desis growing up in middle east and accents/approach

Arts & Culture Culture, Arts, Literature & Linguistics
1

A few years ago, I had looked at the issue of desis who have not left Pakistan except for vacations here and there but try to act as if they just took a flight from the san fernando valley to clifton..

This time I want to look at the desis growing up in middle east..back then this is how I had looked at some specimen of this group

Scenario#2: You grew up in the middle east…hmmmmm question is, why is your urdu bad and hopping along with a “western” accent. If we take into account the same criteria as discussed in the previous example..should you not be speaking urdu with an arabic accent and mixing arabic words like “Ya Habeebi, Ateeni aik panni ka glass, shukran”. Its my impression that desis growing up in middleeast feel like expatriates of teh second degree compared to those in europe and North america ( and australia perhaps) ..thus trying to be all western…but folks.. you are spotted a mile away J Those Hara Jeans have got to go, and the whole nike and reebok heyday is gone, so quit dressing like an extra from “footloose” and chill. On a positive side though, most of these folks are in another country and with limited opportunities to use urdu on an everyday basis since they are in international schools most of the times. Again parents fault and all…but its slightly ummmm dodgy shall we say.

so can anyone explain it? I mean pakistan is defintely more liberal than saudi Arabia, Kuwait and qatar etc…but the desis coming from there try to be so dang mod…people from UAe I can understand a little..not a whole lot..just a little, but why is it that ppl whoa rrive from middle east act as if they spent their entire lives in LA, London or NYC? the cities they live in are okay but doha, riyadh and kuwait city are not quite the same thing.

Then you start hearing their lame ass stories..like dude..shut up..boring ass countries, boring ass “adventures” and boring ass stories..

racing yer dad’s car late night to the local shawarma place and exchanging glances with some arabi haseena is pretty lame.

Then the real lame stories come out.. which I would believe about the same time as when JFK and elvis release a joint gangsta rap album..

so middle east desis…explain these type of people amongst you..why, how etc etc?

2

coming on GS...and trying to diss a whole population of desis, who have been born and bred in the middle east, just cause u had a couple of bad experiences, is what I call lame.

I dont see...whats the problem, you have with people from that part of the world. The accent??....well its cause most of the people you meet over here have spent a good amount of their lives going to an Internation School. Where u got teachers and students, from all different nationalties. Yeah Americans and the British are'nt the only ones who speak English.

Clothing....umm cant say, abt other parts, but atleast in Dubai, a average guy, dresses a lot better than an average American. Atleast u dont see them wearing baggy pants and baggy shirts, baggy this, baggy that.

3

^ ditto.

Fraudz I don't know what kinda mid-eastern desis you been hanging out with man. all desis who I know from Saudi Arabia (at least Khober) are very fluent in Urdu. there is no accent whatsoever. they might not be fashion designers as far as their dress sense is concerned but they dress pretty ok.

Arab haseenas are just a myth man. have you ever seen an Arab (Saudi to be specific) woman without her burqa? prolly not, so how do you know that there are any haseenas in those burqas and on top of that haseenas who would actually let you eye them?

4

The few privileged in Pakistan can still do that San Fernando thinge even though the have never gone out of 1000 mile from Pakistan. As I said it might be just few privileged.

You dam right (I like the way it sounds)....Pakistan is way more liberal than those gulf cities, if you look at it, its not the liberation or the free society which takes people there its the wealth. Wealth is the primary reason for migration to the gulf states. The wealth has enabled a larger segment of Pakistani society to act like privileged. Where as the people who go to west are not only privileged to gain wealth but also enjoy the fruits of free society.

There are some reasons for acting the way you have mentioned. I don’t know about Riyadh and Doha, but I can tell you about Kuwait.

You have already gone through a few reasons, but a major reason is that in early 70's to late 90’s a large portion of Pakistanis in Kuwait had the opportunity to go nice private institutions and that might have effected their accent a lil bit. On the other hand in my 21 years there I just knew a handful of families which can speak fluent Arabic, but most knew English better due to international schooling.

But why they act like if they have spent all their lives in LA, one reason might be that if you take the free society, laws and liberal policies out, there is no difference for a young man who is living in Kuwait or LA. Because when it cames to goods he has access to the very same that is available in LA. And I mean that in terms of abundance of wealth and infrestructure and basic facilities. I am sure you must have seen Kuwait before the war. Every thing which the west can provide was available there minus the freedom. So its like when this guy from Kuwait goes to Pakistan and meets his cousin from Virginia, he will never talk about the free society, but rather he would tell you that "ohh yes I have a H-II in Kuwait".

