into the local society, or even to just learn about the culture. Things aren’t helped by the fact that many workers are housed in “labour camps” that are separated from the rest of society, preventing them from any human interaction with locals.
But the most important factor I see with this new wave of of immigrant workers is the high turnover rate… that they are constantly renewed every few years. So even if one of them does learn something about the local culture, it makes no difference because he will get sent back home after a few years — and replaced with someone fresh off the boat who knows nothing about the culture. Contrast this with the situation of the settled immigrant trading families (mentioned above), where knowledge/adoption of the local culture accumulates over time and over generations.
So what?
Well I don’t have any astounding conclusions, but just a simple and obvious point, which is this: Immigrants who arrive knowing with some certainty that they will be able to stay here long term will not pose a threat to the local cultural identity, because they will be forced to syncretize their original culture with the local one; the product of which would be regarded as an organic adaptation; just another variety within the melting pot that we label “Bahraini culture”.
On the other hand, those immigrants who are brought here solely to work, and who have little assurance that they will be able to live here for the long term, will not be integrated into the local society and culture. These immigrants will maintain their imported culture in its original form, parallel to (ie without any interaction with), or in direct conflict with the local one. Large numbers of these unsettled immigrants will be seen as a threat to the local identity because their culture is foreign to the local one.
Of course all of my claims here are generalizations, as the situation differs for each individual case. There are many other factors and aspects that need to be considered in order to get a full picture. And it should also be noted that the two examples I’ve given here are just the two extremes that lie on either end of the spectrum of Asian immigrants in Bahrain. There are a great deal of people who lie somewhere in between, that I have made no mention of here.
But anyways, this is just a first attempt at better understanding the prevailing situation. I may have a follow up post discussing my ideas for possible solutions to the current problem. But this post should give you some hints about which direction I’m going.
June 27th, 2005 at 9:15 pm
As an American I value the way that new ethnic influences can change a society. I think it is too overblown to think that immigrants are going to destroy a societ. More often than not they completely energise the society and the fruits of such inclusion are wonderful to see.
If you come to the Washington DC area you will see what I mean. I love the diversity here, but it hasnt completely changed the basic nature of the place.
June 27th, 2005 at 11:05 pm
Yes Abu Sinan, I think we all love diversity, and Bahrain has a great tradition, dating back thousands of years, of accepting people from different places.
However there does exist a real problem in Bahrain currently because of the scale and nature of the immigration. This is what I’ve tried to describe in my post above by differentiating between what I call “syncretic” and “parallel” cultures of immigrants. It is sad for me to see some historic parts of Manama stripped of their Bahraini identity and history as they have been taken over by migrant workers. It’s not like Chinatown or Little Italy in New York City, both of which have a very American feel to it… the people who are there have integrated into the American way of life, and the second generation especially have created their own special space within the socio-cultural landscape of the city and the country.
However places like “Bengali Street” in Manama are very different. For this new wave of migant workers Bahrain is just a temporary arrangement until they go back home (for reasons that I described already in the post). Unlike in Chinatown, there is very little alchemy at work in Bahrain’s Bengali Street. There is no interaction or integration of the cultures… there are no bridges available that would allow the locals to access the beauty of the foreign culture. Because of this, it is my contention, the foreign culture is seen as a threat to the local identity.
June 30th, 2005 at 5:36 am
Thanks for the post Chan’ad. I guess the old arguement of ‘Bahrainis will never take up low-skill job’ comes up, and I’m not sure to what extent this is still going on in the mind of the youth in Bahrain. From what I hear, even when they do take low-skill jobs such as truck driving, they are reckless and careless. A friend recently commented, ‘at least Indian workers fear their bosses and worry about getting caught by the police, because their lives depend on it.’ I assume the same applies to other jobs as well.
So this leads to the need of having foreign workers around (supposedly, affecting the ‘culture’) and then having Bahrainis whine about it without realising that it is really their own fault. Thanks for publicising this issue and I’m sure if other mediums take it up, more awareness will be spread.
What worries me personally is the group that you excluded from mentioning in your post, and that is the skilled migrants (i.e Accountants, engineers, etc). I have no idea how they are treated or how they impact the employment of skilled Bahrainis. I would really appreciate it if you shed some light on them sometime in the future.
June 30th, 2005 at 9:14 am
The wonderful world of the internet! I just found your website because it was linked to Mahmood’s, and I found his because an American vlogger linked to it.
Please excuse me for invading your conversation – I just want to give my personal perspective. My great-grandfather on my father’s side was an illegal immigrant to the United States, and he was very ashamed of it. My family on both sides came to the United States from Eastern Europe around WWI (between about 1905-1920). This might end up being obnoxiously long… but I want to give you perspective on where I’m coming from.
First – Chan’ad your analysis of the situation in your post is right on. Migrant workers of any kind have trouble integrating into a community. They aren’t working with Bahrainis – they are living in ghettos, they don’t learn the language, and don’t have incentive to. People who come with their families to settle are completely different. You are right. And you stated the argument very well (better than many I have seen talking about immigration here). Plus, anyone who would pick up and leave what they had for hard labor and a little cash is already probably in a difficult situation at home. There is likely a desperation there. Tired desperate people are less likely to make good citizens. Though I would like to believe the vast majority of these foreign workers are doing the best they can to help provide for their families. A few bad guys do so much harm for the whole group. Like you can’t think of a few bad Bahrainis? But you don’t judge each individual based on the bad or selfish actions of a few.
