Mental Health Workshops Supporting Migrant Workers in Dubai Amid Regional Conflict

For migrant workers in Dubai, a free stress-management class offers a brief escape from challenges such as debt, loneliness, long working hours, and recent fears related to missile strikes.

Laxmi Parekh has been conducting mental health workshops for Dubai’s migrant workers over the last two years. These workshops have recently adapted to incorporate the ongoing regional conflict.

Laxmi Parekh conducts her mental health workshops as part of her volunteer work for SmartLife, a nonprofit organization. Her sessions aim to provide a temporary oasis of calm to laborers facing mounting stress.

On a Sunday morning, Laxmi Parekh stood in a cafeteria of a Dubai housing compound under a ceiling of flickering tube lights. Her audience included painters, carpenters, and electricians, eager to learn about stress management.

“Who knows what’s been going on here for the past 43 days?” Parekh asked the men gathered.

“War situation,” someone replied.

Since February 28, the start of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, the UAE has been the target of more Iranian missile and drone attacks than any other nation. These attacks have resulted in the death of at least 10 civilians and injuries to 230 individuals, according to the UAE’s defense ministry. Many affected were migrant workers like those in the cafeteria.

For the past two years, Parekh has run weekly mental health workshops across Dubai’s migrant-worker dormitories. These sessions are part of her volunteer work with SmartLife, which organizes free English-speaking lessons, mentorship initiatives, and game nights for the city’s blue-collar community. Funding for these programs comes mainly from the companies employing the workers and money transfer firms.

In March, as the conflict escalated, Parekh began including discussions of the situation in her sessions.

“How many of you are scared?” she asked the group of 40 men, many of whom are from India, Pakistan, and Nepal.