Anyway, someday you can talk to me and see if I have an accent. I sure have a very heavy Lebanese accent. :)

5

Being one of these um “desis growing up in the Middle East”, i feel compelled to respond if only to salvage my bacha kucha dignity :clown:

Fraudz, i am not certain what type of desis you have been hanging out with. i don’t find i have anything to ‘show off’ about, simply because i was born there. My parents were (Alhamdulillah) strict back then. There was not even the possibility for me to even dream about racing a car down Hamdan street in Abu Dhabi to grab a shwarma. Forget cruising down the streets, i wasn’t literally allowed to go out by myself. Checking out cute Arab guys? Yes, i could do that - if i wanted to commit suicide. i didn’t attend any international or American schools there; none of my sisters did either. When i was first given admission to any school, it was Pakistani School. The fees for the intl/American schools were too exorbitant; we were three kids - out of the question to pay God knows how much for the three of us.

Regarding speaking Urdu with a western accent - to be frank, it’s more of an embarassment. i find nothing cool about this whatsoever. Personally, it’s really attractive if any person speaks their native language without a foreign accent… i find that REALLY attractive. Probably because i feel self-conscious about myself. Anyways - i don’t think that’s grounds for arrogance or vanity. Speaking Urdu with a western accent is totally unappealing to me personally.

>>…but the desis coming from there try to be so dang mod…<<
ah but not all of us. Some of us already know how uncool we are to begin with ;~) And that’s totally fine with me. i am not out to impress anyone, least of all by claiming i have some sort of superiority simply because i was born in a country where the President and his “government” all just happen to be a family of dictators.

i miss the friends i had there, i miss my home, i miss my school, i miss the beaches, - but i am not arrogant when i express that. It’s just nostalgic feelings for the place you attach some of your happiest memories with. Any desi who thinks they’re cooler just cuz they’re born in the Middle East, needs to get their brains scanned. IMHO.

6

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sambrialian: *

Arab haseenas are just a myth man.

[/QUOTE]

exactly.

they are,nt all that...they just average. However, there was this one Arab..who lived next door...she was something speical...haye.

But other than that...its just below average looks...and multiple layers of makeup.

7

Nice post Nadia..

btw...Fraudia bhai, what made u come up with such a generalization.

What u said abt the clothes...really made me laugh.

8

:disgust:

Fraudia, heres a quick, broad brush generalisation technique that doesnt produce too many false positives. If someone comes upto you and says hes from KSA, chuck 'im.

I grew up in Muscat, in Oman, in the Gulf. Barring KSA-ites, I tend to think that growing up in the Gulf tends to be ideal. Since these countries are multicultural, when you go abroad-er you’ve seen an angreze before and dont go all jumpy as opposed to aforementioned burger party. You tend to study in pakistani schools so your urdu is great. Better even than those in pakistan, since if you study in a particular school in a particular city in pakistan, you pick the accent/mannerisms of that city. Whereas we used to have a microcosm of pakistan in our class. Plus its easier to be conservative and hold onto roots when you’re in an arab country considering that everyone else for instance doesnt condone beyhoodgi beyond a certain point.

9

the odd thing about these KSAites is that they also happen to pick up the country's islamic interpretation. so in addition to talking like mtv, walking like mtv, dressing like mtv, they also think ramming planes into mtv is so chill.

10

Thanks, Sharaabi.

11

i grew up in pak but still i think thats a generalisation Fraudia bhai..i've seen all kinds of desis from everywhere...

12

satire baccha log satire
the same was posted about desis in Pakistan who act as if they are abcds :)
kher challo I wil respond to yer points as well :)

13

Originally posted by Sharaabi: *
**coming on GS...and trying to diss a whole population of desis, who have been born and bred in the middle east, just cause u had a couple of bad experiences, is what I call lame. *

satire chanda..satire..next u will read my old article about qawaals and get offended :)

Coming on GS, reading a satirical piece and getting all huffed up and puffed up about it is kinda lame too, dunn ya think :)

and dang man I dinn have no bad experiences with any middle east desis.

*I dont see...whats the problem, you have with people from that part of the world. *

I have no problem with people from any part of the world that i dont have with people from another part of the world

*The accent??....well its cause most of the people you meet over here have spent a good amount of their lives going to an Internation School. *

true ..true

** Where u got teachers and students, from all different nationalties. Yeah Americans and the British are'nt the only ones who speak English.**

agreed...although they probably speak urdu at home dont they...
heck in dubai arabs speak urdu let alone desis..its interesting when u see desis who cant speak urdu :)

*Clothing....umm cant say, abt other parts, but atleast in Dubai, a average guy, dresses a lot better than an average American. *

well it depends what you call well dressed. when I see desi shows like "ban gaye" which are filmed in dubai..I see plenty of sartorial faux pas just walkign around.

*Atleast u dont see them wearing baggy pants and baggy shirts, baggy this, baggy that. *

the baggy look is kinda out unless u are ghetto..see u mid eqst guys are so behind :)

14

Originally posted by sambrialian: *
*^ ditto. **

Oye what diotto, u guys just had a major conflict in yer statements..

*Fraudz I don't know what kinda mid-eastern desis you been hanging out with man. all desis who I know from Saudi Arabia (at least Khober) are very fluent in Urdu. there is no accent whatsoever. *

hey sharabi just said that the accent can be explained by the fact that they go to international schools,a nd u are saying that there is no accent :)

*they might not be fashion designers as far as their dress sense is concerned but they dress pretty ok. *

yeah..just okay.

