Constituting the second largest group of expatriates in the Gulf state, after Indians, Pakistanis serve in diverse sectors but the entertainment, public relations and events industry has particularly taken a hit by the virus containment measures.
Asad Raza Khan, a Pakistani writer, actor, producer, and theater enthusiast, who runs Tall Tales Production, was set to start work on the third season of Comedy Adda, a talk show which he hosts.
“The first two seasons were already shot and aired. The third season was to be shot in Pakistan, but it got pushed. We had a licensed broadway show for Dubai. I had a telefilm on the way and another feature film that was supposed to release on Eid. All of that has been delayed,” Khan told Arab News on June 06.
It follows most productions, including massive events such as the Expo 2020, being postponed until next year to recover from the impact of the outbreak.
It’s a challenging landscape for startups in the emirates who would look forward to post-summer events, particularly in Dubai, which served as a ‘high point’ for a majority of businesses.
Tehzeeb Ahmed, a Bangladeshi-Pakistani expatriate, who has been spearheading Buzzybee Communications for more than eight years in the UAE, said 2020 was a “write-off.”
“Marketing and PR is the first budget to be pulled (due to events and productions being canceled and postponed). We were in talks for movies that were supposed to release in the region, but those conversations have been stalled because there won’t be physical launches anymore,” she said.
However, she added that work was underway to innovate and create new opportunities and “adapt to the situation.”
“It’s important to pivot,” she said, explaining how she’s changing the direction of her business.
“We have started to offer packages to smaller businesses. We moved away from mainstream media and advertising. We helped out SMEs, and we are doing a lot of that digitally. We’re in an economy right now where digital platforms are the new normal and entertainment is what’s keeping people going at home,” she said.
Nadia Siddiqui and Faizal Mussa of Box Office Events, agreed, acknowledging that 2020 “has been a tough year” for doing business in the UAE but that they were not ready to throw in the towel just yet.
“We followed the guidelines of social distancing, and things are getting better. The UAE has handled this crisis very well. We remain optimistic about it,” they told Arab News.
However, the events management industry is not the only one to beat the brunt of the lockdown.
Sadiq Saleem, a journalist and events’ host in UAE, said that the outbreak has had a far-reaching impact on the publishing industry too and that he often felt demotivated.
“It’s evident that publishing houses are not printing,” Saleem said referring to the shutdown of printing presses in the UAE.
“Print is a big medium where you give your output as a writer, and that is completely out of the market at the moment. Even if stars want to talk to you, you don’t want your article to be just another article with a two-second scrolling value online. When it is in print, there is some presence,” he said.
The struggle is real with the UAE pulling out all stops to address the everyday setbacks incurred by businesses.
As part of its strict anti-virus measures, the UAE has imposed a AED 3,000 fine for anyone caught without a face mask, and is in the process of slowly reopening cinemas, malls and gyms, too.
The efforts seem to be paying off with Forbes declaring the UAE as one of the safest countries in the world, placing it on the 11 ranking in a list of 100.
For regular Pakistanis like Samra Khan, a singer and corporate banker, it means hanging on to hope and adjusting to a “new normal.”
“I feel that lifestyles have indeed changed amid the pandemic. The community around us and the government of Dubai has also supported the new normal and while 2020 looks bleak, there is hope,” she said.
