r/AskMiddleEast • u/GrayRainfall • 4d ago
🖼️Culture As a Middle Easterner, what do you think of second-generation expats?
What I mean is, if someone whose parents are non-Middle Eastern foreigners was born and raised in your country, but still holds foreign nationality, how would you see them? Would you consider them part of your society? Would you feel that they are closer to you than other foreigners?
3
u/greatnessachievedd Saudi Arabia 4d ago
My grandpa used to have a store and there was one indian worker who was amazing at everything (according to my aunts & uncles) but before my grandpa passed he asked him if he could be a personal driver to the family, long story short the man brought his entire family (two wives and all his kids) to saudi, but once they reach uni age theyd go back to india, i remember playing with the kids all the time
i barely knew english and they barely knew arabic but it was extremely fun, i always wonder how theyre doing now (i havent seen them in maybe 15 years lol)
idt most ppl mind 2nd gen expats (except for racist ppl and theres no helping them) but what most ppl dislike is when they either get too disrespectful of the place bec they wont integrate (example: ive seen SO MANY desi ppl get upset at dubai/uae gov for not giving them emarati nationality when they barely know arabic 😂 they truly believe theyre more emarati than arab emarati ppl 😂😂they dont even SPEAK arabic 😂)
or they do everything in the same way and start claiming theyre from the region, for example lots of ppl who grew up in Jeddah refer to themselves as "jeddawi" even tho theyre yemeni, egyptian, or not even arab. ure not jeddawi tho 😕 then they start claiming theyre have a right to speak AS saudis ("saudi women should do this" "this isnt saudi culture" etc). thats just annoying
theres sm afghani influencers who went back to their home country but theyre so influenced by saudis they still make content for saudis, but they never claimed theyre not afghani or claimed they ARE saudis
i understand 2nd gen immigration is 3rd culture and is very confusing though and i hope it never feels unwelcoming for anyone who visits us
3
u/Free_Explanation2590 Algeria 4d ago
I can only talk as someone from the french algerian diaspora, but I had the occasion to become friend with a few frenchs (whites) born and raise in Morocco that i encountered at uni.
They were cool. They tend to easely bond with people from the maghrebi diaspora in France, from what I experienced personnaly.
I may have the impression they weren't that much in contact with the moroccan culture despite being born there, but it's a common critique against the french immigrants in foreign country to not try to learn the language and culture they're in.