We are a community that talks about everything. Politics, property prices, school admissions, the price of coconut oil. Everything except how we are actually feeling.
The mental health toll of Gulf migration is enormous and systematically underreported. The loneliness of living thousands of kilometres from family. The pressure of being the sole breadwinner for an extended family back home. The status anxiety of measuring success by the size of the house being built in Kerala that you visit for three weeks a year. The quiet desperation of workers in labour camps who cannot afford to be sick because there is no paid leave and no savings cushion.
These are not individual failings. They are structural features of the migration experience, and they affect hundreds of thousands of Malayalis across the Gulf.
What is changing, slowly: community organisations like KMCC and various church and mosque groups are beginning to include mental health support in their welfare programmes. The Kerala government’s new NRI welfare schemes include provisions for counselling services. Telehealth platforms are making it possible to speak with a Malayalam-speaking therapist without leaving your flat in Sharjah.
What still needs to change: the stigma. In our community, admitting you need help with your mental health is still treated as weakness. It is not. The strongest thing a person can do is recognise when they are struggling and reach out. If you are in the UAE and need someone to talk to, the Dubai Community Development Authority helpline is 800-HOPE (4673). You do not need to give your name.
We take care of our families, our careers, and our communities. It is time we took care of ourselves too.