INTERACTIVE
New Dubai's Capital Accumulation: The Story of Karama
“Not only has the neighborhood lost much of its middle-class transnational identity, but it is also being erased in the media and from the collective memory of Dubai. The livelihoods and lifestyles of Karama’s former inhabitants are threatened as the space for economic participation diminishes with the establishment of more exclusive, privatized, and upper-class modes of living and leisure in the area.”
Bhoomika Ghaghada
“Karama: An Immigrant Neighborhood Transformed” is an essay by writer Bhoomika Ghaghada, published in Jadaliyya. Karama is where Ghaghada grew up. It is a place where Bollywood music was part of the background soundscape, where one could hear people speaking “in Hindi, Urdu, and Tagalog.”
Of course, that was in the early 2000s—well before the gentrification of Karama began. Flanked by the Dubai frame were “Old Dubai” and “New Dubai,” signifiers for tourists who wished to see what “historical” neighborhoods looked like.
Once a trading port and an affordable haven for South Asian immigrants, Karama has convulsed with massive change, what with the expulsion of many of its former residents as part of Dubai's vision of itself: a glitzy, skyscraper-dominated, upper-class, and rarefied space.
As part of our online event In Grief, In Solidarity in 2021, Ghaghada—introduced by editor Vamika Sinha—read her poignant and incisive essay, one which is all the more important because of the dearth of writing on and from the large South Asian diaspora in the UAE.
This rent gap became apparent and significant enough in 2014, soon after Dubai won the bid to host Expo2020. There was plenty of vacant land in Dubai, but two factors made building in undeveloped areas less attractive. First, Dubai was hit hard by the 2008 global financial recession. A bulk of real estate projects were put on hold and many were canceled. With the help of its neighbor city, Abu Dhabi, the Dubai real estate market would recover over the next five years. Second, developing new areas on the outskirts of the city was a relatively costly endeavor with a slower return on investment. It involved greater planning, land preparation, and setting up comprehensive infrastructure—inner roads from existing arteries, metro lines, and water and power lines. This financial reality made Karama an attractive site for redevelopment and capital expansion.
“Karama: An Immigrant Neighborhood Transformed” is an essay by writer Bhoomika Ghaghada, published in Jadaliyya. Karama is where Ghaghada grew up. It is a place where Bollywood music was part of the background soundscape, where one could hear people speaking “in Hindi, Urdu, and Tagalog.”
Of course, that was in the early 2000s—well before the gentrification of Karama began. Flanked by the Dubai frame were “Old Dubai” and “New Dubai,” signifiers for tourists who wished to see what “historical” neighborhoods looked like.
Once a trading port and an affordable haven for South Asian immigrants, Karama has convulsed with massive change, what with the expulsion of many of its former residents as part of Dubai's vision of itself: a glitzy, skyscraper-dominated, upper-class, and rarefied space.
As part of our online event In Grief, In Solidarity in 2021, Ghaghada—introduced by editor Vamika Sinha—read her poignant and incisive essay, one which is all the more important because of the dearth of writing on and from the large South Asian diaspora in the UAE.
This rent gap became apparent and significant enough in 2014, soon after Dubai won the bid to host Expo2020. There was plenty of vacant land in Dubai, but two factors made building in undeveloped areas less attractive. First, Dubai was hit hard by the 2008 global financial recession. A bulk of real estate projects were put on hold and many were canceled. With the help of its neighbor city, Abu Dhabi, the Dubai real estate market would recover over the next five years. Second, developing new areas on the outskirts of the city was a relatively costly endeavor with a slower return on investment. It involved greater planning, land preparation, and setting up comprehensive infrastructure—inner roads from existing arteries, metro lines, and water and power lines. This financial reality made Karama an attractive site for redevelopment and capital expansion.
SUB-HEAD
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Kareen Adam · Nazish Chunara
A Dhivehi Artists Showcase
Shebani Rao
A Freelancer's Guide to Decision-Making
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Live
Dubai
Event
In Grief In Solidarity
Development
Gentrification
Karama
Jadaliyya
Nationalism
UAE
Street Art
Old Dubai
New Dubai
Dubai Creek
Dubai frame
Tourism
Luxury Tourism
Working-Class Spaces
Property
Rent Gap
State-Sponsored Privatization
Burj Al Arab
Dubai Roads and Transport
Abu Dhabi
Middle East
Capital
Capital Expansion
Production of Space
Wasl Hub
Housing Crisis
Brand Dubai
Deira Enrichment Project
Legal Regimes
Lack of Legal Recourse
The Denial of Citizenship
Nationality-based Hierarchies
Immigrant Neighborhoods
Employment
State Modernization Narratives
BHOOMIKA GHAGHADA is a writer, strategist, facilitator, and independent researcher, based in Dubai. She co-founded the non-profit initiative Gulf Creative Collective. Her work has appeared in Jadaliyya and Postscript Magazine.
5 Jun 2021
Live
Dubai
5th
Jun
2021
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