*Arab haseenas are just a myth man. have you ever seen an Arab (Saudi to be specific) woman without her burqa? prolly not, so how do you know that there are any haseenas in those burqas and on top of that haseenas who would actually let you eye them? *

have I seen an arab haseena without her burqaa- yes, when the saudia planes land in Heathrow, abbaya clad women who had boarded the plane in riyadh emerge sans burqaa..

Now as far as back in KSA etc, it is def harder, and that is why its such a farcew when ppl who live in middle eastern countries have tall tales as if they were living on the french riveira and not jeddah :)

15

hahahaha...pichoN pawein Mandi Bahuddin .. to howe. America aake apne aap haan khuda samjhan lag jaande.

ABCDS, (Fraudz this applies to u too), and the problem with the majority of them is that they think just like the Whites..over here.

They think they are the best, and that the whole world, should act and live like then. And thats the same problem with you.

16

:hehe:

It’s ironic that it’s usually the old women who are wearing the abaaya when abroad who no one’s going to look at anyway, while the younger ones walk along happily beside them sans burkha.

17

since this thread ha sturned into a serious discussion rather than satire..do you guys see the difference in the experiences and statements that you have made.

Thus what I stated is not inaccurate, off course it does not apply to everyone..but it applies to a certain percentage.

some choice statements..that could serve as the basis of this dicussion from you guys.

sharabi said

*The accent??....well its cause most of the people you meet over here have spent a good amount of their lives going to an Internation School. *

sambrilian said

all desis who I know from Saudi Arabia (at least Khober) are very fluent in Urdu. there is no accent whatsoever

Mini me said

  • There are some reasons for acting the way you have mentioned.

and..

But why they act like if they have spent all their lives in LA, one reason might be that if you take the free society, laws and liberal policies out, there is no difference for a young man who is living in Kuwait or LA. Because when it cames to goods he has access to the very same that is available in LA.

So its like when this guy from Kuwait goes to Pakistan and meets his cousin from Virginia, he will never talk about the free society, but rather he would tell you that "ohh yes I have a H-II in Kuwait". *

Nadia noted

  • There was not even the possibility for me to even dream about racing a car down Hamdan street in Abu Dhabi to grab a shwarma. Forget cruising down the streets, i wasn't literally allowed to go out by myself. Checking out cute Arab guys? Yes, i could do that - if i wanted to commit suicide.

Any desi who thinks they're cooler just cuz they're born in the Middle East, needs to get their brains scanned. IMHO. *

ravage said

  • You tend to study in pakistani schools so your urdu is great. Better even than those in pakistan,

Plus its easier to be conservative and hold onto roots when you're in an arab country considering that everyone else for instance doesnt condone beyhoodgi beyond a certain point.*

so..

it appeats that there are those in middle east that either due to too much too soon, or due to parents lack of interest combined with international schools turn into carricatures of abcds.

and there is a diff crowd which holds on to their identity, whether or not they go to international or pakistani schools, even when they are exposed to the same availability of things..

I think whatever the reasons, its lack of interest by parents in the end that ends up with kids in pakistan or kids in middle east with messed up urdu or an affected acccent..and the sad thing is when this affected accent is faked.

heck check out my other thread about desis ..the in between etc. we get on abcds case so often that it was about time to write about mid east desis as well as burger variety in Pakistan

18

[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by Sharaabi: *
ABCDS, (Fraudz this applies to u too), and the problem with the majority of them is that they think just like the Whites..over here.

They think they are the best, and that the whole world, should act and live like then. And thats the same problem with you.
[/QUOTE]

interesting response..especially after you started your participation in thsi thread with these words

coming on GS...and trying to diss a whole population of desis, who have been born and bred in the middle east, just cause u had a couple of bad experiences, is what I call lame.

so i guess i should say

so coming on GS..and trying to diss a whole population of desis, who have been born and bred in the west, just cause u had a couple of bad experiences, is what I call lame :D

sharabi meray bacchay....there are plenty of threads bashing abcds :) this one is about mid east desis. dont let it hurt your ego. abcds have tons of problems, and they also can be explained/excused by the schooling, culture, etc as others have tried to do for mid east desis.

heck, in your emotional state, u kinda forgot the basic point here.

Which is people should not give up their roots..atleast it seems weird when the kids of first generation immigrants are clueless.

We have people in pakistan who cant speak urdu properly, or whatever their mother tongue may be..not that they speak perfect english or anything.

and again, niether do i think abcds are the best or that everyone is expected to think, act, dress like they do..and that is the basic point..when people try to copy, whether they are in mid east or in Pakistan and look like some teeny bopper show rejects, then it is a bit funny..

dil par na lo baat.. thanda paani piyo

19

maybe there is wisdom in that..the old women know no one will be looking at them .. while the younger ones know that they will get checked out :smiley:

20

Fraudz maybe those differences you mentioned are because they are Middle Eastern Born Confused Desi's?

Isn't being confused about who you are a natural process of being brought up in another country?