Chan’ad – in your comment you bring up Chinatown and Little Italy in NYC. I live in New York. Many people think Chinatown is dirty and breeds crime. There is a Chinatown mafia. You and I both know that everything is going to work out just fine, and it won’t “take over” anything. I love Chinatown. When the Italians first came people spat on them. They were mostly unskilled labors, and were blamed for much of the crime in NYC. They were considered dirty and “dark.” Little Italy was a ghetto. With many families crammed into small apartments. They worked in the sweat-shop textile industries. The buildings were fire-traps and many women and children died. But people worked hard, and after a few generations integrated into society. Now you couldn’t imagine America without Italian influence. What’s New York without its famous pizza? Or all the Italian-American actors, directors, writers? The same with the Irish. When the Irish fled famine in their country in the 1840′s Americans put up signs in the windows saying “No Jobs for Irish.” Same with Jews, Mexicans, Latin Americans, Japanese… you name it. Arab-Americans, Indians, American Indians… Don’t get me started with African-Americans. Just 50 years ago Blacks and Whites were not allowed to eat at the same restaurants in the American South. White people could kill a black man and not get arrested. And while those rules don’t apply any longer – racism is alive and well here. But still we (most of us!) strive to make things better and get along.
It is all the same story, different year, different language. (though the situation of Blacks in America is complicated by the history of slavery…)
Some people in America complain that there are so many Spanish-speaking neighborhoods – with Spanish-language schools, stores, people in these communities don’t even learn English. Honestly, sometimes I think that is a problem… but when I visit some of these neighborhoods I love it – the art, the food, the music – it is like traveling around the world in one city. I still think they would benefit from speaking fluent English living in America.
Sorry for rambling along so much – but I just wanted to say that this is just a global world, and while perhaps Bahrain has been shielded from some of it, there is really no country that will be “pure” or only filled with “natives” for much longer – but each nation always retains its own identity. If the jobs weren’t there in Bahrain, immigrants wouldn’t come. Simple as that. Investing in South Asia and providing local jobs for unskilled workers (or better yet, train them for other jobs) would probably stop some of the flow… people don’t usually leave their country, family, and history unless they feel they have no opportunity at home. Same in Bahrain among immigrant communities – of course when there is poverty – and seemingly no access to respectable ways of making money – a black market will develop. I’m not saying mafias are okay – just saying it always happens, and the best way to end it is to provide legitimate opportunities for success.
Thanks for reading! and thank you for your blog, it is always so interesting to read about other people’s lives. I haven’t read very much but it is very well written and interesting.
June 30th, 2005 at 9:29 am
Okay – now I just read more about Bahrain… and your background, Chan’ad. I realize a smaller country is different than the U.S. – and it isn’t fair to compare the two. Also – the American economy isn’t the same as it was in the 1840′s, the 1920′s, or the 1950′s. There are fewer unskilled labor jobs – most factory jobs have moved to China, various economies in Southeast Asia and South America. So today’s immigrants do not have the same opportunities to immediately find a job here like they did. That is why more communities (like Spanish-speaking ones I mentioned) are less integrated in society than they would have been 100 years ago. So it isn’t fair to compare today’s new arrivals to the ones who came back then. I re-read my post and realized it was a bit “It’s a Small World” (do you know the Disney song?) – and naive.
June 30th, 2005 at 2:05 pm
bahrain is an iranian country, though arabic is the language but iranian is the nationality and heritage. bahrainis are iranian no matter what, foreigners always tried to divide iranians, but its time to reunited with our brothers and sisters.
June 30th, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Hi Chan’ad,
Great post…but I just wanted to point out one thing. Bahrain has been a centre for trade for centuries, so its not like we are all pedigrees here, unlike what some would have you believe. What is going on now has happened in the past, albeit in different ways.
July 1st, 2005 at 3:25 pm
ODD: Yes, I was planning on writing about the cultural impact of skilled migrants in a separate post. I’ll do it sometime soon hopefully.
Mara: Thanks for the comments. I agree with most of your comparisons. Let me just make one more comparison between Bahrain and the US. It is my understanding that in the US children parented by migrant workers are eligible for US citizenship and more importantly have access to a wide range of government provided social services, such as education (crucial), health etc etc. Because of this, the second generation of migrants will surely become integrated in to American culture to a great extent.
In Bahrain this is not the case. The children of migrants aren’t usually eligible for Bahraini citizenship and they dont have much access to social services. And for various reasons most of these children won’t attend the regular government schools, but will instead attend one of the many private schools which are often associated with a specific country (“Pakistan School”, “Indian School”, “British School”, etc). This separation obviously has a huge impact on how the 2nd gen immigrants fit in to society.
Tariq: Yes, I agree. As I noted in my first comment, Bahrain has long tradition of accepting outsiders. A simple look at the last names of Bahrainis reveals this: Khonji, Singace (I have no idea where that name comes from), and no prizes for guessing where the family of Fatima al-Balooshi (social affairs minister) hails from.
July 4th, 2005 at 12:31 am
I lived in Bahrain for 10 years and the impression I got was that the locals had absolutely no desire to interact with the “smelly dark” people under the guise of any relationshipo other than that of master servant. Before I left the country their was apparently a move in the parliament to segregate migrant labourers into “special areas”. Judging from this attitude there is no hope of the migrants integrating as the locals clearlydon’t want them to. I’m sorry if I’ve offended anyone but this is just a personal perspective.