Loneliness

Expatriates constitute nearly 40 per cent of the total population in the Gulf region. Labour migration in large numbers, combined with strict immigration policies and economic hardship, results in feelings of isolation and loneliness for the unskilled and semi-skilled migrant labourer. Walking around Ruwi High Street in Muscat, capital of the Sultanate of Oman is a lesson in loneliness and coping strategies.

1. Long workdays leave no time to build up social support networks.

2. A patch of grass in the cityscape helps to de-stress.

3. The sight of other people is, perhaps, more beautiful than an inanimate fountain.

4. Watching life go by ...

5. Misery does not necessarily like company each person keeps his own counsel.

6. Shopping for the family before going home is a task, which is exciting and needs to be planned very carefully.

7. Unwinding after six days of hard, physical labour in desert conditions can be hard when there is no money to be spent on frivolity.

8. Isolation in the midst of plenty is a common sight.

9. Alcohol is often seen as an escape from the perpetual loneliness of the expat worker¹s life.