DUBAI: This buzzling international city that never sleeps had its share of humble beginnings, according to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) who arrived in the 1980s and witnessed the emirate’s growth through the years, which went full throttle by the mid-2000s.
“Dubai was then a desert with only one single road to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah,” said Lilah Siruelo Moukhtar, who arrived in 1989 to work as a nurse.
“The airport was a small, one-storey building and you have to walk from the plane to the concourse. The Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC), they said, was the tallest building in the Middle East. There were only two malls Al Ghurair (on Al Rigga street in Deira) and the Wafi Center (in Bur Dubai near Karama). Karama was the best shopping area for us Filipinos back then,” Moukhtar said.
Teresita Al Ansari, who arrived in 1986 and now owns Far Eastern Private School im Sharjah, said: “There were not too many Filipinos. We knew everyone, we were close to each other.”
“Satwa was a wide desert expanse,” said Bernadette Castillo who came to Dubai on Dec. 29, 1983.
Roy Tamano said growth accelerated around 2006. “Nagsimula na mag-mushroom yung mga skyscrapers sa Dubai Marina and portions around Business Bay with Burj Khalifa rising from the ground,” he said.
Engr. Milo Torres, who arrived in November 1993, and now works as a professional photographer, shared: “Two lanes lamang ang highway simula Abu Dhabi hanggang Jebel Ali (which now has 10 for north-bound and south-bound), may mga humps pa in between.”
