Al Satwa ( ar, السطوة) is a community in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia ( The Middle East). It is located at t ...

, comprising high-density retail outlets and private residential dwellings. It is located southwest of

Bur Dubai Bur Dubai (in Arabic: بر دبي) is a historic district in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, located on the western side of the Dubai Creek. The name literally translates to ''Mainland Dubai'', a reference to the traditional separation of the Bur ...

and adjacent to

Sheikh Zayed Road E 11 ( ar, شارع ﺇ ١١) is a highway in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The longest road in the Emirates, it stretches from Al-Silah in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi and ends in Ras al-Khaimah emirate, running roughly parallel to UAE's coastl ...

. Originally, its residents were mainly of the

Baloch tribe The Baloch or Baluch ( bal, بلۏچ, Balòc) are an Iranian people who live mainly in the Balochistan region, located at the southeasternmost edge of the Iranian plateau, encompassing the countries of Pakistan, Iran, and Afghanistan. There ar ...

. As the government provided better houses for emaratis staying here, only few Arabs are found residing here. Notable features include the Iranian Hospital, Satwa Grand Mosque and the Al Satwa bus terminal. Al Satwa is known for its large South Asian community, especially Filipino Nationals. It is often referred to as mini-Manila by Filipino community. E 11 (Sheikh Zayed Road) forms the southern boundary of Al Satwa, Jumeirah 1 borders its northern area. Satwa is the subject of the critically acclaimed spoken word piece/photo-novella,

Satwa stories Satwa Stories is a spoken word piece/photo-novella that was created and produced by Mahmoud Kaabour and Denise Holloway. It was presented at Pecha Kucha in June 2008 at The Third Line Gallery in al Quoz in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The projec ...

, by

Mahmoud Kaabour Mahmoud Kaabour (in Arabic محمود قعبور) (born March 11, 1979) is a filmmaker, writer, and public speaker from Beirut. Education and occupation He is the founder and managing director of Veritas Films, a UAE based company that specia ...

and

Denise Holloway Denise may refer to: * Denise (given name), people with the given name ''Denise'' * Denise (computer chip), a video graphics chip from the Amiga computer * "Denise" (song), a 1963 song by Randy & the Rainbows * Denise, Mato Grosso, a municipalit ...

Veritas Films Veritas Films is a filmmaking company based in the United Arab Emirates. It creates cultural and corporate non-fiction content, including corporate films, short and feature-length documentaries, TV programming, and videos, in both English and Arabi ...

. The project highlights the hidden gems and iconic characters of the Satwa neighborhood through poetry, photography, and music.

Jumeirah Garden City Proposal

With the announcement of

Jumeirah Garden City The master plan of Jumeirah Garden City refers to the re-development of a land area, conceptualized to be a part of the 2015 strategic plan for Dubai. The development consists of 12 districts with an envision built up area of . The Jumeirah Gard ...

, the survival of this community is bleak. If the project goes through, the community will be razed to make way for part of the new development. Some soil testing has already been done for a few of the proposed buildings, most notably EP 09 Towers and 1 Park Avenue.

Parody Video

Police in November 2013 arrested a US citizen and some UAE citizens in connection with a YouTube parody video which allegedly portrayed Dubai in bad light. The parody video titled 'The Deadly Satwa GS' was shot in areas of

Satwa Al Satwa ( ar, السطوة) is a community in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, comprising high-density retail outlets and private residential dwellings. It is located southwest of Bur Dubai and adjacent to Sheikh Zayed Road. Originally, its reside ...

and depicted gangs learning how to fight using simple weapons, including shoes, the aghal, etc.

External links

Youtube video of Satwa Stories performance June 2008

Description of Satwa Stories by Veritas Films

References

Communities in Dubai {{UnitedArabEmirates-geo-stub